The 1,500 staff members of Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray’s office came together for an all-staff meeting to recognize their own for jobs well done.

Twenty-five awards were given to employees for going above and beyond their normal responsibilities within the office:

• Simon B. Karas award: Named after a former AGO deputy chief counsel, this award honors a recipient who consistently demonstrates dedication, commitment and integrity.
  • Kevin McIver, Section Chief, Opinions - A walking textbook on all AGO formal opinions, Kevin is invited to weigh in on almost every legal issue of importance in the office.

   

• David K. Watson award: Named after a former trust-busting Attorney General, this award recognizes perseverance in pursuing what is right.
  • Rich Coglianese, Principal Assistant Attorney General, Constitutional Offices – Rich has litigated against difficult adversaries and has always handled them with grace. He was instrumental in creating and implementing the Election Law Task Force and has helped clean up public corruption in several notable cases.

   

• Excellence in Writing awards: Recognizes attorneys for exemplary legal writing
  • William Wright, Principal Assistant Attorney General, Public Utilities, and Thomas Lindgren, Senior Assistant Attorney General, Public Utilities; for their Memorandum Contra Appellant’s Motion for a Stay of Execution in Office of Ohio Consumers’ Counsel v. PUCO. – The brief was filed in the Ohio Supreme Court in response to a stay motion, and written in just six days. The issue in the case is highly complex and technical, yet the brief explained the issue clearly.
  • Jason Small, Assistant Attorney General, Charitable Law; for his amicus brief in State v. Cruise – When the office decided to file an amicus brief in the Ninth District Court of Appeals, the brief was due in short order. Jason worked over Labor Day weekend on a topic that was outside of his subject-matter expertise.
  • Todd Marti, Principal Assistant Attorney General, Education; for his brief in State ex rel. Nation Building Technical Academy v. Ohio Dep’t of Educ. - The case was an appeal in the Ohio Supreme Court from a mandamus action. The brief was easy to follow and a model of clarity.

   

• Service awards: Recognizes achievements of employees who on a regular and consistent basis provide exemplary service to the public
  • Todd Careless, Law Enforcement Training Officer, OPOTA – Todd created an online course catalog for OPOTA and volunteered to completely transpose the printed catalog.
  • Chuck Rowland, BCI & I Special Agent, BCI&I – With Chuck’s coordination between state and federal law enforcement and oversight of the investigation, a major drug trafficking organization was dismantled resulting in over $5 million in assets obtained.
  • David Garringer, Accountant, Charitable Law – David takes great pride in educating constituents on complying with charitable gaming laws.
  • Jennifer L. Schumacher, Claims Account Representative, Revenue Recovery – Jennifer works in a section that often hears negative reactions, but positive letters and calls about her performance routinely come to her supervisor as she handles a difficult job with diplomacy and tact.

   

• Pride awards: recognizes employees who show pride in their job by exhibiting professionalism in their actions.
  • Trish D. Lazich, Assistant Section Chief, Collections Enforcement – Trish carries her own hefty case load and assists in the office’s efforts in bankruptcy matters, recently the Chrysler and GM bankruptcy cases.
  • Glen Patterson, Personal Computer Administrator, Information Technology – Known for his detailed instructions and helpful demeanor, Glen sets a standard for the Help Desk to follow.
  • Susan Choe, Section Chief, Consumer - Susan coordinates the Save the Dream foreclosure prevention initiative for the office.
  • Brent Kirkpatrick, BCI & I Special Agent, Environmental – Brent consistently carries one of the highest caseloads while exceeding goals and expectations in the amount, quality and timeliness of work completed.
  • Kim Blankenship, Executive Assistant, Appeals - Kim has contributed substantially to every major appellate case involving the State of Ohio over the past year even though her name does not appear on any brief.
  • Rebecca Albers, Section Chief, Education – Rebecca works diligently for cohesiveness on legal matters among the state’s four-year, community and technical colleges.
  • Abhijit N. Dixit, Medicaid Special Agent, Health Care Fraud – Abhijit has led the Health Care Fraud section with 20 criminal convictions.
  • Cindy Beck, Director of General Services, General Services – Cindy has brought stability and professionalism to the General Services Section.
  • Damian Sikora, Assistant Section Chief, Constitutional Offices – As an Assistant Chief, Damian is diplomatic and deft at handling section issues and constituent calls.
  • Carol Ottolenghi, Library Researcher, Library - Carol spends countless hours supplying research to others, always providing a product in its most usable and up-to-date form.
  • Barbara Kish, Office Assistant, BCI&I – Barbara’s attention to detail, foresight and persistence allows the Richfield investigations office to consistently achieve its goals.
  • Samuel Kirk, Associate Assistant Attorney General, Charitable Law – Sam reaches out to the community to discuss training and education to solve problems before they end up in the administrative hearing process.
  • Vicki Germann, Administrative Assistant, Crime Victims Services – Vicki plays an important role in several initiatives including Missing Children’s Clearinghouse and the Missing Adult Alert Program.
  • Amy Brown, Assistant Attorney General, Court of Claims - Amy is a highly motivated personality involved in numerous out-of-section projects.
  • Carla Durham, Forensic Scientist, BCI&I – Through patience and skill, Carla was able to pull a Clark County burglary suspect’s fingerprints, leading to a conviction.
  • John A. Guthrie, Section Chief, Health Care Fraud – John has served as lead negotiator on 18 national Health Care Fraud cases that returned more than $2 billion to State Medicaid programs across the country.

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