Leadership Northeast Honors Pedri, Graduates at 44th Annual Event

PLAINS TWP. — Leadership Northeast on Thursday honored C. David Pedri, Esq. of the Luzerne Foundation, as its 2025 Distinguished Leadership Award recipient at the 44th Annual Dinner and Graduation, held at the Woodlands Inn. 

The event celebrated Leadership Northeast’s graduating Core Class of 2025 and welcomed the incoming Core Class of 2026.

“The 2025 Annual Dinner and Graduation marks 44 years of empowering leaders, strengthening community, and driving change,” said Jessica Cronauer, Executive Director of LNE. “We are sincerely honored to celebrate the contributions of David Pedri, who has been a dedicated servant leader to the Northeast Pennsylvania community for many years. His ongoing commitment to supporting and advocating for Leadership Northeast and the entire nonprofit industry in Luzerne County and beyond makes him an excellent choice for this year’s Distinguished Leadership Alumni Award.”

Pedri is the President and CEO of the Luzerne Foundation, where he works to enhance the lives of Luzerne County residents by addressing community needs through strategic grant-making, scholarships for students and connecting donors to causes that matter to them.

“As a young lawyer, Leadership Northeast gave me the tools to succeed, as well as the connections and confidence to make things happen,” Pedri said. “I’m so grateful and I’m proud to stand with this amazing organization that continues to innovate and inspire the leaders of Northeastern Pennsylvania.”

Pedri has dedicated his career to public service. An attorney by trade, he worked as the county manager of Luzerne County, starting in 2016. In that role, Pedri was the head of the executive branch of government, overseeing 1,500 employees in 32 separate departments and a $300 million annual budget.

With Pedri as the manager, Luzerne County paid off over $250 million in debt. Pedri also oversaw the renovations of the county courthouse.

While at the county, Pedri co-founded the annual Rockin’ the River concert series at the County’s Riverfront Park.

Pedri also worked for seven years at the Luzerne County District Attorney’s Office, where he tried many cases and convicted 13 murderers. He later worked as a private attorney and in-house counsel to Luzerne County where he gained a unique perspective handling diverse legal matters.

Pedri is a proud supporter of Leadership Northeast and participated in both the Core and Executive programs. He lives in Drums with his wife and family. He sits on numerous charitable boards and volunteers his time as a coach for both youth baseball and youth soccer.

Boasting an alumni base of more than 2,500 servant leaders, Leadership Northeast East was founded in 1981 as a community leadership development organization. A non-profit organization, LNE is dedicated to developing informed and committed leaders from all segments of the community who will serve, strengthen and improve Northeast Pennsylvania.

For information, call 570-270-5323 or visit www.leadershipnortheast.org.

Leadership Northeast – 2025 Core Class graduates

• Kal Ali, The Hershey Company

• Rachel Antosh Hawk, Penn’s Northeast

• Ellie Bartoli, Coffee Inclusive

• Kelly Beishline, Wilkes University

• Daniel Burke, Comcast

• Andrea Butchko, Verdantas

• Yekaterina Chinikaylo, Luzerne County Head Start

• Rosa Colon, Peoples Security Bank & Trust

• Yesenia Cosme, Maternal Family Health Services

• Nour Elbattah Wijahat, Mericle Commercial Real Estate Services

• Michelle Elias, Federal Hearings and Appeals Services, LLC

• Katherine Feola, AssuredPartners

• Joseph Ferretti, Community Bank, N.A.

• Jennifer Fish, CVS Caremark/CVS Health

• Matthew Gabriel, InterMetro

• Matthew Giambra, DiscoverNEPA

• Nicole Gitkos, North Penn Legal Services

• Joshua Gorton, Fidelity Bank

• Frederick Hall, UGI Utilities

• Samantha Harris, Jenneca Simkonis Memorial Foundation

• Shea Hughes, Gemini Events/NEPA Rainbow Alliance

• Mark Hydock, Pennsylvania State Police

• Nicole Kerestes, Benco Dental

• Brittany Kittle, Step by Step, Inc.

• Edward Klein, Presidio Insurance LLC

• Tina Kozloski, Benco Dental

• Matthew Krispin, PA Inclusive

• Frederick Lokuta, Young Lawyer’s Association/Myers, Brier & Kelly, LLP

• Rachel Maculloch, DiscoverNEPA

• Danielle McCormick,Luzerne Bank

• Jeff McLaughlin, Golden Business Machines

• Mary EllenMcLean, Step by Step, Inc.

• Daren Miller, Berkshire Hathaway GUARD Insurance Companies

• Heather Nametko, Peoples Security Bank & Trust

• Mario Nese, Mohegan Pennsylvania

• Angelina Pacheco, CASA of Luzerne County

• Alex Piehl, Greater Wyoming Valley Chamber of Commerce

• Neil Prisco, F.M. Kirby Center for the Performing Arts

• Tori Reinard, Geisinger Health System

• Janelle Rushton, King’s College and now Northeast Sight Services

• Kelsey Savka, Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine

• Kristen Scali, MOHELA

• Alicia Stavitzski, Misericordia University and now The Hershey Company

• Alan Stout, Visit Luzerne County

• Kelsey Van Horn, Kelsey Van Horn Design Studio LLC

• Nicholas Vitanovec, OneGroup

• Robert Wilson, Power Engineering Corporation

• Karissa Yaron, Cross Valley Federal Credit Union

• David Ziegler, Berkshire Hathaway GUARD Insurance Companies

Leadership Northeast honors Pedri, graduates at 44th annual event