| Board of Directors |
Mark Wasielewski, President
Mark E. Wasielewski is currently the Ethics Enforcement Officer of the Connecticut Office of State Ethics (OSE) and has worked at the OSE since 2006. He received a B.A. from Tufts University, a M.A. in Economics from Trinity College, and his J.D. from the University of Connecticut School of Law. In his free time, Mark serves on the Board of the Wethersfield Academy for the Arts. Term of office expires December 2027 Michelle Renaud, President-Elect
Michelle Renaud is Deputy Commissioner at the Office of the Integrity Commissioner of Ontario. She has 25 years of government and public sector experience in Canada and internationally and has spent more than half that time working in government ethics, providing policy advice and leading communication and outreach activities on conflict of interest and ethics rules, lobbyist registration and whistleblowing. She holds a Master of Arts in International Affairs and has previously taught an ethics course at Carleton University’s School of Public Policy and Administration. Term of office expires December 2028 Lisa Thornton, Treasurer
Lisa Thornton is the Public Records Officer for the University of Oregon, where she oversees response to public records requests made to the University. Prior to joining the University in 2011, Lisa worked as a Records Specialist for the Eugene Police Department, where she, in part, responded to public records requests for law enforcement records. Term of office expires December 2027 Galena West, Immediate Past President
Galena West has served as Executive Director since her appointment on August 15, 2020. Prior to that she served as the Chief of Enforcement for the Fair Political Practices Commission since June 2015. She spent ten years as Senior Commission Counsel in the Enforcement Division, serving as second in command of the division. Term of office expires December 2026 Michael Cooke
Michael J. Cooke is a Senior Officer and Deputy Senior Counsel at The Pew Charitable Trusts, where he advises Pew’s program teams on lobbying and government ethics compliance and other legal matters. Prior to joining Pew, Michael served as Senior Legislative Counsel and Chief Ethics Officer for Philadelphia’s City Council and, previously, as General Counsel for the Philadelphia Board of Ethics from 2019 through 2022 and, from 2008 to 2019, as the Board’s Director of Enforcement. Michael began his legal career as a legal aid attorney representing incarcerated people on a variety of civil matters. He received his JD from Northeastern University School of Law and his BA from the University of the South (Sewanee). Term of office expires December 2029 Alexander Kipp
Alex Kipp is Director of Education & Engagement for the New York City Conflicts of Interest Board where oversees curriculum and instruction for a classroom training program that delivers over 800 classes per year, and serves as Producer of all video, print and social media projects. Alex has taught at the Council of Governmental Ethics Laws, the Practising Law Institute, the Asian American Bar Association of New York, the International Development Law Organization’s Cairo Office, Hunter College, Wharton, and the University of Kansas. In 2016 he was awarded the Powell Pierpoint Award for Outstanding Service to the Conflicts of Interest Board. Term of office expires December 2026 Stephanie McCord
Stephanie N. McCord has served as the Executive Officer of Ethics for the Chickasaw Nation since her appointment in March of 2024. Before joining the Chickasaw Nation, she served the State of Oklahoma for nearly a decade at the Oklahoma Ethics Commission in various capacities, including Deputy Director and General Counsel, General Counsel, and Director of Compliance. Term of office expires December 2029 Bryan McHale
Bryan McHale is the Director of Compliance and Administration at the City of Philadelphia Board of Ethics, working with filers of campaign finance, lobbying, and financial disclosure forms. He has previously worked with the US Census Bureau and the Internal Revenue Service. Term of office expires December 2026 Michael O'Connell
Michael is currently the Ethics Training Specialist for the City of Detroit Board of Ethics where he uses a data driven approach to deliver Ethics Training to nearly 12,000 public servants. Michael earned a degree in Philosophy, choosing to focus on Applied Ethics and the Ethical Practice of Government. Michael uses his education and experience to deliver inventive and robust training to Detroit Public Servants. Michael has been a guest lecturer at Harvard University and Duke University on the topic of the creation of Ethics Laws, and has presented to multiple groups on Ethics and the application of Ethics to different industries. Term of office expires December 2029 Kedric Payne
Kedric specializes in government ethics, lobbying law and election law. He began his career in private practice and has since served in the three branches of federal government. Term of office expires December 2028 Peg Perl
Peg Perl is Chief Deputy Clerk and Recorder for Jefferson County, Colorado. She was appointed to this position in January 2023 after serving as Election Director for Arapahoe County during the 2020 and 2022 election cycles. Prior to moving to Colorado, Peg served as nonpartisan counsel to the U.S. House of Representatives Ethics Committee and as a policy attorney with the Federal Election Commission. Peg grew up in Phoenix, AZ and earned a J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center and a B.A. from Arizona State University. Term of office expires December 2028 Dorothy Rice
On November 8,2022, the House of Assembly approved the appointment of Dorothy Rice as the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) for the Province of Nova Scotia for a term of 10years. Term of office expires December 2027
Christina Bauders, Executive Director
cbauders@cogel.org |
