2018 Lead On Award Recipients - Bill and Maryla Scranton

William W. Scranton III, former Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania, is a fifth generation descendent of the founders of the city of Scranton. He has followed a career similar to his forebears, including business management, community service, and public office. He directs the Scranton Family Office and previously served as the Chairman of the Board of the Harleysville Group of Insurance Companies. Mr. Scranton is currently a member of the boards of Allied Services; Penn’s Northeast; The Greater Scranton Chamber of Commerce; Geisinger Marworth; the Willary Foundation; the Wilkes-Barre Chamber of Business and Industry; and tecBRIDGE, an organization he helped found. He has been a strong and persistent voice for a cooperative regional approach to NEPA’s economic revival and for putting behind us our region's historic divisions. As Lieutenant Governor from 1979-1987, he developed and implemented the state’s first energy policy and was instrumental in managing the state’s response to the Three Mile Island crisis. Mr. Scranton created the Pennsylvania Energy Development Authority, developed the blueprint for the Thornburgh administration's comprehensive reform of human services, and championed the state's entrepreneurial revival through the Pennsylvania Small Business Council and Ben Franklin Technology Partners. In 1986, he was the Republican nominee for Governor. Though a seasoned public leader, Mr. Scranton's life has largely been defined outside the halls of political power as an entrepreneur and job creator. A 1969 graduate of Yale University, Mr. Scranton holds honorary degrees from King's College, Lehigh University, and The University of Scranton. He has received numerous awards, including the Pennsylvania Newspaper Publishers Association Award for Investigative Journalism, the Salvation Army Others Award, NEPA Boy Scouts Distinguished Citizen Award, and The National Wildlife Federation Conservation Service Citation.

Maryla Scranton, a community activist and volunteer, has had a long and successful career as a fundraising executive for nonprofit organizations. She has planned and executed annual and capital campaigns that have raised millions of dollars throughout the United States. Mrs. Scranton served as Director of Development for several educational and community organizations, including The University of Scranton; Lackawanna College; Allied Services; Marywood University; and The Langley School, McLean, Virginia. She also served as Vice President of Community Relations and Development for The Mercy Health System regionally, a division of Catholic Health Care Partners,and established the Mercy Foundation and the Monsignor Andrew J. McGowan Institute for Community Health Initiatives. A graduate of Penn State University, Mrs. Scranton started her own business, MPS Consulting, in 2004. She has done volunteer work in Pennsylvania and Virginia. Currently, she is a member of the Board of Governors of The Scranton Area Community Foundation and a Trustee of The University of Scranton. Mrs. Scranton has presented at numerous local and national conferences and has been the recipient of several awards during her career, some of which include: The Children’s Advocacy Center’s Champion of Youth Award, Penn State’s Greater Scranton Chapter Alumnus of the Year Award, and Chair of the Chancellor’s Board at Penn State Scranton.