Shusterman appointed to Ben Franklin Technology Development Authority
Rep. Melissa Shusterman August 12, 2025 | 9:04 AM
PAOLI, Aug. 12 – State Rep. Melissa Shusterman, D-Chester, is proud to announce that she has been appointed by Speaker of the House Joanna McClinton to the Ben Franklin Technology Development Authority.
The BFTDA is an initiative of the PA Dept of Community and Economic Development. The board oversees four regional Ben Frankling Technology Partner centers. As a statewide initiative, Ben Franklin leverages the excellence of Pennsylvania’s colleges and universities and promotes greater collaboration among companies, academia, private investors, and government to build and develop technology-based industries to foster innovation and drive entrepreneurial success.
“I’d like to thank Speaker McClinton for giving me this opportunity to further serve my constituents and the Commonwealth,” said Shusterman. “The work of the BFTDA and its regional partner centers is critical to Pennsylvania’s economic development and the ongoing creation of quality job opportunities right here in PA. We must continue to ensure that we are investing in our future.”
The BFTDA’s regional partner centers create and retain highly paid, sustainable jobs by investing in and linking early-stage technology firms and established manufacturers with experts, universities, follow-on funding, and other resources to help them prosper through innovation. Since its inception in 1983, Ben Franklin has invested in more than 4,500 technology-based companies and boosted the state’s economy by more than $25 billion, helping to generate 148,000 jobs through investments in client firms and spinoff companies in Pennsylvania. Today, Ben Franklin is one of the most widely known and emulated state technology-based economic development programs in the nation.