Attorney General Kathy Jennings announced Monday that Elmer Setting will serve as the DOJ’s next Chief of Staff. Setting served as Deputy State Court Administrator and Acting State Court Administrator, where he managed security and operations for all six Delaware Courts. He is a former Chief of New Castle County Police (2012-2017), whose leadership and innovation in the department helped drive a double-digit reduction in crime across the County. Setting made his department the first law enforcement agency in Delaware to adopt several gold-standard innovations including body-worn cameras, intelligence-driven policing, and the Hero Help law enforcement assisted diversion (LEAD) program. Setting is also a decorated veteran of the U.S. Navy (1984-1988), where he received the Presidential Unit Citation and the Navy Expeditionary Medal for his service in Libya.  He succeeds former Chief of Staff A.J. Roop, who left the position in July to pursue a new opportunity in the private sector.

“I worked closely with Elmer for several years, and he is by far one of the most innovative and conscientious people I’ve met in any field of work — law enforcement or otherwise,” said AG Jennings. “I’ve been blessed with a phenomenal team since I assumed office, and I’ve been doubly fortunate that the caliber of talent in this office has remained — without exception — sterling through multiple leadership changes. The Delaware Department of Justice is not only Delaware’s biggest and best law firm — its jurisdiction is one of the nation’s strongest and most extensive. In order to function effectively, we need impeccable staff from top to bottom — and we’ve been blessed to consistently attract and promote some of our state’s most talent employees and brightest legal minds.”

AG Jennings announced several other moves in the DOJ’s leadership team:

Following former Family Division Director Abby Rodgers’ transition into her new role as Chief Prosecutor for New Castle County, AG Jennings has named Kelly Singleton to lead the DOJ’s Family Division, which has jurisdiction over violations committed by juveniles, as well as protecting children in vulnerable situations and enforcing child support orders. Singleton, a nine-year veteran of the DOJ, began her tenure as a Summer Law Clerk and later served in multiple roles across the Criminal and Family Divisions, including the New Castle County Felony Trial Unit; the Misdemeanor Trial Unit, where she served as Assistant Unit Head; and the Juvenile Delinquency & Truancy Unit, where she served as Unit Head. She is a graduate of Sanford School, a summa cum laude graduate of West Chester University (BA), and a magna cum laude graduate of Delaware Law School at Widener University (JD). Singleton succeeds Acting Family Division Director Sara Reedy, who has helped manage some of the DOJ’s most sensitive cases over the last six months.

After nearly seven years as Chief Prosecutor for Sussex County, David Hume has moved into a senior role as Sussex County’s lead Appeals prosecutor and an advisor to Homicide deputies statewide. AG Jennings has announced that Kathleen “Kitty” Dickerson will succeed Hume. Dickerson is currently an associate at Morris James LLP, where she works in the firm’s Labor, Employment, and Education practice. Prior to her time at Morris James, Kitty was a 19-year veteran of the DOJ, where her portfolio included felony prosecutions of homicides, arsons, and white collar crimes, culminating in her service as Head of the Special Victims Unit, where she prosecuted some of Delaware’s most heinous offenses — crimes against children. She is a cum laude graduate of Washington & Lee University (BA) and a magna cum laude graduate of University of Richmond School of Law (JD).

AG Jennings has also named Brandi Neal as the DOJ’s Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Administrator, a new role in the DOJ. Neal will be responsible for developing and managing diversity recruitment efforts for the DOJ; helping to cultivate a more inclusive and welcoming workplace through ongoing trainings, education, and employee engagement; managing the DOJ department-wide training program; and tracking indices of success for DEI performance. Neal arrives at the DOJ following a successful public and nonprofit career, including most recently a six-year stint with Wilmington’s Christina Cultural Arts Center as a consultant, project coordinator and, ultimately, Artistic Director. Neal is a graduate of Wilmington University (MS), St. John’s University (BS), and Padua Academy.

AG Jennings is also announcing the departure of Director of the Division of Civil Rights & Public Trust (DCRPT) Mark Denney for an opportunity in the private sector. Denney, a 16-year veteran of the DOJ, has overseen not only the establishment and growth of the DOJ’s youngest division, but a high-level portfolio in the Criminal Division, where he began as a Summer Law Clerk before going on to work with the Homicide Unit; the New Castle County Felony Trial Unit, where he served as Assistant Unit Head; and the Wilmington Felony Trial Unit, where he served as both Assistant Unit Head and Unit Head.

“Mark’s legacy speaks for itself,” said AG Jennings. “I’ve worked with Mark since I was State Prosecutor. He has always been a widely-respected prosecutor, but we asked the impossible of him when we tapped him to not just lead, but define our newest Division. He answered the call, and did more than flourish: Mark’s leadership at DCRPT cemented him as a giant in Delaware’s legal community. Over the last few years he’s displayed not only the same professionalism, talent for litigation, and keen legal mind that we recognized in the Criminal Division, but a natural leadership ability and tremendous courage in a Division whose job was to police the powerful. He’s helped make Delaware’s civil rights and hate crimes protections the strongest in America. And he has been unapologetic in holding the line for justice and the rule of law, regardless of the defendant’s title or influence. His departure is a real loss for the DOJ that we’ll be hard-pressed to replace — but he has more than earned the next chapter in his career. We owe him a debt of gratitude for his service to our State.”

As DCRPT’s inaugural Director, Denney laid the foundations of the DOJ’s newest Division. He oversaw more than 20 public corruption prosecutions, including the first corruption trial against a statewide elected official; the expansion of the Division’s civil rights and hate crime jurisdiction, including passage of the nation’s strongest hate crime laws; and the standardization of the DOJ’s police use of force investigations. His work with the Division earned him recognition as one of Delaware’s most influential legal professionals earlier this year. The DOJ is initiating an extensive internal and external recruitment effort to select Denney’s successor at DCRPT.

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