The previous head of the Rhode Island National Guard is Gov. Dan McKee’s latest pick to join the state’s Ethics Commission, replacing a member the governor placed on the state parole board.
Retired Maj. Gen. Christopher P. Callahan will join the nine-member volunteer panel responsible for enforcing and administering the state’s code of ethics.
Callahan retired from the military in February after decades of service — the last 10 years as the 44th adjutant general and commander of the state’s National Guard. Callahan previously served as commander of the 56th Troop Command at Camp Fogarty in East Greenwich, where he led, trained and supported 900 soldiers and six different military units.
He also served as the director of aviation and safety at the Quonset Point Air National Guard Base in North Kingstown from 2006 to 2011 and was a battalion commander in Balad, Iraq.
In his announcement Wednesday, McKee touted Callahan’s experience and the value it would bring to the commission which has the power to fine and remove elected officials from office.
“Throughout his more than four decades of military service, General Callahan has built a proven record of fairness, integrity, and ethical leadership,” the governor said in a statement. “He will be a valuable addition to the commission, and I have full confidence that he will help uphold the highest standards of integrity in public service.”
Callahan thanked the governor for his trust and confidence.
“I look forward to working with my colleagues on the Ethics Commission to ensure transparency and integrity throughout our state,” Callahan said in a statement.
Advice and consent from the Rhode Island Senate is not required for the position, as no such wording was included in the 1986 constitutional amendment that created the commission. Terms on the commission are five years.
Callahan will replace Dr. Jill Hume Harrison, a sociologist at Rhode Island College who McKee appointed to the seven-member Rhode Island Parole Board. Harrison had been appointed to the Ethics Commission by McKee in August.
Harrison will take the spot of Tonya Glantz, who the governor appointed to the Parole Board in January 2024.
Harrison previously served as a consultant and researcher with the Culture of Wellness for the Maine State Prison. She also has previous experience in Rhode Island, providing seven years of meditation and cognitive behavior training to people incarcerated at the Adult Correctional Institutions in Cranston. She continues to offer onsite diversity, equity and inclusion training to cadets.
She holds a bachelor’s degree from Wells College in New York and a master’s degree from George Mason University in Virginia. She earned her PhD in sociology at the University of New Hampshire.
“I am honored to accept the governor’s appointment to serve on the state’s probation and parole board,” Harrison said in a statement. “This role presents a significant opportunity to contribute to the fair and effective administration of justice in our community.”
Senate approval is not required for appointments to the Parole Board, whose members serve three-year terms and can be reappointed.
This article was originally published by the Rhode Island Current.
