The Supreme Court Administrator is responsible for appointing a director of the OPG known as the Public Guardian. The Public Guardian shall be an attorney hired based on a broad knowledge of human development, intellectual disabilities, sociology, and psychology and shall have business acuity and experience in public education and volunteer recruitment.
The Supreme Court Administrator, with the confirmation by Nebraska Supreme Court, appointed Michelle J. Chaffee as Public Guardian in December 2014. Previous to appointment as Public Guardian, Ms. Chaffee was Legal Counsel for the Health and Human Services Committee at the Nebraska Legislature. As Legal Counsel for the Health and Human Services Committee she was involved in multiple issues involving social services including long term care, Medicaid, health care, developmental disabilities, behavioral health, legal processes and procedures and licensure. She worked with a wide array of professionals including state, local and county officials, the judiciary, County attorneys, private attorneys, provider networks, facility administrators, caregivers, social service advocates, as well as the individuals who depend on Nebraska social services to provide care and support- children, juveniles, individuals with disabilities, and the elderly. As Legal Counsel she supported the Health and Human Services Committee and Chairs, Senators Tim Gay and Kathy Campbell, as they designed policies and programs to serve vulnerable citizens of Nebraska.
Prior to the Legislature, Ms. Chaffee spent ten years in higher education administration. In addition to her experiences as Legal Counsel to the Health and Human Services Committee and in higher education administration, Ms. Chaffee practiced law and utilized her law degree in a variety of different state governmental agencies. She served in the Nebraska Legislature as Legislative Aide to Senators Gene Tyson and Mike Avery. During law school she interned for the Nebraska Attorney General’s Office, in the Child Protection and Drug Enforcement Division. Additionally, as a Senior Law Clerk, she researched pre-trial diversion guidelines for the Office of Juvenile Services in the Nebraska Crime Commission. Upon graduation from UNL College of Law, Ms. Chaffee served as an attorney at Legal Aid, focusing on representing the needs of indigent individuals in civil court. As an attorney in private practice, she specialized as a Guardian ad Litem representing the needs of abused and neglected children in Juvenile Court. Prior to attending law school, Ms. Chaffee served for a number of years as a 7-12th grade English and History teacher in Nebraska, Iowa, Missouri and Texas.