John C. Bear

John is the CEO and Chief Innovation Officer of GSL and a member of The Stevens & Lee Companies’ Executive Committee. He co-founded GSL Public Strategies Group in 2022, which was immediately recognized in the top ten in the “Top 50 Pennsylvania Lobbyists 2022” by City & State PA and stands today as one of the Commonwealth’s premier government consulting, public affairs and strategic communication companies. He has also been a long-time Principal in The Stevens & Lee Companies, leading GSL Government Consulting which he founded in 2012. John is a former Pennsylvania State Representative of the 97th Legislative District and a former Manheim Township Commissioner and Lititz Borough Councilman and has over 28 years of experience working with public and private sector clients throughout the U.S. and within the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. John was recently named to City and State PA’s 2023 “Fifty Over 50” and to the 2023, 2024, 2025 and 2026 “PA Power 100 Lists”. He was also included in the Central Penn Business Journal’s 2025 Powerlist and was identified as one of the state’s most capable legislators in the Pittsburgh Tribune’s “10 to Watch in 2011.

Prior to being elected to the General Assembly, John worked for nine years as a management consultant/project manager for the global professional services firms BearingPoint and KPMG LLP. He is actively involved in Pennsylvania’s business, civic and political communities.

Affiliations

• American Legislative Exchange Council
  • Tax and Fiscal Policy Task Force
• Associated Builders and Contractors Keystone Chapter, Board of Directors
• Building Industry Association of Lancaster County, Board of Directors, Presidential Advisor, Government Affairs Chairman
• Discover Lancaster, Board of Directors
• Lancaster Chamber of Commerce and Industry
  • Strategic Planning Committee
• Lancaster County Career & Technology Foundation, Gold Collar Society Member
• Landis Valley Associates, Board of Directors
• Lititz Borough Council, Borough Councilman
• Lititz recCenter, Board of Directors
• Lititz Regional Community Development Corporation, Board of Directors, Board President and Executive Director
• Manheim Township Board of Commissioners, Commissioner, Board Vice-President
• National Conference of State Legislatures
  • Executive Committee Task Force on State and Local Taxation of Communications and Electronic Commerce
• Pennsylvania Builders Association, Board of Directors
  • Government Affairs Leadership Team
• Pennsylvania Higher Education Facilities Authority, Board of Directors
• Play PA Live, Board of Directors
• State Public School Building Authority, Board of Directors
• University of Pennsylvania, Fels Alumni Leadership Council, Member

Recognition

• Listed among “PA Power 100” by City & State PA, 2023-Present
• Named to the “2025 Powerlist” by Central Penn Business Journal
• Recognized in the “Fifty Over 50” listing by City & State PA, 2023
• Listed among the “10 to Watch in 2011” by the Pittsburgh Tribune
• American Swiss Foundation’s Youn Leaders Conference, Class of 2008
• Pennsylvania Leadership Academy Fellow, 2007

Education

• University of Pennsylvania, Fels Institute of Government, Master of Governmental Administration
• Temple University, B.A., Political Science, with honors
• Georgetown University, Fund for American Studies, Engalitcheff Institute on Comparative Political and Economic Systems, Graduate
• George Mason University, Institute for Humane Studies, Graduate