Management Team

John J. Clancy
CEO and Chairman of the Board of Directors

Mr. Clancy is founder, CEO and Chairman of the Board of Directors at Community Education Centers, and has more than 32 years of experience in the corrections field. He oversees all CEC's operations in order to ensure effective facility management, including contract compliance, security and treatment. He is experienced in all phases of social service, education, and health care program development, implementation, funding mechanisms, budget supervision, staff evaluation, and supervision.

Mr. Clancy has held more than a dozen offices for various organizations, including: Former Chairman of Essex County Family Court Commission; Former Member, Essex County Vocational School Planning Council, Juvenile Conference Committee of Essex County, Essex County Advisory Committee on Alcohol, and West Essex Chamber of Commerce; and Former President, New Jersey State Association for Youth Services, East Orange. He is also a Member of the Board of Trustees for The Bridge and Turning Point, Inc.

Mr. Clancy has been selected for more than 30 community service awards, including the 1999 Ernst & Young's "Entrepreneur of the Year" Award and the 1999 "Award of the Nineties" from the National Council on Alcohol and Drug Dependence and is an inductee in the Essex County Democratic Hall of Fame.

Dr. Robert Mackey
Senior Vice President for Clinical Services,
Quality Assurance and Research

Dr. Mackey is Senior Vice President for Clinical Services, Quality Assurance and Research at Community Education Centers. With more than 30 years experience, Dr. Mackey has provided therapeutic services to adult and juvenile offenders in public and private sector operations. He is a Licensed Psychologist and Clinical Alcohol & Drug Counselor and has also served as a law enforcement officer.

Dr. Mackey has served on numerous Advisory Commissions including the NJ Supreme Court Advisory Board for Domestic Violence, the NJ Department of Education, and Ocean County College Veteran's Advisory Committee. He is also a certified Alcohol and Drug Counselor and a Domestic Violence Specialist.

Dr. Mackey has overseen CEC's outcome-based research efforts which have shown significant reductions in recidivism for participants in CEC's reentry programs. Dr. Mackey is a graduate of Trenton State College, where he received his BA in Psychology. He is also a graduate of Seton Hall University where he earned a MA in School Psychology and Rehabilitation Counseling, and a PhD in Clinical Psychology.

Michael Hellriegel
Chief Financial Officer

Mr. Hellriegel is the Chief Financial Officer at Community Education Centers. He has over thirty years experience in service industries, fifteen of which he has served as CFO of both public and private international companies. He has extensive experience in strategic planning, SEC reporting, mergers and acquisitions, and financial and operational restructuring.

Prior to joining CEC, Mr. Hellriegel served as the Chief Financial Officer of Kroll, Inc., a global leader in risk consulting, providing investigative, intelligence, financial, security and technology services to organizations in 31 countries. Mr. Hellriegel joined Kroll, Inc. in 2004, after twenty-one years of service to Butler International Inc., an international business services organization providing staffing, outsourcing and consulting services. While at Butler International Inc., he served as Chief Financial Officer and other roles, including Controller, Director of Financial Analysis and Reporting and Manager of Financial Operations. Prior to joining Butler International Inc., Mr. Hellriegel served in various financial reporting and auditing functions with The Coca-Cola Bottling Co. of New York, Inc.

Mr. Hellriegel holds a Master of Business Administration degree from Farleigh Dickinson University and a Master of Science in Strategic Communications from Columbia University. He earned his bachelor's degree in Accounting from St. Peter’s College.

Michael L. Caltabiano
Senior Vice President of the Secure Division

Mr. Michael L. Caltabiano is Senior Vice President of the Secure Division at Community Education Centers. He has over 34 years experience, in the corrections industry in both the public and private sectors. Prior to joining CEC, Mike served as Senior Vice President for Adult Corrections at Cornell Companies from 2005 to 2010, and as Director of Marketing, Adult Secure from April 2004 to August 2005 where he was instrumental in leading business development efforts and developing various effective quality assurance programs.

In his role at Cornell Companies he directed two divisions with overall accountability for 41 facilities, 17,500 total beds, and 2,500 staff. He also oversaw daily operations including, medical, quality assurance, security, and maintenance. Prior to joining Cornell in April 2004, Mike served as Director, Detention Management Division for the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement from January 2001 to March 2004. In this role he was selected to lead this $650 million, 21,000-bed operation, including facility construction, medical, operations and a national ground/air transportation system while steering organizational transition from the Department of Justice to the newly created Department of Homeland Security.

