STATE OF DELAWARE

DEPARTMENT OF SAFETY AND HOMELAND SECURITY

P.O. BOX 818

DOVER, DELAWARE 19903-0818

NEWS RELEASE

Date: July 9, 2020

Contact: DSHS Wendy Hudson – (302) 382-7978

DSP MCpl. Melissa Jaffe – (302) 382-2136

DSP LT. COL. MELISSA A. ZEBLEY NAMED

SUPERINTENDENT OF DELAWARE STATE POLICE

Today Governor John Carney joined Kimberly Chandler, Acting Secretary of Safety and Homeland Security, to announce the appointment of Lt. Col. Melissa A. Zebley as Superintendent of the Delaware State Police.

Lt. Col. Zebley, 50, assumes command of the State Police following the retirement of Col. Nathaniel McQueen Jr. Lt. Col. Zebley, a 28-year veteran of the State Police, is currently responsible for Internal Affairs, Information Support Services and Planning. She joined the Executive Staff in 2010 at the rank of Major with oversight of the Budget, Training Academy and Human Resource sections. In 2013, she transitioned to the role of Operations Officer overseeing New Castle County Patrol Troops and Criminal Investigations, as well as the statewide Traffic Section. Her former assignments include patrol Trooper, Training Academy Officer, Patrol Sergeant, Public Information Officer, Fiscal Executive Officer, and Troop Commander.

Lt. Colonel Zebley has also served as the Officer in Charge of the Honor Guard and as a member of the Division’s Critical Incident Stress Management Team.

“Lt. Col. Zebley has a tremendous track record of leadership at the Delaware State Police, and is the right person to lead our largest police agency” said Governor Carney. “A 28-year veteran of the State Police, Lt. Col. Zebley has the trust of community leaders not only in New Castle County, but up and down our state. I know she will build on the good work of Colonel McQueen to keep Delaware safe and continue to establish trust between law enforcement and the communities they serve. Thank you to Lt. Col. Zebley for taking on this important challenge.”

“Having served in almost every leadership position within the Delaware State Police, Lt. Col. Zebley not only possesses the qualifications, skills and experience to lead the State’s largest police agency but has also earned the respect of her fellow troopers and the Delaware law enforcement community. She has demonstrated the temperament, demeanor, and wisdom necessary to navigate the challenges in policing today and is committed to serving the citizens of our State, said Acting Secretary Chandler.

“I am humbled and honored to serve as the 26th Superintendent of the Delaware State Police. I thank Governor Carney and Acting Secretary Chandler for their faith in me to lead this division of professional and dedicated members. I pledge to serve with the dignity and honor befitting the high standards of the agency,” Lt. Col. Zebley said. “The Delaware State Police remain steadfast in our mission of service to all citizens and will continue on our course of community collaboration and progressive policing.”

Lt. Col. Zebley earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice from the University of Delaware and a Master of Science degree in the Administration of Justice from Wilmington University. She is also a graduate of the Northwestern University School of Police Staff and Command and a graduate of the 235th Session of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) National Academy. In addition, she is a graduate of the Anti-Defamation League’s Advanced Training School course on Extremist and Terrorist Threats and is currently attending the 43rd Session of the FBI’s National Executive Institute.

Lt. Col. Zebley is an instructor for the Delaware Leadership Development Program, a three-week school targeted for first line supervisors. Since 2003, she has served as an adjunct faculty member at Wilmington University, teaching in the undergraduate and graduate Criminal Justice Programs.

Lt. Col. Zebley is a member of the International Association of Chiefs of Police, the National Association of Women Law Enforcement Executives, Mid-Atlantic Association of Women in Law Enforcement, and the FBI National Academy Associates. She was the 2015 Chapter President of the FBINAA Maryland/Delaware Chapter. She is currently the Chair of the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators (AAMVA) Law Enforcement Standing Committee.

