Oregon Gov. Kotek taps Criminal Justice Commission head for permanent leadership role

One of Oregon state government’s most experienced law enforcement professionals will permanently lead the state’s top research and funding agency for criminal justice issues, Gov. Tina Kotek said. 

The governor’s office recently announced Ryan Keck, the former interim executive director of the Oregon Criminal Justice Commission, will fill the role in a permanent capacity as of the beginning of October. The office pointed to his “people-centered leadership, strong team building skills and commitment to understanding diverse perspectives to strengthen the legitimacy, efficiency and effectiveness of Oregon’s criminal justice systems.”

Keck has risen through the ranks over the past three decades in Oregon’s public safety policy spheres, from serving as a corrections deputy to launching the Center for Policing Excellence at the Department of Public Safety Standards and Training. He joined the commission in 2021 as a programs director and deputy director focused on implementing grant programs.

“Ryan has done excellent work leading the agency as the interim executive director, and I believe he will continue to deliver an effective, collaborative and evidence-based approach to strengthening community safety throughout Oregon in the permanent role,” Kotek said in a statement. 

The appointment is the latest in a series of high-profile changes to Oregon’s criminal justice leadership. Keck became the commission’s interim director in April 2025 following Kotek’s appointment of former executive director Ken Sanchagrin to the Oregon Public Defense Commission. She tapped Sanchagrin after firing the defense commission’s former executive director, Jessica Kampfe, for failing to adequately stem the state’s shortage of public defenders. 

The governor’s office praised Keck’s work implementing an overhaul of the agency’s grant portfolio under a 2025 state law that restructured the agency’s grants into different programs for law enforcement and public safety.  

Under his leadership, the agency has been studying issues such as pre-trial release, highlighted resources for immigrant victims of crime and tightened its purse strings for controversial license plate reading software.