Paul had responsibility for the twenty, state-wide Undercover Narcotic Task Forces, Drug Courts, Treatment in Jails, Community Mobilization Against Substance Abuse and Violence, Domestic Violence Programs, and the Governor’s Council on Substance Abuse. The Community Mobilization Program was recognized in Governing for Results as a state-wide effective program. Another program received national recognition from Harvard University, Kennedy School of Government as an innovative approach to employ homeless individuals. He is President-Elect of the Washington State Association of Boundary Review Boards; Chair of the Thurston County Boundary Review Board; and past President of the Lacey-Mińsk Mazowiecki Sister City Association.
He received his Master’s Degree in Social Work from the University of Illinois at Chicago and his Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy at Oblate College, Washington D.C. Paul also studied at the Psychiatric Institute Foundation in Washington, D.C., focusing on group leadership skills and at the Washington Theological Coalition in Silver Spring, Maryland. Paul has over thirty-five years of management experience in state and private not-for-profit agencies. Previous to state employment, Paul worked with the Archdiocese of Seattle as the Regional Director of Catholic Community Services in the South Central region. In that capacity, he had responsibility for an alcohol and drug detoxification program, adoption services, counseling, and adult chore services. He was a member of the Western Regional Institute for Community Oriented Problem Solving (WRICOPS), where he conducted community assessments of local police departments.
Paul has also served on the board of the Washington State Crime Prevention Association. He has provided training for the United States Department of Justice; served as a consultant to the Washington State Patrol; chaired a national task force funded by the United States Department of Health and Human Services for the National Association of Community Services Programs; served on the executive committee of federal High Intensity Drug Trafficing Area (HIDTA) as well as with a number of national and state advisory committees. Paul has conducted national presentations for the Department of Justice at the Pacific Rim conference in Honolulu, Washington D.C., Oakland, and Palm Springs. Paul has also participated in congressional briefings in conjunction with the National Criminal Justice Association and has provided testimony to the state legislature.
Paul has been active in Thurston County for over thirty years. He has served six and a half years on the Lacey Planning Commission-three years as chairperson; past president of South Sound Umpires Association; he was a chairperson of the North Thurston School District Building Learning Improvement Team; past board member and coach for the Thurston County Baseball Association; past member of the Thurston County Committee on General Sewage; and past president of the Thurston County Committee on Child Abuse and Neglect and has been active in fundraising for Saint Martin’s University in Lacey. He has received recognition for his personal and professional achievements from Mińskie Stowarzyszenie na rzecz Współpracy z Lacey, former Governor Gary Locke, former Attorney General Christine Gregoire, the City of Lacey, the Washington State Patrol, and the Department of Community Development. Originally from Chicago, Paul and his wife Kathie, a native Seattleite, have three children and two grandchildren.