Michael Krancer was nominated by Governor Tom Corbett to be the Secretary of Environment Protection (DEP) on January 18, 2011. The nomination was confirmed by the Pennsylvania State Senate on April 26, 2011.

Until he was nominated by Governor Tom Corbett to be Pennsylvania's Acting Secretary of the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), Mike Krancer was a Judge on the Pennsylvania Environmental Hearing Board (EHB). The EHB is the state-wide trial/appellate court for environmental cases which tries appeals from actions of the DEP. He was first nominated to serve as a Judge on the EHB by Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge in October 1999. The Senate of Pennsylvania confirmed the nomination and Mr. Krancer took the oath of office in November 1999. In February 2003, Judge Krancer was named by Pennsylvania Governor Edward G. Rendell as Chief Judge and Chairman. Before becoming a Judge, Mr. Krancer was a litigation partner at the Dilworth and Blank Rome law firms in Philadelphia. His practice involved complex commercial, white collar criminal, and environmental litigation. Judge Krancer stepped down from the EHB in April 2007 to devote full time to his candidacy for Justice of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. Acting Secretary Krancer became an Assistant General Counsel for the Exelon Corporation in June 2008. While with Exelon he provided legal counsel in the areas of environmental, health and safety compliance and litigation. He also worked on energy policy matters and with the company's government relations team. He was asked by Governor Rendell to return to the EHB as a Judge in 2009.

Secretary Krancer serves on the Board of Directors of Inn Dwelling, a non-profit faith-based initiative corporation associated with St. Vincent de Paul Roman Catholic Church located in the Germantown section of Philadelphia, whose mission is capacity-building among disadvantaged families in the Germantown and Northeast sections of Philadelphia. Judge Krancer worked with Inn Dwelling high school students as a volunteer writing skills coach. Judge Krancer also currently serves on the Board of Trustees of Neumann University, a private, Catholic, co-educational University in the Franciscan tradition, located in Aston, Delaware County and is emeritus on the Boards of Albert Einstein Healthcare Network, the Brodsky Institute for Blood Diseases and Cancer, the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia, the Jewish Publication Group, the Jewish Publication Society and Riverbend Environmental Education Center. At Riverbend he served as Vice President. He and his wife, Barbara, served as Chairs of the Harvest Ball for the Albert Einstein Medical Center.

Secretary Krancer is an active member of the Montgomery Bar Association (MBA) and he has been elected to serve on the Board of Directors and the Executive Committee of the MBA commencing in 2005. He is a former Chairman of the Environmental Law Committee and is an active member of the Municipal Law and Government Relations Committees. He also served on the MBA Judiciary Committee and is a mentor in the MBA mentoring program. He is a frequent faculty lecturer for various Continuing Legal Education programs on various topics including the Pennsylvania Judges' and Attorneys' Code of Civility and lobbying law and practice.

Secretary Krancer is an avid student of Hebrew and Christian Biblical Canon and he has pursued undergraduate and graduate level coursework in theology and biblical studies and exegesis at Villanova University. He is also a student of naval history, especially naval aviation from its dawning through its heyday, the World War II Pacific Campaign. He is a member of the United States Naval Institute and the Navy League of the United States. He is also a Civil War Re-enactor. He is proud to be a Private of the 20th Maine Volunteers, Company E (Army of the Potomac, Fifth Corps, First Division, Vincent's Brigade). He has seen "action" at Gettysburg, Stanardsville and Cedar Creek among other engagements.