Prior to his work at the Department of Homeland Security he served in various capacities with the Federal Bureau of Prisons from 1979 to 2001. At the Bureau of Prisons he was promoted into progressively responsible regional leadership roles at diverse facilities and played a key role in establishing first-ever organization-wide quality assurance program.

Debra Shannon
General Counsel

Ms. Shannon is General Counsel at Community Education Centers. With more than ten years of legal experience, including high-level corporate transactions, Ms. Shannon provides legal counsel to the Chairman and Senior Management at CEC. She negotiates, reviews and drafts contracts, and oversees real estate transactions and government compliance issues. Ms Shannon also manages litigation for the company.

Immediately prior to working at CEC, she was a Senior Associate for Genova, Burns & Vernoia in Livingston, N.J., where her clients included the Turnpike Authority and the Township of Woodbridge. Her legal experience includes litigation with an emphasis in employment law and labor law.

Ms. Shannon is a graduate of St. John's University School of Law where she received her Juris Doctorate with honors. Additionally, she is a member of the State Bar of New Jersey and New York, as well as the Federal District Courts in the 2nd and 3rd Circuits.

William J. Palatucci
Senior Vice President and General Counsel
for Public Affairs


Mr. Palatucci is Senior Vice President and General Counsel for Public Affairs at Community Education Centers. He had previously represented CEC for more than fifteen years as outside counsel and lobbyist. Prior to joining CEC, Mr. Palatucci was a partner in the law firm of Dughi, Hewit & Palatucci, P.C., founding and heading the firm's government affairs department, which provided legislative and regulatory affairs counsel. The New Jersey Law Journal consistently ranked DH&P's government affairs practice as one of the largest in the state. Mr. Palatucci is a graduate of Seton Hall University School of Law and received his BA in business administration from Rutgers College. He also completed the Eagleton Institute of Politics undergraduate program.

Mr. Palatucci served as Co-Chairman of the Inaugural Committee for Governor Chris Christie and Lt. Governor Kim Guadagno. He is currently a member of the National Advisory Board for the Heldrich Center for Workforce Development at Rutgers University, a member of the Board of Trustees for the University of Phoenix/Jersey City Campus, and a member of the Board of Visitors at the Seton Hall University School of Law.  
 
Mike Pelletier
Senior Vice President for Administration
and Operational Support

Mr. Pelletier is the Senior Vice President for Administration and Operational Support. He has more then sixteen-years service within the corrections field. His experience includes several major aspects of the corrections and law enforcement industry, including, but not limited to, state-wide policy development; compliance monitoring; facility planning, supervision and design; agency, departmental, and facility budgeting, forecasting, and auditing; and labor relations.

Prior to joining the Community Education Center's team, Mr. Pelletier served as the Corporate Director of Operations for CiviGenics, a corrections company acquired by CEC in early 2007, the Deputy Superintendent for the Norfolk County Sheriff's Office, and the Chief Financial Officer for the Massachusetts Department of Correction.

Earlier in his career, while serving as the Chief Financial Officer for the Massachusetts Department of Correction, Mr. Pelletier gained additional public safety experience as he was assigned financial and administrative oversight duties for several state agencies, including the Massachusetts National Guard, the Sex Offender Registry, the Massachusetts Parole, and the statewide E-911 service.

Robert Mann
Assistant to the Chairman Site Development/Construction

Mr. Mann is Assistant to the Chairman for Site Development/Construction at Community Education Centers. Since 1996, Mr. Mann has spearheaded all of CEC's construction, additions and rehabilitation projects, while coordinating the efforts of construction managers, civil engineers, architects and general contractors. Most recently, he oversaw seven construction and renovation projects in three states with a total added capacity of over 2,200 residential reentry beds. In 2004, he oversaw the new construction of two residential reentry facilities in Colorado and Wyoming as well as over 4,000 expansion beds nationwide. Prior to his work with CEC, Mr. Mann was co-owner and operator of R&R Construction, Inc.

Maria Carnevale
Assistant to the Chairman

Ms. Carnevale is Assistant to the Chairman at Community Education Centers. She joined Mr. Clancy in 1991 as his assistant providing accounting and financial expertise. Her experience includes over 5 years of diversified public accounting experience. Ms. Carnevale was instrumental in helping the company manage its growth from a one-facility location to its current position. She is an integral part of the corporate finance team. Ms. Carnevale received her BS in accounting from St. Peter's College in 1985 and her CPA in 1989.

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