​Our Leadership

Wendy S. Spicher was unanimously confirmed on October 25, 2023, by the Pennsylvania Senate as Secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Banking and Securities (DoBS). She was nominated for this cabinet-level position by Governor Josh Shapiro on July 7, 2023. 

In her role, Secretary Spicher provides overall leadership to the Pennsylvania Department of Banking and Securities, which supervises more than 160 Pennsylvania state-chartered banks, credit unions and trust companies; licenses and registers more than 30,000 non-bank financial services licensees; licenses and regulates more than 275,000 investment firms and professionals doing business with Pennsylvania residents; and provides free help to anyone with a question, concern, or complaint about Pennsylvania financial institutions, products, or services.  

Secretary Spicher has served the Department of Banking and Securities as Interim Acting Secretary; was DoBS’ Deputy Secretary for Depository Institutions since 2008, where she oversaw the chartering, regulation, supervision and examination of all Pennsylvania state-chartered banks, credit unions and non-depository trust companies; and as a Special Assistant to the DoBS Secretary from 2006-2008 in a role designed to increase Pennsylvania financial institutions’ participation in the state’s array of economic development programs to create and retain good paying jobs in the commonwealth.  

She began her banking career as a commissioned bank examiner for the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) in the New York region.  She made the transition to private sector when she joined Dauphin Deposit Bank. Ms. Spicher has served as vice president of Allfirst Bank, a subsidiary of Allied Irish Banks (now M&T Bank) and was a member of the bank's senior loan committee developing an extensive knowledge and expertise in corporate lending, credit administration, and general bank operations.  She has also served as vice president of private wealth management at PNC Bank and Mellon Bank (now Mellon BNY) acquiring expertise in asset management and trust operations.  

By virtue of her position as Secretary of Banking and Securities, Secretary Spicher serves as:

• Vice Chair, PA Banking and Securities Commission
• Board Member, Commonwealth Financing Authority
• Operational Committee Member, PA Community Development Bank
• Board Member, PA Economic Development Financing Authority
• Board Member, PA Energy Development Authority
• Board Chair, PA Housing Finance Agency
• Board Member, PA Industrial Development Authority
• Board Member, PA Minority Business Development Authority
• Board Member, Certified Real Estate Appraiser Board
• Board Member, Public School Employees’ Retirement Board
• Board Member, State Employees’ Retirement System Board
• Member, Governor’s Advisory Council on Veterans Affairs
• Board member, Commonwealth Cornerstone Group
• Member, PA Council for Inclusive Procurement
• Member, Flood Insurance Premium Assistance Task Force​
  

Secretary Spicher is a graduate of the Pennsylvania State University where she earned a degree in business administration with a major in finance and an emphasis on economics. She also studied at the School of Business Administration (ESAN) in Lima, Peru, and graduated with highest honors from the Pennsylvania Bankers Association Advanced School of Banking.  

Stacey Cameron serves the Department of Banking and Securities as Deputy Secretary for Depository Institutions, overseeing the chartering, regulation, supervision, and examination of Pennsylvania state-chartered banks, credit unions, and non-depository trust companies.  

Previously, Stacey served the Department as Director of the Bureau of Credit Union and Trust Supervision where she coordinated and directed the statewide examination, enforcement, offsite monitoring, and application programs for credit unions, trust companies, and trust departments of banks. 

Prior to joining the Department, Stacey worked in various legal and information technology leadership positions.  Serving as an IT Manager and an Attorney at PHEAA, Stacey directed a team of analysts for software development projects, drafted and negotiated technology contracts, and promulgated regulatory amendments for the Pennsylvania State Grant Program.  Stacey previously served as in-house legal counsel for a UK based technology company, and owned and managed a solo law practice specializing in contract negotiations, commercial and residential lending, land use, and estate planning.  Stacey also taught undergraduate law classes at Anna Maria College in Paxton, Massachusetts. 

Stacey graduated cum laude from Atlantic Union College, Lancaster, Massachusetts with a Bachelor of Science in Business Management, and earned her Juris Doctor, cum laude, from Suffolk University Law School, Boston, Massachusetts.  