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Online portal to streamline business licensing, registration, employer requirements

NEWARK, Del. – Governor John Carney on Wednesday officially launched a new online tool to help streamline documentation and reporting requirements for new businesses. The new Delaware One Stop, available at onestop.delaware.gov, allows businesses to interact with core state agencies whether they are starting out or ready to grow.

Delaware One Stop is a convenient, centralized transactional platform created to help business owners work through the necessary steps to begin operation in Delaware. Using one website, businesses can apply and pay for a Delaware business license, make required filings with the Department of Labor, and create formation documents for a legal entity with the Division of Corporations.

“One of the things we hear all the time from small businesses is how hard it can be to figure out what you need from the state in order to open your doors. We know that entrepreneurs just want to take care of those things quickly and get to work, but state government doesn’t always make it easy,” said Governor John Carney. “Today we’re taking a big step in that direction and bringing many of those functions together on a single portal – Delaware One Stop.”

One Stop is the product of a collaborative effort among multiple state agencies and real-world entrepreneurs that allows users to access many services via a single login. This offers a clear road map to ensure continuous engagement between businesses and various state agencies.

“We want to make it easier for businesses to succeed in Delaware,” said Secretary of Finance Rick Geisenberger. “With the new Delaware One Stop portal, we’re partnering among multiple state agencies to leverage technology that makes registering a business seamless, faster, and more efficient.”

The core functions of the new site include business license registration via the Division of Revenue, hiring reporting through the Division of Unemployment Insurance, and coverage verification with the Office of Workers’ Compensation. 

“We’re excited about the launching of Delaware’s new One Stop portal,” said Secretary of Labor Cerron Cade. “Leveraging technology to create better efficiencies in business creation and compliance only continues to reinforce Delaware’s position as a premier destination for businesses, entrepreneurs, and their workers.”

New to One Stop is a step-by-step guide to creating business entity formation documents for submission to the Division of Corporations, helping users on the path to organizing a Delaware corporation, partnership, or LLC.

“Delaware’s world-leading corporate franchise isn’t just for the Fortune 500; our home-grown small businesses have the same access to the services of the Division of Corporations when it comes to forming their own legal entities,” said Secretary of State Jeff Bullock. “One Stop will absolutely change the way Delaware entrepreneurs think about dealing with state government.”

The new site is a significant rebuild of the original One Stop portal, launched in 2005. Designed and built by vendor Breakline Digital in cooperation with the Delaware Government Information Center (GIC) and the Department of Technology and Information (DTI), the modern design prioritizes user experience and revolves around an account dashboard that tracks and saves progress. The new One Stop is hosted in cloud-based architecture built on the trusted Salesforce platform.

“The Delaware Business One Stop portal is the initial iteration of our new unified citizen engagement platform,” said Delaware Chief Information Officer James Collins. “We’re striving for all citizens and businesses to have access — anywhere, anytime and from any device — to an array of secure digital government services through a single point of entry. We couldn’t be more proud of this initiative to ease the process of doing business in Delaware.”

One Stop also features an integrated survey that takes the pulse of users who seem stuck on one screen for an extended period of time, allowing for real-time feedback and suggestions for improvement.

Before launch, members of the business community tested One Stop for its real-world usability.

“The new streamlined process brings an efficient solution to form a new business in Delaware. The State Chamber applauds the Governor’s initiative to make the new One Stop website a reality,” said Mike Quaranta, president of the Delaware State Chamber of Commerce, which assisted with reviewing and testing the One Stop site prior to launch.

Delaware One Stop Tips

• The Division of Revenue Business License is $75 per year and is pro-rated (renew by the end of December for the next calendar year).
• You can print a temporary business license from the One Stop; you will receive your official copy in the mail in about a month if all looks good.
• After you register your business, you will need to pay gross receipts tax.
• Businesses that hire employees need to register with Department of Labor – with both the Division of Unemployment Insurance and the Division of Worker’s Compensation. You can do this from One Stop under “Report Hiring” as soon as you know you’ll have employees.
• Other licenses, such as professional licenses, environmental permits, and local/county licenses, are not yet included in the One Stop system. You need to apply for these separately.

