Ray D'Agostino, Chairman

Ray D’Agostino was first elected as a Lancaster County Commissioner in 2019 and re-elected in 2023. Previous to this post he served for ten years as CEO of the Lancaster Housing Opportunity Partnership (LHOP), a regional U.S. Treasury certified Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) that was focused on housing affordability.  Ray also served as the first Chief of Staff for former State Senator Smucker (now Congressman) and spent 17 years in local government as a municipal and authority manager.  He is a retired veteran of the U.S. military having served 22 years in the Naval Reserve and Pennsylvania Army National Guard.

Under his leadership, LHOP grew immensely in size and service footprint until a merger with Tabor Community Services to become Tenfold.  Ray founded the Local Housing Investment Fund & Trust (LHIFT) of Southcentral PA, a revolving loan fund centered on providing flexible, low-cost financing for projects which included affordable housing, economic development and neighborhood revitalization. This experience was utilized in Ray’s assisting the Lancaster City Revitalization Improvement Zone (CRIZ) Authority in the development of a small business loan and grant program for the City of Lancaster.

In his role as municipal manager (most recently in West Lampeter Township and Mount Joy Borough / Authority), Ray oversaw the development and implementation of several community strategic comprehensive plans and co-authored a chapter in a published book on regional planning.  Ray was extensively involved in developing, refining and teaching municipal budgeting and finance practices, including operations and capital improvement budgeting.

As a proud veteran, Ray served as a U.S. Navy Seabee with Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 21 headquartered in Lakehurst, NJ. Then served with the Pennsylvania Army National Guard as a fire support director with the 28^th Infantry Division in Harrisburg and an instructor with the 166^th Regiment at Ft. Indiantown Gap.  He earned numerous awards including the Naval Reserve Meritorious Service and Army Commendation medals.

Ray is passionate about public service, focused on limited, efficient, effective and transparent government. He has served on numerous state, county and local boards and commissions, such as the development team of PennDOT Publication 447, chairman of the CRIZ Authority for the City of Lancaster, chairman of the Lancaster County Planning Commission, and chairman of the West Lampeter Township Board of Auditors. 

Always striving to be actively involved in the community, Ray served with several community organizations, such as the Lions Club, Rotary Club, Lancaster County Veterans Court Community Partnership, and Homelessness Coalition. He is currently a Mason with Lodge 43 F&AM of Lancaster and serves as chairman of the Lampeter-Strasburg Area Republican Committee. 

Ray holds Master of Public Administration (MPA) and Bachelor of Science in Education (BSEd) degrees from Shippensburg University.  He lives in Lampeter with his wife, and they have two adult children.