Department of Sociology & Crime, Law and Justice

CLJ Alumni Bios

Helene Placey – (Chair) Class of 1986 – Administration of Justice

Helene has worked for the Pennsylvania Commission on Sentencing since January 1996. Her current duties as a Sentencing Policy Specialist require her to provide technical assistance in the application of the PA Sentencing Guidelines by serving as a contact for inquiries by county/court personnel pertaining to the application of the sentencing guidelines. She also provides statewide professional education in the areas of criminal sentencing, the application of sentencing guidelines and special topics for court professionals. In addition, Helene provides technical assistance with interpretation of statutes as well as relevant case law to complex sentencing issues and questions.

Prior to her work as a Sentencing Policy Specialist, Helene worked in a joint position with the Pennsylvania Commission on Sentencing (PCS) and the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency (PCCD). Her duties as a Community Corrections Specialist included providing oversight to 26 county projects involving over $15 million to support drug and alcohol treatment for Level 3 and Level 4 offenders. This included statewide technical assistance in developing policy, determining program eligibility for funding, implementing, and maintaining drug and alcohol treatment-based restrictive intermediate punishment programs (D&A RIP).

Helene graduated from The Pennsylvania State University, University Park in 1986 with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Administration of Justice. Her previous work experience includes eight years with Dauphin County as a Paralegal in the District Attorney’s Office and Intermediate Punishment Coordinator in the Adult Probation and Parole Department.

Her professional memberships include: The American Probation and Parole Association (APPA); Pennsylvania Association on Probation, Parole, and Correction (PAPPC); National Association of Drug Court Professionals (NADCP); Pennsylvania Association of Drug Court Professionals (PADCP); Pennsylvania Pretrial Services Association; Community Corrections Association of Pennsylvania.

Robert S.Donaldson –(Vice-Chair) Class of 1977 – Law Enforcement and Corrections

Robert S. Donaldson is President and Chief Executive Officer in addition to being an equity stakeholder of Lee Food Service, Inc., a regional foodservice distributor, headquartered in Duncansville, Pennsylvania.

Donaldson has led a distinctive dual career path in the foodservice distribution industry and in the legal profession. At the helm of Lee Food Service since December 2005, Donaldson, a foodservice industry veteran, led the company successfully through a turnaround from Chapter 11 bankruptcy in just 13 months. As a result, Donaldson was named the “Entrepreneurial Hero for 2006” by Pennsylvania Business Central.

Prior to joining Lee Food Service, Donaldson served as Deputy Attorney General for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in its Organized Crime & Narcotics Section, where he prosecuted cases in thirty Commonwealth counties. In addition, Donaldson has provided pro bono public defender services and has taught numerous courses on crime, law and justice at Penn State University.

Before embarking on his legal career, Donaldson spent 25 years in dynamic leadership roles in the foodservice distribution industry. Until 1999, he served as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of ProSource Distribution Services, a $4 billion nation-wide distributor to chain restaurants, headquartered in Miami, Florida. From 1986 to 1992, Donaldson served as President of Institution Food House, based in Hickory, North Carolina, then the nation’s 18th largest foodservice distributor.

Donaldson serves, and has served, on boards of directors for regional and national companies as well as paying “civic rent” serving on a number of non-profit organizational boards, including United Way, Rotary, YMCA and local universities.

A native of Altoona, Donaldson holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the Pennsylvania State University and a Juris Doctor from the University of Miami (FL) School of Law. He is a member of the American, Pennsylvania and Blair County Bar Associations and is admitted to practice law in both Pennsylvania and federal courts.

Peter C. Liese – Class of 1976 – Law Enforcement and Corrections

Peter C. Liese graduated from the Law Enforcement and Corrections Program in March 1976. A summer position was obtained with the Surf City Boro Police on Long Beach Island, NJ. A full time position with the Lower Southampton Twp Police began in January, 1977. During a thirty year career there I handled a variety of positions and tasks including Training Officer, Field Training Officer, Youth Aid Panel Liaison, DARE Instructor, Community Policing Coordinator, Town Watch Liaison, Firearms Instructor, Armorer, and School District Liaison. I retired from Lower Southampton in March 2007 and am currently moving to the State College area.

Louie Lombardi - Class of 1986- Administration of Justice

Mr. Lombardi is a graduate from Penn State University graduating with a B.S. in Administration of Justice in 1986. After a few years in the private sector, he joined the New York City Police Department where he recently retire after spending twenty years in the force attaining the rank of police captain. While working for the NYPD, Mr. Lombardi went to Brooklyn Law school at night graduating cum laude in 1998. Ever since then, Mr. Lombardi has been practicing law, working in civil litigation including appellate work. Mr. Lombardi currently lives in the State College area with his wife, Emily and three daughters: Sarah, Gabriella & Mia.

Charles H. Lutz - Class of 1967 - Political Science

Currently the Director, Operations Support Division, Transportation Security Administration, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Lutz joined TSA shortly after September 11 as the first Federal Security Director at Orlando International Airport. His responsibilities included regulating compliance by the airport and air carriers with federal security guidelines, coordinating with local authorities to ensure an appropriate law enforcement response to security incidents at the airport, and managing passenger and baggage screening with a screener workforce of over 1,000 employees. Lutz transferred to TSA HQS in August 2004, and is now involved primarily with assessing vulnerabilities of nationally-critical transportation infrastructure, analyzing security-related incidents for terrorist activity, and sharing intelligence information with the surface transportation industry.

Prior to that, Lutz spent 32 years as a Special Agent with the Drug Enforcement Administration, U.S. Department of Justice, specializing in international drug trafficking and intelligence. He retired from DEA as a Deputy Assistant Administrator. During his career, Lutz served two tours of duty in Southeast Asia and one in the Middle East, and managed drug law enforcement and interdiction programs in South and Central America and the Caribbean. He also served four tours of duty at DEA HQS in Washington, DC and in domestic field offices at Miami, Reno, and Philadelphia where he began in 1970.

Lutz is a Vietnam veteran, having been commissioned a U.S. Army Intelligence Officer through the ROTC program at Penn State. He is currently an elected member of the Alumni Association's Alumni Council, and serves on their Executive Board. His hobbies are golf and classic car shows. His favorite Penn State memories are personal freedom, post-football game parties, and eating Hi-Way Pizza outside on their curb.

Trooper David McGarvey – Class of 1989 – Administration of Justice

David enlisted in the PA State Police in November of 1989. He served in patrol units in Chester, Fulton, Centre, Huntingdon & Blair Counties. In 1999, David left the patrol unit and joined the community services unit and am still a community services officer. His duties include safety education, crime prevention, public relations. recruiting and public information. David has been married for 14 years, and has 4 children. His oldest is 13 and the youngest is 7.

Mary O’Neill Marsh – Class of 1969 – Law Enforcement and Corrections

Mary O'Neill Marsh graduated from Penn State in 1969, majoring in Law Enforcement and Corrections, now Crime, Law and Justice. From 1969 until 1974, she worked as a probation officer for the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia starting in the Women's Division and was eventually promoted to the position of supervisor. From 1974 until her retirement 2003, she was employed by the U S District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia) as a probation officer. At the time of her retirement she held the title of Senior Deputy Chief at the time of my retirement.