Leadership
Ohio Consumers’ Counsel and Agency Director
Maureen Willis became Ohio’s fifth Consumers’ Counsel on Oct. 1, 2023, following her appointment by the Agency’s Governing Board on June 30, 2023. She previously served as Acting Legal Director starting in April of 2023. Before that Maureen spent eight years as the Office of Consumers’ Counsel (OCC) Senior Counsel.
In total, Ms. Willis has devoted more than 27 years of her career to representing residential utility consumers.
Maureen began her public service at the OCC in 1982 as a legal intern and was hired as a Staff Attorney in 1983 after earning her Juris Doctor from Capital University. She holds a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from the University of Dayton. She left Columbus to work for the Office of the People’s Counsel in Washington, D.C., a consumer advocacy agency focused on utility matters, and subsequently returned to Ohio to serve as an Assistant Consumers’ Counsel.
During a period away from the agency to raise her three children, Ms. Willis continued to build her expertise in public utility law and public service. Her work during the time included service with Hahn, Loeser & Parks; the Ohio Attorney General’s Office as Special Counsel; and the Montgomery County Prosecutor’s Office. She returned to the OCC in 2004, bringing with her a broad perspective on utility regulation, litigation and consumer protection.
As Consumers’ Counsel, Ms. Willis leads the Agency’s mission to advocate for fair, just, and reasonable utility rates and practices on behalf of Ohio’s residential consumers.
Deputy Consumers' Counsel and Legal Director
Angela O’Brien was appointed Deputy Consumers’ Counsel in June 2023, by the Consumers’ Counsel Governing Board. Angela is also the Legal Director for the Agency. She is one of the Board’s two appointees for leading the agency, the other being the Consumers’ Counsel (agency director). Her leadership initiatives include achieving justice, equity and regulatory reform for residential utility consumers, as stated in OCC’s Vision.
Angela also served Ohioans for four years as an Assistant Consumers’ Counsel. She was named OCC Employee of the Quarter two times for excellence in case work. Previously, Angela was in private practice. She practiced for a decade in the Regulated Industries group at Mayer Brown in Chicago. Earlier, she practiced in the Energy and Utilities group at Barnes & Thornburg in Indianapolis. Her work at both firms included representing regulated utilities and competitive energy suppliers, appearing before state public utility commissions in Indiana and Illinois. In 2015, Angela and her family moved from Chicago to the Columbus, Ohio area. Angela earned her B.A. from the University of Houston and her J.D. from the Indiana University School of Law.
Analytical Services Director
David Basich is the Director of the Analytical Services Department with OCC. David joined the agency in 2024 and oversees a team of analysts advocating on behalf of Ohio’s 4.5 million residential utility consumers. Prior to joining OCC, David served as Director of Energy Operations at Washington Prime Group, where he was responsible for a $35M utility budget in over 100 retail facilities. David’s 25 plus years in the energy field includes prior experience serving as the Energy Office Administrator for the City of Denver, Colorado and the Energy Manager for the University of North Carolina, Greensboro. David obtained both his MBA (Finance) and BET degree in Electronic Engineering Technology from the University of Toledo.
Operations Director
Matt is the Operations Director and has more than 27 years of experience in state government administration. He began his career with the Department of Public Safety and served in a variety of roles including procurement, payroll, internal audit, and budget for more than 17 years before going to the Board of Pharmacy as Director of Administration. He served in that role for 7 years and led the Board’s HR, fiscal, and IT operations. Most recently, he was CFO for the PUCO for over 2 years. Matt has a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Mount Vernon Nazarene University.
Public Affairs Director
Merrilee Embs is the Director of OCC’s Public Affairs Department. Merrilee joined the OCC in March 2019 and was named Director in January 2024. She oversees the Public Affairs Department to support OCC’s efforts in communications, outreach and education and legislative services. She is currently working toward a Ph.D. at Tiffin University. She earned a Master of Science Degree in Mass Communications/Public Relations from Murray State University in 2022 and a Bachelor of Arts in Mass Communications/Journalism from Wright State University in 1995. In addition, she has more than 25 years’ experience in editorial publishing, business operations with multiple daily and weekly newspapers, as well as health care public relations.