National Officers

Karin J. Storm Ed.D, President

I was appointed as a Federal Pretrial Services Officer in October 2000. I am currently working as an Investigation and Supervision Officer. Prior to my appointment with U.S. Pretrial, I was a United States Probation Officer Assistant. I am a member of our Critical Incident and Stress Management (CISM) team. I have a Bachelor and Master’s Degree in Criminal Justice and a Doctorate Degree in Educational Leadership. I also teach Criminal Justice classes several Universities. I have been a member of the FPPOA since I began my career as a Federal Pretrial Officer.

Chris DeRicco, Vice President

I was appointed a United States Probation Officer in July, 1996. I have worked as both a Supervision Officer and a Pre-Sentence Investigator. I am presently in the pre-sentence unit. Prior to this employment, I was employed as a probation officer with the State of Nevada for nearly 6 years. I am a Firearm’s Instructor, Search Team Coordinator, Chairman of our district’s Data Quality Team, past Chairman of our Sex Offender Committee, Safety Instructor, Intern Liaison, Evidence Custodian, and Automation Committee Team Member.

Michelle Wolfe, Secretary

In April 2001, I was sworn in as a United States Probation Officer in the District of Nevada, Reno, and have been a member of FPPOA since. I am currently in the Supervision Unit, and supervise a diverse caseload, including sex offenders, location monitoring cases, and Indian Country. I spent the first seven years of my Federal career in the Presentence Investigations Unit.

Leigh Swicord, DPA, Treasurer

When initially appointed a United States Probation Officer in 2001 in the Middle District of Georgia, I worked in the post-conviction unit as a supervision officer; however, I have worked in the pretrial unit for the past few years and assist the pre-sentence unit as needed. I presently serve as co-chair of the district's Sex Offender Committee and as the ATLAS Terminal Agency Coordinator (TAC) for the district - in addition to working on various assignments/committees as requested by the Chief U.S. Probation Officer. I have also worked on the ATLAS National Work Group since 2011.

John Bendzunas, Legislative Liaison

In the course of completing graduate studies at the State University of New York at Albany, I was introduced to the United States Probation system as a student intern in the Northern District of New York. In July 2000, I was appointed as a United States Probation Officer in the District of Vermont where I have been the Sentencing Guidelines Specialist since 2008. I have an interest in sentencing policy and practice and serve as the POAG representative for the District of Vermont.

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