Washington D.C., Apr 18, 2005 / 22:00 pm

The United States bishops’ Office for Child and Youth Protection has a new director. Teresa M. Kettelkamp, who served with the Illinois State Police for 29 years, is the new executive director, effective April 13.

Kettelkamp succeeds Kathleen L. McChesney, who directed the office from its founding in December 2002 until February 2005.

“Teresa Kettelkamp brings an extraordinary wealth of experience and complete commitment to the protection of children and young people," USSCB general secretary Msgr. William P. Fay said.

Kettelkamp pledged to work “tirelessly to continue to give victims a voice, to encourage them to come forward for healing, and to strengthen the protection mechanisms for children which were implemented by the Charter."

Kettelkamp was the first woman to attain the rank of colonel in the Illinois State Police. She retired in July 2003 to assist the Gavin Group, Inc., conduct audits of all Catholic dioceses and eparchies for compliance with the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People. She also assisted the Gavin Group in the development of the first audit instrument and a draft audit manual.

In her nearly three decades of law enforcement, Kettelkamp was responsible for the Illinois State Police's Division of Forensic Services, managing the second-largest forensic system in the nation and the third-largest in the world.

She headed the Division of Internal Investigation, which investigates allegations of misconduct within the agency and the executive branch of government, and she supervised 28 specially trained agents who conducted statewide investigations involving missing and sexually exploited children.

Kettelkamp has received several awards, including the Illinois State Police Achievement Medal on four separate occasions, the YWCA Women of Excellence Award in 2001, and the "Breaking the Glass Ceiling" Award of the National Center for Women in Policing.

The mother of two resides in Springfield, Illinois, where she is a lector and eucharistic minister at Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception Parish.