DOVER – Citizen coders and civic technologists from across Delaware are set to take on the state’s second annual Open Data Challenge, harnessing the power of public datasets to come up with new solutions to big statewide problems.

Coordinated by Open Data Delaware and the Department of State’s Government Information Center, ODC18 is a series of events and workshops that will allow participants to review and analyze information hosted on the state’s Open Data Portal, then design new apps, websites or programs that will put the data to good use. Teams with the best ideas and the most promising prototypes will be eligible for grant funding to allow them to continue their work.

“The Challenge is designed to get people to think differently about solving problems in our communities,” said Secretary of State Jeff Bullock. “We’re encouraging a new way of approaching citizen engagement, collaboration and innovation based on the public data collected by state government.”

For ODC18, two of the state’s largest public agencies, the Department of Transportation and the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, have posed a simple question: How can we make sure that all Delawareans have full access to our state’s public forests, beaches and parks – and that they know which roads, buses, trails and bike routes can take them there?

“Delaware has so many recreational options across the state, and we want to make sure everyone who has a desire to visit these destinations has the ability to do so,” said Secretary of Transportation Jennifer Cohan. “Partnering with DNREC and Open Data Delaware, we can harness the creative energy of anyone who would like to participate and offer their ideas.”

“We use the Open Data Portal to share data and information about the natural resources the Department manages,” said DNREC Secretary Shawn M. Garvin. “We are excited to join DelDOT and other partners in this challenge and take the next step toward full public use of our data. We can learn more about how people enjoy Delaware’s great outdoors and our outstanding recreational opportunities. We will find new partners, in and outside of government, and we will gain new perspectives that will help us do our jobs better.”

Examples of the datasets that ODC18 participants could use for their projects include traffic counts and bus schedules, and maps of bike routes, public lands and nature preserves – all available via the state’s Open Data Portal at data.delaware.gov or the GIS Mapping Tool, firstmap.delaware.gov.

The launch of this year’s Challenge was coupled with Gov. John Carney’s signing of Executive Order 18, which gives executive branch agencies until Sept. 30 to deliver an inventory of new data sets that can be added to the portal.

The first major event in the ODC18 series is an “Ideation Session” scheduled for Sunday, Feb. 25, hosted by the Horn Program in Entrepreneurship at the University of Delaware. The Challenge culminates in May after a month-long Data Jam where teams will take what they’ve learned from Delaware’s data and design prototype solutions to address the challenge prompt.

Challenge teams will be eligible for a total of $32,000 in grant funding, contributed by DelDOT and DNREC, including a top prize of $20,000 for any prototype that combines data from both agencies and serves to advance each of their missions. Tech Impact, a nationwide nonprofit that helps community groups develop and use technology, will administer the grant awards.

“Last year I saw firsthand the social innovation that was unlocked by the use of these data sets,” said Patrick Callahan, executive director of Tech Impact. “Gov. Carney’s recent executive order to expand the data sets, coupled with this year’s Open Data Challenge, will surely allow that innovation to continue. It will be really exciting to watch as this year’s competition focuses on using some of the new data to focus on developing civic solutions.”

For more information on the 2018 Open Data Challenge watch this short video and visit opendatachallenge.com.

Executive Order 18 expands the Council to include all Executive Branch agencies

WILMINGTON, Del. – Governor John Carney on Monday signed Executive Order 18, expanding the Delaware Open Data Council to include members from all Executive Branch agencies to promote data sharing. The Governor was joined by members of his Cabinet, technology entrepreneurs and Open Data advocates at The Mill in Wilmington for the Executive Order signing.

