Press Release

Attorney General Colberg Appoints Mary Anne Henry as Deputy Attorney General for Department of Law Criminal Division; Keri Brady Appointed Anchorage District Attorney

January 18, 2007

(ANCHORAGE, AK) - Today Attorney General Talis Colberg officially announced that he appointed Mary Anne Henry as Deputy Attorney General overseeing the Department of Law's Criminal Division.

"I am pleased that Ms. Henry agreed to serve the Department of Law in this new capacity," said Colberg. "Prosecuting criminal offenders is one of the principal responsibilities for the department. Overseeing the state's 13 district attorneys' offices and the Office of Special Prosecutions and Appeals requires experience and a proven ability to prosecute crime. Mary Anne possesses both these essential qualities."

Henry was born and raised in Minneapolis. She graduated from Creighton University cum laude with a Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics in 1973. She graduated from Harvard Law School in 1976. She has over twenty-eight years of experience as both a criminal trial lawyer and as a supervisor. She previously worked for the Department of Law for five years in the Ketchikan office, one year in the Juneau office and the remainder of that time in the Anchorage office. Most recently she served as the Director of the Office of Victim's Rights in Anchorage. Henry started in her new position on January 3, 2007.

Also today Henry officially announced that she has named Keri Brady as Anchorage District Attorney effective Monday, February 19, 2007.

"I am very excited that Keri is coming onboard as Anchorage's newest District Attorney," said Henry. "She possesses a strong understanding of how this office works and brings to the table a strong sensitivity to crime victims' issues that makes her especially well-suited to serve the people of Anchorage."

Dedicating resources to addressing violent crimes will be a special focus for Anchorage's new district attorney. "Speaking with people in the community has led me to conclude that we need to concentrate our efforts on aggressively prosecuting violent offenders, especially those who use guns during the commission of their crimes, and those individuals who commit sexual assaults," said Brady. "I intend to devote much of the Anchorage office's time and resources to these concerns."

Brady was born and raised in southern California. In 1994, she obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Mississippi, graduating magna cum laude. She graduated cum laude from the University of Mississippi's School of Law in June 1996. Later that year she started working for the Department of Law as the department's first child support enforcement prosecutor. In January of 1998, Brady transferred to the Anchorage District Attorney's Office working in the misdemeanor unit. For the following ten years Brady assisted in numerous prosecutions ranging from misdemeanors to homicides. During that time she was also a supervisor of one of the units in the office. In December 2006 Brady left the district attorneys' office to work as a victim's rights attorney for the Office of Victim's Rights.

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Department Media Contacts: Communications Director Patty Sullivan at patty.sullivan@alaska.gov or (907) 269-6368. Information Officer Sam Curtis at sam.curtis@alaska.gov or (907) 269-6269.