Press Release  AG Campbell Announces Appointment of New and Continued Leadership Across all Bureaus in the AG's Office

BOSTON — Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell has announced the appointment of new and continued leadership across the current bureaus within her office. The AG’s Office currently has five bureaus which work on separate, distinct cases and legal matters related to their bureau’s respective field of focus: Criminal Bureau, Energy and Environment Bureau, Government Bureau, Health Care and Fair Competition Bureau, and Public Protection and Advocacy Bureau.

“This office is the best public law firm in the country and having the right leadership in place, and ensuring it is diverse and representative of all professional and personal backgrounds, is essential as we strive to best serve the residents of Massachusetts,” said AG Campbell. “Across the office, we have dedicated public servants who will steer us in the right direction and make sure the priorities of the people are being met. I am looking forward to the exciting work that will undoubtedly come out from across our bureaus.”

CRIMINAL BUREAU

            Jennifer Cotter will now serve as Chief to the AG’s Criminal Bureau, which works to protect the public by investigating and prosecuting a wide range of criminal cases, including public corruption, financial fraud, organized crime, major narcotics offenses, human trafficking, gaming, insurance fraud, amongst other issues. Jennifer has been with the AG’s Office since 2008 and has held leadership positions with the Criminal Bureau since 2016, most recently Deputy Chief of the Bureau and, before that, Chief of the Office’s White Collar and Public Integrity Division, in which she oversaw and led cases involving criminal misconduct against public agencies, by public officials, and violations involving other trusted institutions.

            New to the AG’s Office, Stacey Pichardo will serve as Deputy Chief of the AG’s Criminal Bureau. Prior to coming to this role, Stacey served as a Magistrate in Suffolk Superior Court where she presided over pending criminal cases and probation violation matters. In this role Stacey was dedicated to the administration of justice in a fair, impartial, and timely manner while creating an environment that was accessible and respectful to all. She began her legal career at the Suffolk District Attorney’s Office. There, Stacey led and tried dozens of criminal cases in the district and superior courts involving complex investigations into unlawful firearms, narcotics and violent offenses. Stacey is an adjunct professor of Criminal Justice and serves as a student mentor at Bunker Hill Community College. 

ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENT BUREAU

            Richard Johnston will now serve as Chief of the AG’s Energy and Environment Bureau, which works to promote clean energy, represent the interests of utility ratepayers, protect the environment, and reduce the threat of climate change within communities across Massachusetts and nationwide. From 2015 until this appointment, Rich held the title of Chief Legal Counsel at the AG’s Office, where he was involved in many energy and environmental issues. Prior to joining the AG’s Office, Rich was a litigation partner in the Boston office of WilmerHale. In law school, Rich served as an intern in the AG’s Environmental Protection Division, one of the divisions he now oversees as Bureau Chief. 

           Turner Smith will now serve as Deputy Chief of the AG’s Energy and Environment Bureau. Most recently, Turner served as Deputy Division Chief of the Environmental Protection Division, where she litigated state and federal enforcement cases, defended state agency actions, and supervised the division’s multistate advocacy on federal regulatory and policy matters. She began her career in the AG’s Office in 2013 as a Fellow through the Office’s Fellowship Program. Turner also clerked for Justice Margot Botsford on the Supreme Judicial Court and Judge Cornelia T.L. Pillard on the D.C. Circuit. 

GOVERNMENT BUREAU

            Robert Toone will continue to serve as Chief of the AG’s Government Bureau, which represents Massachusetts and the state’s agencies, officials, and employees in a broad range of civil litigation and conducts government oversight. Robin has served in this position at the AG’s Office since 2015. Previously, Robin was a Partner with Foley Hoag LLP, served as Counsel to Senator Edward M. Kennedy on the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, and worked as a civil rights attorney at the Southern Center for Human Rights.

            Anne Sterman will continue to serve as Deputy Chief of the AG’s Government Bureau. Anne joined the AG’s Office in 2006 and previously served in the AG’s Trial Division as an AAG, Managing Attorney, and then Division Chief. Anne previously worked as an Assistant City Solicitor for the City of Cambridge, as the Director of Advocacy & Community Services for the Tri-City Community Action Program, Inc. in Malden, and as an associate at Foley Hoag LLP.

HEALTH CARE AND FAIR COMPETITION BUREAU

            Courtney Margarita Aladro will now serve as Chief of the AG’s Health Care and Fair Competition Bureau, which protects access to important health care, nonprofit, government and other services through enforcement of health care, Medicaid fraud, charities, false claims and state antitrust laws. Most recently, Courtney served as Division Chief of the Office’s Non-Profit Organizations/Public Charities Division, which safeguards the public’s interest in charitable assets and ensures the proper solicitation and use of charitable funds. Courtney also previously served as Assistant Attorney General and Senior Health Care Policy Advisor in the Office’s Health Care Division where she enforced consumer protection laws, led the Office’s examination of health care cost trends and cost drivers and worked on health care policy initiatives. Courtney was previously a litigator at Choate, Hall & Stewart LLP.

         Mary Freeley will continue to serve as Deputy Bureau Chief of the AG’s Healthcare and Fair Competition Bureau. Mary has served in various roles in the office where her work has included significant consumer protection and antitrust cases, including investigations and litigation in health care, pharmaceutical, education, and financial markets. In addition, Mary has coordinated the office’s elder advocacy and protection work, focusing on the protection of residents of long-term care facilities. Mary helped shape the creation of the Health Care and Fair Competition Bureau in 2015 and has been a part of its ground-breaking leadership team ever since. 

PUBLIC PROTECTION AND ADVOCACY BUREAU

          Cynthia Mark will continue to serve as Chief of the AG’s Public Protection and Advocacy Bureau, which protects Massachusetts residents from discrimination, fraud, unfair labor or business practices, amongst other scams and crimes. Cyndi has held the title of Bureau Chief since 2020, which she was appointed to after holding the title of Division Chief in the AG’s Fair Labor Division for five years. As the Office’s Fair Labor Division Chief, she led multistate efforts to end the use of no-poach/no-hire agreements by national fast-food chains and she helped to launch the Fair Labor Division’s Wage Theft Clinics. 

          Cyndi began her legal career as a Skadden Fellow at Greater Boston Legal Services (GBLS), advocating for the rights of low wage, immigrant workers. For ten years, she was the managing attorney of GBLS’s Asian Outreach Unit serving Asian immigrant clients with multiple barriers to accessing the legal system. Cyndi has represented thousands of low-wage immigrant workers, and she advocated for the voting rights of limited-English proficient citizens. She was instrumental in winning fully bilingual ballots for Boston voters whose primary language is Chinese or Vietnamese.

          Mychii Snape will now serve as Deputy Chief of the AG’s Public Protection and Advocacy Bureau. Mychii joined the AG’s Office in 2011 and has held various titles within the Office’s Consumer Protection Division, including Deputy Division Chief, where she litigated and investigated unfair or deceptive business practices that threatened the economic security of Massachusetts consumers. Prior to joining the AG’s Office, Mychii was a Litigation Associate at a law firm in New York, where her practice focused on white collar defense, government investigations and business litigation. Mychii also serves as a Commissioner on the Supreme Judicial Court’s Access to Justice Commission and is an active member of the Boston Bar Association’s Veterans and Servicemembers Law Forum, where she co-leads the group’s pro bono subcommittee.

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