Attorney Wadud Ahmad Attends First Meeting as PA Turnpike Commissioner

State Senate confirmed Bucks County resident as PTC commissioner on Sept. 22

MIDDLETOWN, PA. (OCT. 6, 2020) — Wadud Ahmad, a Philadelphia attorney and resident of Yardley, Bucks County, today attended his first meeting as a Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission (PTC) commissioner. Commissioner Ahmad was appointed to the position by Governor Tom Wolf and confirmed by the Pennsylvania Senate on Sept. 22. He assumes the seat of the late Barry T. Drew.

Commissioner Ahmad is a founding partner in the Philadelphia law firm Ahmad Zaffarese LLC. He is vice chair of the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission and an advisory committee member for PhilaPort, the Port of Philadelphia. A graduate of the Widener University School of Law and Temple University, he previously worked as a prosecutor in the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office.

“I feel quite honored to have been chosen by Governor Wolf as the newest PTC commissioner. I thank him, along with the members of the Pennsylvania Senate, for placing their faith and trust in me to do this job,” Commissioner Ahmad said. “Diversity, transparency and collaboration are among the key values I bring to any public or private venture, and I look forward serving my fellow Pennsylvanians in this capacity.”

Commissioner Ahmad rounds out the commission as its fifth member. He joins these PTC commission members: PennDOT Secretary and PTC Chair Yassmin Gramian; Pittsburgh businessman and PTC Vice Chair William K. Lieberman; former State Senator and PTC Secretary-Treasurer John Wozniak of Johnstown; and Bucks County businessman and PTC Commissioner Pasquale T. (Pat) Deon Sr.

“Commissioner Ahmad joins our agency at a pivotal time in its 80-year history — with a number of challenges we continue to confront in response to the COVID-19 pandemic; we are fortunate to have him onboard,” PA Turnpike CEO Mark P. Compton said. “He brings a unique blend of business and legal experience coupled with a varied transportation background in the maritime and tolling sectors.”

The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission was created by the state legislature in 1937 to construct, finance, operate and maintain the now 552-mile PA Turnpike, which first opened to traffic on Oct. 1, 1940. Four commissioners, appointed by the governor and confirmed by the senate, plus the secretary of transportation, serve on the commission for four-year terms. Learn more at www.paturnpike.com.

CONTACT:
Carl DeFebo, 717-831-7176 or Rosanne Placey, 717-831-7507