ALBANY, NY - Governor David A. Paterson today announced the appointments of Mary B. Kavaney to serve as Deputy Secretary for Public Safety and Peter M. Iwanowicz to serve as Deputy Secretary for the Environment. The Governor also announced the appointment of Sean M. Byrne to serve as Acting Commissioner of the Division of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS), and welcomed Deputy Superintendent John P. Melville as Acting Superintendent of the New York State Police.

"The individuals I have appointed have decades of valuable experiences as public servants," Governor Paterson said. "There is critical work that still needs to be done on behalf of all New Yorkers during the remainder of my administration, and I want to commend these individuals for their dedication to public service.

"I welcome Mary to her new position within my administration. With her extensive experience at the Division of Criminal Justice Services, I am confident that she will serve the State well. I look forward to working with Peter to improve our State's environment and to specifically develop our plan for reducing greenhouse gas pollution by 80 percent from 1990 levels, by the year 2050," Governor Paterson continued.

"I also welcome Sean as Acting Commissioner of the Division of Criminal Justice Services where his experience and dedication will undoubtedly benefit the Division and the State and John Melville as the Acting Superintendent of the New York State Police. I trust that each of these appointees will continue to serve the State admirably in their new roles," the Governor added.

Mary Kavaney, as Deputy Secretary for Public Safety, will oversee all homeland security and criminal justice agencies, including the DCJS, the Office of Homeland Security, the Division of State Police, the Department of Correctional Services, the Division of Parole, the Division of Probation and Correctional Alternatives, the Division of Military and Naval Affairs, the State Emergency Management Office, the Crime Victims Board, the Office for the Prevention of Domestic Violence and the State Commission of Correction.

Prior to her appointment as Deputy Secretary for Public Safety, Ms. Kavaney served as Counsel to DCJS and later as Assistant Secretary for Public Safety. As counsel, she provided advice and direction to the agency's executive staff and represented the agency on a variety of committees and task forces, including the New York State/New York City Mental Health-Criminal Justice Panel, the Interagency Task Force on Human Trafficking and the Governor's Hate Crimes Task Force.

Ms. Kavaney served as Assistant Attorney General in Charge for the New York State Attorney General's Office for seven years, supervising a regional office of attorneys, paralegals, secretaries and investigators in Poughkeepsie while maintaining her own caseload. During her time with the Attorney General's office, Ms. Kavaney defended a wide variety of actions brought against the State in the Court of Claims and Supreme Court, and also investigated and prosecuted white collar and environmental crimes.

Ms. Kavaney served as an assistant district attorney in Orange County for four and a half years and clerked for the U.S. Attorney's Office for two years. She also has experience as an attorney in private practice. A native of Guilderland, and a graduate of Syracuse University College of Law, she also holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from Hamline University in St. Paul, Minnesota. Ms. Kavaney and her husband, attorney Marc Isaacs, are the parents of twins, Jack and Molly.

As Deputy Secretary for Public Safety, Ms. Kavaney will receive a salary of $156,750. This appointment does not require Senate confirmation.

Peter M. Iwanowicz, as Deputy Secretary for the Environment, will be responsible for representing the Governor on a range of environmental policy matters, including climate change, natural resource protection, and clean air and water.

Prior to his current position, Mr. Iwanowicz was the first Director of the New York State Office of Climate Change, which was created in 2007. Mr. Iwanowicz's responsibilities included overseeing the State's involvement in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), including serving as the chair of the RGGI Auction Committee. In addition, he was the New York State representative to the International Carbon Action Partnership, a body that is exploring carbon markets across the globe with an eye towards linkage.

Before joining State government, Mr. Iwanowicz served as Vice President for the American Lung Association of New York State, where he directed advocacy efforts. Mr. Iwanowicz has also worked for the San Francisco-based Resource Renewal Institute promoting sustainability policies in New York State and also worked for Albany based Environmental Advocates of New York (EA-NY). At EA-NY, he led the organization's clean air and clean energy policy work. Mr. Iwanowicz graduated from Siena College and lives in Bethlehem with his wife and two children.

As Deputy Secretary for the Environment, Mr. Iwanowicz will receive a salary of $150,000. This appointment does not require Senate confirmation.

Sean M. Byrne was appointed by Governor Paterson on February 26, 2010 to serve as Acting Commissioner of the Division of Criminal Justice Services. He has extensive experience in criminal justice and a 20-year relationship with DCJS.

A graduate of Syracuse University, Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, and the Syracuse University College of Law, Mr. Byrne has served as a senior attorney in the Department of Correctional Services, assistant counsel to the Division of Parole, counsel to the Director of Criminal Justice and deputy commissioner at DCJS. He also spent two and a half years as confidential law clerk to Justice Joseph W. Bellacosa, an associate judge on the New York State Court of Appeals.

In 1995, Mr. Byrne founded the New York Prosecutors Training Institute (NYPTI), serving as its executive director. At NYPTI, Mr. Byrne established all administrative, fiscal and management systems, hired and supervised staff, created and edited the organization's quarterly magazine and designed a unique computerized legal brief bank linking prosecutors' offices across the State and nation. Mr. Byrne returned to DCJS in early 2007 as Executive Deputy Commissioner and over the next three years was involved in every major decision affecting the agency. Mr. Byrne served as the agency representative with the Executive Chamber, the Legislature, the Division of the Budget and other State and federal agencies.

A resident of Haines Falls, Mr. Byrne serves as president of Newgrange Enterprises Inc., a small business corporation he co-founded. Between 1997 and 2006 Mr. Byrne served as chairman of the Hunter Foundation Inc., a not-for-profit corporation dedicated to economic development and the revitalization of distressed properties through charitable donations, volunteer labor, grants and low interest loans.

As Acting Commissioner of DCJS, Mr. Byrne receives a salary of $154,679.

Colonel John P. Melville, a 29-year veteran of the New York State Police, has held the position of Field Commander since April 2008. In this capacity he oversaw the operations of all of the Uniform Force, the Bureau of Criminal Investigation and the Office of Counter Terrorism.

Colonel Melville began his career as a Uniform Trooper in the Middletown Barracks of Troop F prior to being promoted to Uniform Sergeant and assigned to the North Syracuse Station in Troop D. Subsequent to this assignment, Colonel Melville was appointed to the position of Investigator in the Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI), where he served for four years in assignments in the New York Drug Enforcement Task Force in New York City and as a "backroom" Investigator in Troop F. In 1989, he was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant in the BCI and served in that role in three commands; Division Headquarters in Albany, as well as the Community Narcotics Enforcement Team and Troop F.

In 1992, Colonel Melville was appointed to the position of BCI Captain and served over nine years in that position in the New York Drug Enforcement Task Force and in Troop F. He was promoted to the rank of Major in 2001 leading Troop NYC and the New York State Police response to the attacks of September 11, 2001, and later to Troop F for five years, until his promotion to Staff Inspector. In 2007, Colonel Melville was appointed to head the BCI for the New York State Police as its Lieutenant Colonel, and later in 2007 became the Deputy Superintendent in charge of the Internal Affairs Division, prior to assuming his present position as the Field Commander.

Colonel Melville is currently a member of the New York State Association of Chiefs of Police and the International Association of Chiefs of Police, where he also serves as a member of the Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs Committee. He earned a Master's Degree in Criminal Justice and is a graduate of the FBI National Academy, as well as the Drug Enforcement Administration's Drug Unit Commanders Academy.

As Acting Superintendent of the New York State Police, Colonel Melville receives a salary of $159,362.