Bruce Herdman earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the Pennsylvania State University (1969), served as an officer in the United States Coast Guard (1969 - 1973) and earned an MBA in Health Care Administration (1975), Masters in Management (1980) and PhD in Economics (1981) from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania.

Dr. Herdman's career in health care administration in Philadelphia includes service as Executive Director of the Mayor's Commission on Health, Senior Vice President for Psychiatric Services at Pennsylvania Hospital, Vice President for Risk Arrangements and Ancillary Services at Independence Blue Cross and Senior Vice President of Provider Network Management at Keystone Mercy Health Plan. Dr. Herdman serves on the boards of two hospital foundations an on the board of the Carrier Clinic.

In 2006 Dr. Herdman joined PPS in the newly created position of Chief of Medical Operations. He is responsible for the delivery and quality of the medical, behavioral health and dental services provided to inmates at the Prison and in the community.