Mr. Truscello is a life-long resident of the Johnstown Area, and a City resident for 55 of those years, actually now living in a house a mere block away from the home of his parents in the Roxbury neighborhood where he was born and raised. He was first appointed to the JRA Board in 2019 and reappointed to a second term beginning in 2024, now serving as Vice-Chairman.
Mr. Truscello has over 40 years of professional experience in the fields of Public Administration and Planning, in both the public and private sectors, and is presently semi-retired. He served as a Community and Economic Development Planner for the Cambria County Planning Commission, and as the Director of the Community and Economic Development Department for the City of Johnstown. On the private side, he also served as Manager of Planning Services for the EADS Group, a multi-disciplinary consulting firm, as a Senior Community and Economic Planner for RSC&A, a planning and design firm, and as a Site Development Coordinator for the former Crown American Corporation, a commercial and office space developer. Mr. Truscello has also served in several part-time positions, including as a Zoning Officer/Borough Administrator for Geistown Borough, and as a Field Enumerator for the US Census Bureau during the 2020 Census.
Mr. Truscello is a graduate of the University of Maine, where he earned a Master of Arts in Political Science with a specialization in Public Administration, while serving as a Graduate Assistant. He received a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science at what is now Commonwealth University – Mansfield, with minors in Economics and Philosophy. He is a graduate of Bishop McCort High School in Johnstown. Mr. Truscello has been a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) since 1992, presently in the retired status.
On the civic and service side, Mr. Truscello is an active member of the Roxbury Civic Group, a neighborhood group providing various voluntary services to and advocacy for his home neighborhood. He has also been active in various Vision Together 2025 efforts, including membership in the Adaptive Reuse and Preservation Capture Team since 2016. He also has served as chair of the UCC Appeals Board for the City of Johnstown. Mr. Truscello has been active in his past and present houses of worship, presently as a member and musician in the St. Clement Choir, his present parish, and as a volunteer for the St. Clement Food Pantry. Mr. Truscello previously served on the Boards of Bottleworks Ethnic Arts Center and Artworks (now combined under Bottleworks Arts on 3rd Avenue) and the Johnstown YMCA.
Mr. Truscello is married to the former Victoria Polacek, together they have four adult children and six grandchildren. Vicki and Rick enjoy the many cultural, sporting, dining and entertainment venues and festivals in Johnstown and southwestern Pennsylvania and especially enjoy their season tickets for Pittsburgh Steeler home games. Mr. Truscello enjoys travelling and has visited numerous countries including Italy and Slovakia, the homelands of his grandparents. He is involved in many family functions and activities, continues to enjoy downhill and cross-country skiing, is an amateur photographer, and is an avid model train collector and modeler.