Columbus, Ohio – Ohio Governor Ted Strickland announced today appointments to the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction, the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio and the Governor’s Office of Faith Based and Community Initiatives.
Department of Rehabilitation and Correction
Strickland will retain Terry Collins as the director of the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction.
“Terry has shown that he has the leadership and experience needed to guide the Department of Rehabilitation and Correction,” Strickland said. “He takes his responsibilities seriously, and knows that a safe, law-abiding society is dependent on proper security, supervision and appropriate rehabilitation of offenders.”
Collins has been employed with the State of Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction (DRC) since 1977. He has served in a variety of positions including social worker, labor relations officer, warden, deputy director of prisons and assistant director. He was appointed director of the Department of Rehabilitation and Correction in May 2006.
Collins received a bachelor’s degree in sociology and corrections from Morehead State University, in Morehead, Ky. and a master’s degree in corrections from Xavier University in Cincinnati.
Collins is a member of the American Correctional Association (ACA), the Association of State Correctional Administrators, the Ohio Correctional and Courts Services Association, the National Association of Wardens and Superintendents and the Ohio Wardens and Superintendents Association and the National Association of Blacks in Criminal Justice, Ohio Chapter. He has served as a consultant to the National Institute of Corrections and an auditor for ACA.
“I am honored to work with Governor Strickland and continue the critical duties of the department,” Collins said.
The Department of Rehabilitation and Correction protects and supports Ohioans by ensuring that adult, felony offenders are effectively supervised in environments that are safe, humane and appropriately secure. In partnership with communities, the department promotes citizen safety and victim reparation. Through rehabilitative and restorative programming, the department seeks to instill to the offenders an improved sense of responsibility and the capacity to become law-abiding members of society.
Public Utilities Commission of Ohio
Paul Centolella, of Worthington, will serve as a commissioner on the five-person Public Utilities Commission of Ohio.
“The actions taken by the PUCO impact the lives of all Ohioans, every day,” Strickland said. “Paul’s knowledge of the public utilities industry, law, economics and policy will serve to balance the need for fair prices and safe, reliable services for Ohio’s utility consumers with fair regulation of utility companies.”
Centolella previously served as a senior economist for Science Applications International Corporation since 1992. While working for SAIC he managed major projects in the following areas: energy and environmental market design and analysis, directing one of the first major studies of power market structures; power system operations, working on grid modernization; economic and policy consulting; and management consulting.
“My accumulated experience has prepared me to address the complex issues facing the Commission,” Centolella said. “I will work to ensure that Ohio benefits from competitive markets and develops an efficient and reliable utility infrastructure for the 21st Century.”
From February 1982 to January 1992, Centolella served as a senior energy policy advisor and senior utility attorney for the Ohio Office of the Consumers’ Counsel. As the senior utility attorney he took the lead on cases and issues resulting in $500 million in direct savings to consumers. Prior to joining the Ohio Office of Consumers’ Counsel, was in private practice in Northern California and was a legal services attorney in Seattle, Washington.
He received his bachelor’s degree in economics from Oberlin College and his law degree from The University of Michigan Law School.
Governor’s Office of Faith Based and Community Initiatives
Eric McFadden, of Dublin, will serve as director of the Governor’s Office of Faith Based and Community Initiatives. Prior to joining the Strickland Administration, McFadden served as field director for the Catholic Alliance for the Common Good. His primary responsibilities were implementation of the Catholic Alliance’s field and media organizing initiative in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Michigan.
The Office of Faith Based and Community Initiatives is charged with three main tasks: making it easier for faith-based and community organizations to compete for public funding; encouraging partnerships among and between public agencies, faith-based organizations, and community-based organizations who share a common mission; and measuring the impact of these partnerships to reduce the suffering of citizens in need.