Stacey is currently serving on the NASCUS Board of Directors, the NASCUS/NCUA State Supervisory Working Group, the CSBS State Supervisory Processes Committee, and is a member of the NASCUS Legislative and Regulatory Affairs Committee.  Stacey is also a member of the Fiduciary & Investment Risk Management Association and is a Certified Fiduciary and Investment Risk Specialist. 

Timothy D. Knopp serves as Deputy Secretary of Non-Depository Institutions, overseeing the department’s work with consumer lenders, including mortgage originators, lenders, and brokers; auto sales finance companies, money transmitters, consumer discount companies, debt services companies, and pawnbrokers.

He has served the department since 2005, most recently as Director of the Bureau of Non-Depository Examinations. Previously, he served as Senior Financial Institutions Examiner, Financial Institutions Examiner, and Associate Financial Institutions Examiner.

Prior to joining the department, he was an Internet Sales and Leasing Consultant in the auto sales industry.

The Education Foundation of State Bank Supervisors has certified him as a mortgage examiner and a senior mortgage examiner. He is a graduate of the Commonwealth’s Leadership Development Institute.

He earned a bachelor’s degree from Indiana University of Pennsylvania and an MBA from Shippensburg University.

Eric Pistilli serves as Deputy Secretary of Securities, overseeing the department's regulation of broker-dealers, broker-dealer agents, investment advisers, investment adviser representatives, and notice filers who conduct securities-related business in Pennsylvania, as well as the department's work reviewing securities offerings made in Pennsylvania.

In his thirteen years with the department and Pennsylvania Securities Commission, Eric has worked on all aspects of securities compliance, including registration, investigations, and exams. He most recently served as the Chief of Securities Licensing.

Eric was formerly a member of the NASAA Investment Adviser Training Program, Continuing Education Committee, and the Board of Directors. He is a Certified Public Accountant and worked as an auditor in public accounting prior to joining state government. Eric is a graduate of The College of Staten Island where he earned a bachelor's degree in accounting.

Mary Beth Stringent is responsible for the oversight of the department’s Administrative Services Office, Fiscal and Support Services Office, Information Systems Office and human resource functions. 

She has the role of organizing, directing, planning and controlling all administrative support functions for the department, including budget, procurement, accounts receivables/payables, facilities, automotive, telecommunications, safety, Continuity of Operations, Right to Know Law, records management, and performance  reporting.

She has worked in local and state government for 25 years. Early in her government career, she served as Budget Manager and then Deputy City Treasurer for the City of Harrisburg. In state government, she served as the Bureau Director for the Pennsylvania Treasury Unclaimed Property Program and as the Bureau Director for Department of General Services -Supplies and Surplus  Operations.  

Stringent is a graduate of Penn State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration.

Paul H. Wentzel, Jr. is the Senior Legislative Director for the Department of Banking and Securities.

Paul serves as the department’s legislative liaison, liaison with the Governor’s Policy Office and general liaison with trade associations and consumer group stakeholders. He also represents the Secretary of Banking and Securities on certain economic development lending boards and the State Board of Certified Real Estate Appraisers.

Paul served as Acting Secretary of Banking in 2011 and 2002-03. He has served 10 Banking/Banking and Securities secretaries. Prior to joining the department in 1981, he served as a research analyst for the Business and Commerce Committee of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives.

Paul is a graduate of East Stroudsburg University, where he also earned a master’s degree in political science.

Stefanie Hamilton is Chief Counsel for the Department of Banking and Securities. She started her Commonwealth career in 1998 as an attorney for the Pennsylvania Securities Commission. She then became associate counsel for the Department of Banking and Securities in 2012 after the merger of the Pennsylvania Securities Commission with the Department of Banking. In 2016, she became Deputy Chief Counsel for the Department.

Stefanie is a 1994 graduate of Carnegie Mellon University with a B.S. in Industrial Management and B.S. in Economics, and she is a 1997 graduate of The Dickinson School of Law.