The Board of Directors for PELCAA consists of nine elected members and the immediate past president. The Board acts on behalf of the PELCAA membership when time or circumstances make it impossible for the membership to be called together in a business session.
Chief Deputy Paul “Jon” Scowden has been a police officer since 1991 and joined the Westerville Division of Police in 1993. He served as a Patrol Officer, Patrol Sergeant, Investigations Sergeant, an Investigations Lieutenant and also served as an Assistant Chief and oversaw the Operations section which included the Patrol Bureau and Investigations Bureau. He retired from Westerville in February of 2018 and was then hired to be one of the Chief Deputies of the Delaware County Sheriff’s Office. He currently oversees the Operations section of the office.
Chief Deputy Scowden is a graduate of PELC class 47 and a 2013 graduate of CLEE Class 17.
Delaware County Sheriff’s Office
844 U.S. 42 North
Delaware, Ohio 43015
740-833-2862
Chief Robert Gillespie grew up in Cincinnati and graduated from the University of Cincinnati in 1998 with a B.S. degree in Criminal Justice. He started with the Bay Village Police Department in 2003 as a patrol officer. In 2007, he was chosen to be the D.A.R.E. officer for the department. (D.A.R.E. class 57, 2007) and later trained as a school resource officer. In 2010, he was promoted to Sergeant and left the D.A.R.E. position.
Since becoming a supervisor, he has attended the following continuing supervisor training classes: Crisis Intervention Training (CIT), Public Information Officer (PIO), Supervisor Training and Education Program (S.T.E.P. Class 7, 2011), Police Executive Leadership College (P.E.L.C. Class 59, 2012), Certified Law Enforcement Executive (C.L.E.E. Class 17, 2013), and the Federal Bureau of Investigation National Academy (FBINA, Class 274, 2018).
Robert also received his Masters of Science (with Distinction) in Criminal Justice Administration from Tiffin University in 2016.
Deputy Sheriff Jeff Powers has been a member of the Geauga County Sheriff’s Office since 2009. Previously, he served with the Chardon Police Department for 17 years and held supervisory positions there before joining the Sheriff’s Office.
Jeff graduated from PELC Class 51 and obtained a degree in Criminal Justice from Lakeland Community College (‘89). He joined the Police Executive Leadership College Alumni Association Board in 2013.
Chief Amber Dacek began her law enforcement career with Chagrin Falls in 2002. She has served as a School Resource Officer, Patrol Sergeant, Executive Lieutenant, and was promoted to her current position as Chief of Police in August 2016.
Amber earned her Bachelor of Science Degree in Criminal Justice from Youngstown State University in 2001. She is a graduate of PELC 54 in 2009 and also CLEE in February 2012.
Major Matthew Burns began his full time service with the Germantown Police Department in 1986. Matt was promoted to Sergeant in 1993, and to Lieutenant in 1998 before being appointed to Major/Deputy Chief on 2007. Major Burns is a graduate of PELC Class 32 and was appointed to the alumni board in 2013.
Captain Christopher Adkins began his law enforcement career in 2000, and has been with the Brimfield Police Department since 2001
He has held the positions of detective, K-9 handler, patrol sergeant, and currently holds the rank of captain.
He has an Associates of Applied Arts from the University of Akron, a Bachelor of Science from Liberty University, and a Master of Science from Youngstown State University, all in the major of Criminal Justice. He is a graduate of STEP class V11, and PELC class 61.
Lt. Stephens began his career in law enforcement with the Westerville Division of Police in May 2000. He served as a patrol officer, school resource officer, and field training officer before being promoted to the rank of corporal in 2005, sergeant in 2009, and lieutenant in 2020. He is currently assigned to and oversees the Division’s Community Services Section.
Lt. Stephens holds a Bachelor of Science degree from The Ohio State University. He is a graduate of STEP IV (2007) as well as a current member of the STEP Advisory Committee. He is also a graduate of PELC 57 (2010) and CLEE XVIII (2014).
Lt. Stephens joined the PELC Alumni Association Board in February 2019.
Deputy Chief Kelly Weiner joined the Columbus Division of Police in 1997 where she worked as a patrol officer for seven years until her promotion to the rank of sergeant. She worked in patrol and administration as a sergeant and lieutenant until she was promoted to commander in 2010. As a commander she held assignments in five bureaus: Patrol, Crimes Against Persons, Professional Standards, Internal Affairs and Special Victims. In March of 2022 she was promoted to deputy chief where she led the Public Accountability Subdivision for one year and currently oversees the Support Services Subdivision.
Deputy Chief Weiner is a 2011 PELC graduate, a 2013 graduate of the FBI National Academy and successfully completed the Major Cities Chiefs Association Police Executive Institute in March of 2023. She earned a BA from the Ohio State University and an MBA from Mount Vernon Nazarene University. Deputy Chief Weiner has served on the PELC Executive Institute Committee since 2012 and was appointed to the PELCAA board in February 2020
Deputy Chief Will Tolly began his law enforcement career in 1992, the bulk of which has been with the Lancaster Police Department. He also served the Lancaster area community previously as an officer for the Fairfield Medical Center Police Department and as a deputy with the Fairfield County Sheriff’s Office.
Deputy Chief Tolly has worked on all three Patrol Bureau shifts and formerly served as a patrol and field training officer, sergeant, lieutenant, captain, Detective Bureau commander, Community Services Unit supervisor, and Special Response Team (SRT) commander. He was promoted to deputy chief in 2022. He oversees all administrative and daily operations.
Deputy Chief Tolly has an associate degree in law enforcement from the Columbus State Community College, and both a bachelor’s and master’s degree in justice administration from Tiffin University. Tolly is also a graduate of the Police Executive Leadership College (PELC – Class 63) and is a Certified Law Enforcement Executive (CLEE – Class XIX).
Deputy Chief Tolly was appointed to the PELCAA board in February 2021.
Asst. Chief Scott Weamer began his law enforcement career with the Canfield Police Department in March 2003. He has served as a patrol officer, investigator with the Mahoning Valley Law Enforcement Drug Task Force, and school resource officer. He was promoted to Patrol Sergeant in September of 2009, and promoted to Asst. Chief of Police in September 2010.
Currently, Asst. Chief Weamer oversees the Special Operations Division, which includes the dispatch center, school resource officers, auxiliary officers and the administrative clerks. He serves as a Field Training Officer and an instructor in the disciplines of firearms, defensive tactics, and Taser. He is the commander of the Mahoning County OVI Task Force, and serves as a member of the Mahoning County Critical Incident Stress Management Team.
Asst. Chief Weamer graduated from Ohio Northern University in 1993 with a Bachelors of Science in Pharmacy. He is currently working on his Masters of Science in Criminal Justice at Youngstown State University. He continued his professional education through the OACP Law Enforcement Foundation by completing the STEP (2009), Police Executive Leadership College (2012), and CLEE (2016) programs.
Asst. Chief Weamer joined the PELC Alumni Association Board in February 2023.
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