The Council brings together a team from state government focused specifically on making more data available to members of the public via the state’s Open Data Portal which streamlines access to public information and enhances government transparency. Established by Executive Order 57 in October 2016, the Open Data Portal is a centralized website that connects the public with non-identifiable public data across state agencies and provides interactive features that allow users to browse and sort information. The public can utilize more than 200 data items through maps, charts, and graphs to visualize it in new and innovative ways. Since its launch, the Open Data Portal has had more than 3.5 million page views. Eleven new data sets were added last year, including Delaware business licenses and air quality monitoring, among others.

“Open Data and data sharing are an integral part of government transparency, efficiency and accountability,” said Governor Carney. “Expanding the Open Data Council to include members from all Executive Branch agencies will help facilitate the work we’ve begun through the Family Services Cabinet Council, and allow us to share and analyze data to effectively deliver services and allocate resources for Delawareans.”

The Delaware Open Data Council, which will now include members from 18 state agencies and offices, is charged with making data available to the public, establishing a statewide data strategy, and recommending standards and policies governing the posting of public data and data sharing among state agencies.

“Our state agencies have a vast treasure trove of data and we can tap into that potential to help solve real-world problems, improve the delivery of government services and enrich the quality of life for Delaware’s citizens,” said Chief Information Officer James Collins. “Great ideas can come from anyone, anywhere. By making this information available to everyone we create even more opportunities for innovative solutions.”

“Open data is all about building partnerships and using the power of information to fill the gaps between state agencies, community groups, businesses and the average Delawarean,” said Secretary of State Jeff Bullock. “The best ideas require collaboration to come to fruition, and I’m proud that the Department of State is a part of the next wave of new thinking in Delaware.”

“Over the past two years, Open Data Delaware has been excited to see the State’s commitment to open data grow,” said Ryan Harrington of Open Data Delaware. “In those two years, we have seen Delaware transition to a system that makes it easier than ever for anyone to access critical information about the state, giving advocates the opportunity to improve their communities and entrepreneurs more resources to grow companies. The inclusion of every Executive Branch agency into Delaware’s Open Data Portal furthers the ability for people to gain the information that they need to build upon this work.”

“Tech Impact is proud to support Governor Carney and his administration in expanding the Open Data Council,” said Tech Impact Executive Director Patrick Callihan. “Delaware has taken a leadership role in exposing data sets and enabling a transparent government. Some of that data has already been used to create public and social benefit for the state and this greater commitment will surely increase the opportunities to develop solutions to some of our most difficult social issues.”

Members of the public are invited to recommend additional datasets for inclusion in the Open Data Portal by visiting data.delaware.gov/nominate.

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DOVER – Teams of coders from across the state will seek to harness the power of public data and develop innovative solutions to real-world problems at a weekend-long hackathon organized by Open Data Delaware.

The 2017 Open Data Challenge is the final event in a series of sessions focused on creating, designing and developing technical applications with open data in Delaware. This year’s challenge is based around the theme “Access to Hope through Innovation.” Two nonprofit partners, the Food Bank of Delaware and Network Delaware, will present challenge prompts that teams will work to solve with prototype solutions built over the course of two days of civic hacking.

Two teams will be selected as winners and awarded grants ($12,500 for first place, $5,000 for second place) to help them bring their ideas to fruition and produce useable technology for the public. The grants, offered by the Delaware Department of State, will be awarded in two stages to incentivize building, testing and launching the technical applications.

Coders, designers, civic advocates and those interested in making a difference in their communities may view more information about the event and sign up at www.OpenDataChallenge.com.

What: Delaware Open Data Challenge Hackathon Weekend

Who: Open Data Delaware partners including Technology Forum of Delaware, Tech Impact and the Delaware Department of State; Food Bank of Delaware; Network Delaware; Hackathon team members

When: Kickoff at 6:30 p.m. Friday, June 2;
Challenge competition takes place Saturday, June 3 through Sunday June 4, concluding with final presentations and awards
(Contact Dana Rohrbough for detailed schedule of events.)

Where: 1313 Innovation, 1313 North Market Street, Wilmington

Contact: Dana Rohrbough
Government Information Center
Delaware Department of State
(302) 547-3763
dana.rohrbough@delaware.gov