August 29, 2007

DOC Secretary appoints Amy Smith as Deputy Secretary

MADISON – Incoming Wisconsin Department of Corrections (DOC) Secretary Rick Raemisch today announced Amy Smith of Madison will be the agency’s new Deputy Secretary. Smith, who currently is Administrator for the Enforcement and Science Division at the state Department of Natural Resources (DNR), begins her new role September 4.

“I am extremely pleased that Amy Smith will be joining the Department of Corrections,” Secretary Raemisch said. “I have known Amy Smith for many years and worked closely with her on public safety issues in the past. She brings strong credentials in state agency management, law and criminal justice, and her background and talents will be a tremendous asset to the Department.”

Smith has been a Division Administrator at the DNR since 2004. In this role she has overseen the agency’s Law Enforcement Bureau, Science Services Bureau and Office of Energy. As Deputy Secretary at the DOC, Smith will oversee day-to-day operations of the agency’s four Divisions, which includes a workforce of 10,000 and manages more than 95,000 offenders either in correctional facilities or in communities across Wisconsin. She replaces Rick Raemisch, who was recently appointed DOC Secretary by the Governor.

From 1998 to 2004, Smith was an Assistant Attorney General and Director in the Wisconsin Department of Justice (DOJ) under then-Attorney General Jim Doyle. At the DOJ, she prosecuted sexual predator cases and managed a criminal litigation unit. From 1990 to 1998, Smith prosecuted felony drug cases as a Dane County Assistant District Attorney. Prior to her work at the DA’s office, Smith was Assistant Legal Counsel and Special Assistant from 1989 to 1990 to former DOC Secretary Stephen Bablitch.

Smith is a member of Governor Doyle’s Homeland Security Council, which assists in Wisconsin’s terrorism preparedness efforts and advises the Governor on state homeland security policy. In addition, she serves on the City of Madison’s Public Safety Review Board, which provides policy guidance for the Madison Police and Fire Departments. In addition, Smith previously chaired the District 9 Committee, which provides investigative support to Wisconsin’s Office of Lawyer Regulation, an arm of the Wisconsin's Supreme Court that investigates allegations of attorney misconduct.

Smith earned her law degree in 1989 from the University of Wisconsin and a bachelor’s degree in economics and political science in 1986 from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

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08/29/2007