Prior to his appointment, Peltz was deputy secretary for local and area transportation at the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, a post he had held since 1995. As deputy secretary, Peltz directed the Bureau of Public Transportation, which administers state grants to support mass transit, other public transportation services, and local municipalities. He also oversaw the Bureau of Municipal Services, which distributes liquid-fuels allocations to municipalities and provides technical support to local governments.

Peltz had previously served as U.S. Congressman Bill Clinger's district administrator for Pennsylvania's fifth district. He worked extensively with economic development efforts in northwestern and north-central Pennsylvania and was instrumental in leveraging over $1 billion in public and private funds for area development projects that included plant and roadway construction, development of industrial parks and incubators, and railroad creation and preservation.

Peltz is also a former U.S. Department of State intelligence analyst and Forest Service forest firefighter. He received a B.A. degree magna cum laude in political science from Indiana University of Pennsylvania in 1978 and is a graduate of Harvard University's Program for Senior Executives in State and Local Government.