Attorney General Hill names executive staff

Indiana Attorney General Curtis Hill has announced key appointments to fill out his executive staff as he becomes the state’s top lawyer.

Hill was elected in November to succeed Greg Zoeller, who served two terms as Indiana Attorney General. To help lead the Office of the Attorney General, Hill has tapped individuals from state government, state agencies, prosecutor’s offices, private practice and the federal government.

“From day one, my team has been prepared,” Hill said in a press release. “We hit the ground running, getting right to work form the minute we arrived. I can’t thank this dedicated group enough for coming on board.”
 
His executive staff includes:

• Aaron Negangard, former prosecutor of Dearborn and Ohio counties, will serve as deputy chief.
• Joan Blackwell will serve as chief of staff. She has served as section chief in the Office of the Attorney General from 2014 to 2016 and, most recently, was an attorney at Barnes & Thornburg.
• Kelly Craven will work as senior adviser. She has served as deputy assistant secretary of the Air Force in the George W. Bush administration and, most recently, served as director of House operations for U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan.
• Mary Allen will fill the role as director of strategic planning and resources. She is the former director of the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute.
• Scott Newman, former Marion County Prosecutor, will serve as chief counsel in the advisory division.
• Denise Robinson, formerly of the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office, will work as senior deputy attorney general.
• Patricia McMath, former appellate public defender at the Marion County Public Defender Agency, will join as the section chief for civil appeals.
• Jeremy Brilliant will serve as director of communications, handling media relations and public outreach for the Hill administration. He spent more than 10 years as a television reporter in Indianapolis.