Vice President of Government Affairs
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Eric Gutshall is CECU’s Vice President of Government Affairs. In this role, Eric heads CECU’s legislative and policy outreach with Democratic lawmakers on Capitol Hill. Eric will contribute to building coalitions and external partnerships to bolster the association's advocacy efforts.
Eric is a government, political, and public affairs expert with extensive experience shaping federal and state policy, leading advocacy and campaign efforts, and advancing education initiatives. Before joining CECU, Eric served as a presidential appointee in the Biden-Harris administration at the U.S. Department of Education, where he was Senior Advisor in the Office of the Deputy Secretary and Chief of Staff for the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services.
In Pennsylvania, he was Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Higher Educational Facilities Authority and the State Public School Building Authority and was a member of Governor Tom Wolf’s Cabinet as Secretary of Intergovernmental Affairs after leading the Office of Constituent Services. Earlier in his career, Eric worked for Democratic Pennsylvania State Representative Patty Kim and Republican U.S. Congressman Todd Platts. Eric was the Democratic nominee for Dauphin County Controller in 2015 and served on the Shapiro-Davis Transition Team following the 2022 Pennsylvania gubernatorial election.
He is currently a Distinguished Fellow at the University of Pennsylvania’s Fels Institute of Government.
Eric holds a B.S. in Business Administration from Central Penn College, an M.P.A. from the University of Pennsylvania, and executive education credentials from the University of Chicago and Harvard University. He was also awarded an honorary doctorate from Central Penn College.