Office of Professional Responsibility

Office of Professional Responsibility Staff

Donald R. “Don” Smith, Jr., Executive Director
Don has more than 25 years of experience as a criminal investigator with the U.S. Treasury Department in the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigation Division. He also has worked as a Federal government security clearance and background investigator and as a corporate compliance investigator with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas. Mr. Smith retired in 2000 as a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army Reserve, Military Police Corps. In his last Army Reserve assignment, he was the reserve mobilization commander for the Army Criminal Investigation Division Command at Fort Hood. He is a graduate of Northern Illinois University, the U.S. Treasury Criminal Investigator Academy and the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College. In addition, Mr. Smith is a Certified Fraud Examiner and Certified Public Accountant (Michigan).

Peter “Pete” Nielsen, Director of Investigations
Pete has 27 years of law enforcement experience. Mr. Nielsen spent twenty-two years as a federal agent investigating white collar crimes, financial fraud and money laundering violations. He worked 5 years as a Dallas Police officer and investigator. Prior to coming to the district, Pete was President and CEO of a corporation specializing in private investigations and consulting. He was the lead investigator on the P-card inquiry. Pete is a member of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners and is a Certified Fraud Examiner.

Charlene Burroughs, Manager of Ethics and Integrity
Charlene is a career educator who taught elementary grades for 9 years prior to moving to middle school where she taught 8th graders for 12 years. After leaving the classroom, Ms. Burroughs moved to Professional Development and Staff Training where she became a certified Covey trainer. As a Covey Trainer, she trained district staff on the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People and the 4 Roles of Leadership. Additionally, she has written several training modules for teachers and support staff. Charlene also served as Operations Executive for Teaching and Learning.

Norman “Norm” Epstein
Norm has over 30 years of federal investigative experience. He served 15 years as a Special Agent with the Air Force Office of Special Investigations and then another 16 years with the Department of Defense Office of the Inspector General investigating issues of public corruption and major procurement fraud. After his retirement from the federal government in December 2000, Norm continued to serve the federal government as a retained contract investigator conducting personnel security and public integrity investigations for numerous federal agencies. He also served 12 years as an active duty Air Force Officer and then 15 years in the Air Force Reserves, before retiring as a lieutenant colonel. Norm received a BS in Psychology from the University of South Carolina and an MBA in Business Management from the University of Dallas.

Frank McCammon, Inspector (Bilingual English and Spanish)
After serving as an Air Intelligence Officer in the Navy, Frank began a career in law enforcement. Frank worked first as an FBI Special Agent and later with the Criminal Investigation Division of the Internal Revenue Service. He worked cases involving tax evasion, bankruptcy fraud, bank fraud, and money laundering before he retired. Frank then worked abroad as an enforcement advisor for the U. S. Government after the fall of the Iron Curtain in Eastern Europe, with assignments in Romania, Armenia, Moldova, and Slovenia. He has also worked in Central and South America. Working for Dallas ISD is not Frank’s venture into the business of education. As a recipient of a B.A. in Spanish Literature and one in Accounting and Finance, as well as an M.A. in English, Frank has served as adjunct professor at several institutions of higher learning. Frank is a member of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners and is a Certified Fraud Examiner.

Rex Stewart, Inspector
Rex worked for the Internal Revenue Service for 24 years, 4 years as an auditor and 20 years as a Special Agent in the Criminal Investigation Division. He spent 2 years as a Supervisory Special Agent and the last 5 years of his career in charge of Technical Operations in the North Texas District. As head of Technical Operations Laboratory, Rex oversaw undercover audio, video, electronics and photography. After retirement, he was a substitute teacher at South Grand Prairie High School with long term assignments in Media Technology, Microsoft Office and Special Education. Rex received a BBA in Accounting from the University of Texas at Arlington, holds certifications in professional photography and technical surveillance, a member of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners and is a Certified Fraud Examiner.

Chris Lyle, Investigator
Prior to coming to Dallas ISD, Mr. Lyle was an Accountant with the Houston ISD. Chris has served in an investigative capacity with the Dallas ISD since 1997 and has investigated numerous alleged violations of district policy and procedure. Chris is a 1985 graduate of James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia. He earned an M.B.A. from Sam Houston State University in 1992. Chris has an educational background in Psychology, Criminal Justice, and Accounting. He has been licensed as a peace officer in the state of Texas since 2000, and has obtained certification as a Master Peace Officer. Chris is a member of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners and is a Certified Fraud Examiner.

Sharion Marshall, Investigative Assistant
Sharion worked 7 years as a social studies teacher and substitute teacher with Dallas ISD and 2 years with North Forest ISD, in Houston, Texas. Sharion is a certified EEO investigator with contractual experience with the United States Postal Service. She has conducted EEO investigations throughout the southeast region of the United States. Sharion’s work experience includes working as a mediator and co-mediator with Dispute Mediation Service. She has 2 Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) mediation certificates (Basic Mediation and Transformative Mediation). Sharion is a graduate of Texas Southern University, with a Bachelor of Art degree in Political Science and History. Additionally, in 2003, she earned a MBA in Management with emphasis in Human Resources from Amberton University, in Garland, Texas.

Sally Salinas, Investigative Analyst
Sally Salinas attended Dallas Public schools and graduated from W. H. Adamson High School in 1997. She received her Business Administration and Technology Certification from American Trade Institute in April 2000. Sally completed her Associates of Applied Science–Management Degree from Dallas County Community College District in May 2008. She has worked for the Human Resource departments of various well known bakeries in Dallas County and has brought her experience and knowledge to Dallas ISD. Sally was employed by the district in October 2004 after completing a long term assignment through a temporary agency. Her first assignment in the district was in the office of Instructional Services. She later joined the Curriculum and Instruction Department. In May of 2007, Sally became a member of the Office of Professional Responsibility staff.