Mr. Jason Bright, SEARCH’s governor-appointed Member representing the State of Montana, was elected last week to serve as Chairperson of the SEARCH Membership Group and Board of Directors.
Mr. Bright’s election took place Thursday, July 21, at the 2022 SEARCH Annual Membership Group Meeting, which was held at the Grand Hyatt Denver in Denver, CO.
Mr. Bright, a SEARCH Member since 2017, will serve a two-year term as Chair. He is Program Manager of the Criminal Records and Identification Services Section, Division of Criminal Investigation in the Montana Department of Justice.
Jason Bright
Immediate Past Chair
Mr. Bright succeeds Ms. Leslie Moore as SEARCH Chair. Ms. Moore, Director of the Information Services Division, Kansas Bureau of Investigation, had served as SEARCH Chair since 2018. At the end of her tenure as SEARCH Chair last week, she began a two-year term as Immediate Past Chair of the SEARCH Board. Ms. Moore has served as Kansas’s governor-appointed SEARCH Member for 10 years.
Leslie Moore
Vice Chair
In addition, Ms. M. Lisa Voss was elected to her first term as SEARCH Vice Chairperson. Ms. Voss is Assistant Director of the State Bureau of Identification in the Delaware State Police. A SEARCH Member for 5 years, she has been serving as Vice Chair since the retirement in September 2021 of former Vice Chair Kathryn Monfreda. Her term will also run 2 years.
Lisa Voss
State & At-Large Directors
The Board election included four open seats for State Directors and two open seats for At-Large Directors; these positions are also for two-year terms that expire in July 2024.
- Elected to their first term on the Board were Mr. Jeff Avey, Director of the Criminal Identification Division, Nebraska State Patrol, and Ms. Michelle D. Farris, Chief of the Crime Records Division, Texas Department of Public Safety.
- Mr. Adam Dean, Director of the Office of Criminal Justice Records, New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services, was elected as well. He previously served on the Board from 2018–2020.
- Re-elected to his second term on the Board was Lt. Colonel Larry C. Newton, Jr., Office of Technical Services, Kentucky State Police.
- Elected to his first term on the Board was At-Large Member Dr. Jeffrey Sedgwick, Executive Director, Justice Research and Statistics Association.
- Re-elected to a new term on the Board was At-Large Member Mr. Dan Foro, Senior Advisor, New York State Sheriffs’ Association Institute. Mr. Foro has served on the Board since 2014.
Jeff Avey
Michelle D. Farris
Adam Dean
Lt. Colonel Larry C. Newton Jr.
Dr. Jeffrey Sedgwick
Dan Foro
Continuing to serve on the SEARCH Board of Directors, with terms that expire in July 2023, are the following State Directors:
- Mr. Brad Cazort, Director, Arkansas Crime Information Center.
- Major David A. (Tony) Flannigan, Commander, Missouri State Highway Patrol, Technical Services Bureau.
- Ms. Leila McNeill, Chief, Criminal Identification Bureau, Idaho State Police.
- Mr. Matt Ruel, Director, Maine State Bureau of Identification, Maine State Police.
Brad Cazort
Major David A. (Tony) Flannigan
Leila McNeill
Matt Ruel
Continuing to serve on the SEARCH Board of Directors, with a term that expires in July 2023, is At-Large Member Mr. Bob Wessels, Vice Chair, Judicial Committee on Information Technology, Texas. In addition, Mr. Christopher D.W. Young, Administrator, Hawaii Criminal Justice Data Center, Department of the Attorney General, is the permanent appointed Open Justice Broker Consortium (OJBC) representative to the SEARCH Board.
Robert Wessels
Christopher D.W. Young
Transitioning off the Board was Lt. Colonel Timothy Chung, Assistant Director, Technical Services Division, Arizona Department of Public Safety, and Dr. James P. Lynch, Professor, Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice, University of Maryland. SEARCH thanks Lt. Col. Chung and Dr. Lynch for their dedicated service on the Board. They both continue their service on the SEARCH Membership Group.
Lt. Col. Timothy Chung
Dr. James P. Lynch
SEARCH’s 15-member Board of Directors, elected by the full Membership Group, provides general oversight and translates corporate goals and objectives into program directives and operating policies. Board Members serve 2-year terms, and include 11-State-appointees, 3 At-Large appointees, and 1 representative from the Open Justice Broker Consortium.