Albany Police Chief Krokoff, County Sheriff Apple and Planned Parenthood Executive Carreker Honored by NYCLU

Law Enforcement Cited for Progress in Dealing with Transgender Issues ALBANY — The Capital Region Chapter honored Albany Police Chief Steven Krokoff, Albany County Sheriff Craig Apple and Blue Carreker, vice president for public affairs and media relations at the Upper Hudson Planned Parenthood at our annual awards ceremony. The event was held at the University Club in Albany on November 7, 2013. Chapter Director Melanie Trimble said Krokoff and Apple were recognized with the Ned Pattison Award “because both departments have developed new policies and procedures when interacting with transgender individuals in criminal justice matters.” At the ceremony, both Krokoff and Apple said that, in the past, they used to dread receiving calls from Trimble but added that they now feel they have developed a constructive relationship with our chapter. Carreker was presented with the Carol S. Knox Award for her leadership in spearheading the local campaign for the Women’s Equality Act during the past legislative session. “Blue was responsible for keeping 80 local sponsors, hundreds of active local supporters and several thousand email activists regularly updated about campaign progress, while at the same time organizing petition drives, phone banks and public events in support of the Women’s Equality Act,” Trimble said.  
About the recipients: Steven Krokoff has been a member of the Albany Police Department for two decades and was appointed chief in 2010 after a nationwide search. Before assuming his current job, he served in many police department positions, including commander of the Office of Professional Standards, head of detectives and Deputy Chief of Police. He received both his BA and MBA in finance from SUNY Albany. He is an adjunct professor at SUNY Delhi where he teaches courses in the treatment of offenders and in drug use and abuse. He is on the advisory boards of Habitat for Humanity and The LaSalle School. He lives in Albany with his wife Lynne and two children. Craig Apple joined the Albany County Sheriff’s office in 1995 and was elected sheriff in 2011. Before his election, he served as supervisor of the sheriff’s department’s criminal investigations unit, and also as patrol commander and chief deputy field commander with oversight of the county jail. He became undersheriff in 2009. He holds certifications from the New York State Law Enforcement Executive Institute, the John F. Kennedy School of Government, the FBI National Academy and the New York State Corrections Academy. He serves on the executive boards of the Greater Capital Region United Way and the Albany Boys and Girls Club. He lives in Colonie with his three sons. Blue Carreker is vice president for public affairs and media relations at the Upper Hudson Planned Parenthood where, among other things, she lobbies in Albany and Washington, D.C., manages volunteers, coordinates the UHPP student-intern program and provides support to pro-choice groups at local colleges. Carreker graduated from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. She lives in Scotia with her life partner, Jay O’Brien, and has two sons, Sean and Rory O’Brien. She is also a longtime folk and blues musician, and writes music, sings, plays guitar and performs with the band Slate Hill  
About our awards The Carol S. Knox Award The Capital Region Chapter has established this award to honor the memory of our friend Carol S. Knox. A long time social activist and staunch civil libertarian, Knox had a deep commitment to constitutional liberties. She grew up in a family of civil libertarians in North Carolina. Knox and her husband, Lee Wasserman, met as volunteer attorneys at the NYCLU. For decades, Carol, along with Wasserman, was a friend and generous supporter of our Chapter. She spent several years in the attorney general’s office under Robert Abrams, working in the legislative bureau, the environmental protection bureau, and the litigation bureau. Earlier, she was an associate at Whiteman, Osterman & Hanna. Knox was a remarkable woman, loved and respected by all who knew her for her sunny warmth, unfailing good humor and kindness, her wisdom, intelligence, strength, uncommon persistence and integrity. The Carol S. Knox Award will be given each year to recipients whose work reflects Carol’s spirit and commitment to civil liberties.  
The Ned Pattison Award The Ned Pattison Award celebrates the life and values of Edward W. “Ned” Pattison, whose work as a public servant and private citizen showed his concern for the poor and the powerless. Pattison is remembered as a man who stuck to his principles – even when doing so jeopardized his personal ambitions. His life sets an example for those in public service whom we seek to salute with the Ned Pattison Award. As the Representative of the 29th Congressional District from 1974 to 1978, Pattison was a consistent voice in opposition to the Vietnam War, and in support of civil rights, civil liberties and the environment. After leaving Washington, D.C., he returned to the Pattison law firm in Troy and taught at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government. Throughout his career, he provided pro bono legal services to the poor and was actively involved in numerous community organizations including Unity House of Troy and the Rensselaer County Association for Retarded Children.