The board of directors of the Pennsylvania Municipal Electric Association have announced the appointment of Diane Bosak as the association’s new executive director.

According to Board President Jeffrey Stonehill, borough manager in Chambersburg, “Diane was the unanimous choice of the board of directors. She brings a wealth of talent and experience to help the Pennsylvania Municipal Electric Association.

“Together, we will deliver the message about the benefits of public power for the 35 boroughs with public power systems throughout the commonwealth. She will represent well the mission of public power and our organization.”

According to PMEA, Bosak has extensive experience in managing nonprofit associations as well as municipal advocacy in Pennsylvania. She previously served as the vice president for Workforce Strategies & Policy for Achieving the Dream, a nonprofit association in Silver Spring, Maryland, and Deputy Secretary for Workforce Development at the Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry, and as executive with the Pennsylvania Commission for Community Colleges, the County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania, and the Pennsylvania Municipal League.

The Pennsylvania Municipal Electric Association is a membership association serving 33 municipal power systems throughout Pennsylvania.

There are over 2,000 such public systems in the U.S., but only 35 boroughs in Pennsylvania act as their own local nonprofit electric utilities.

Most of the boroughs are relatively small and the Association acts as their support network providing information, engineering support, rate and policy information, and advocacy in Harrisburg.

PMEA works closely with the American Public Power Association (www.publicpower.org) and the Pennsylvania State Association of Boroughs (www.boroughs.org) to provide comprehensive information and solutions to its member municipalities.

The board of directors consists of borough officials from seven members, Nicole Beckett of Lehighton and officials from Chambersburg, Ephrata, Grove City, Hatfield, Lansdale and Zelienople.