Jeffrey Beckham was appointed by Governor Ned Lamont to serve as the Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management (OPM), effective March 11, 2022. He is stepping up from his role as Undersecretary for Legislative Affairs, a position to which he was appointed in April 2019.
Beckham has over thirty years’ experience in state policy development and administration, including service in all three branches of the state government. He previously served in the Department of Administrative Services as a staff counsel and director of communications (2011-2019), and in the former Department of Public Works as managing attorney (2005-2007). He is currently serving his second stint at OPM, having served before as Undersecretary for Legislative Affairs in the Rell Administration (2007-2010).
Prior to service in the Executive Branch, Beckham was an attorney in the Legislative Commissioners’ Office, the General Assembly’s nonpartisan staff for bill-drafting and legal counsel, for fourteen years (1991-2005). He worked on legislation for the legislative committees on the environment, energy, commerce, and later, finance, revenue, and bonding. His first job in Connecticut state government was as a temporary assistant clerk in the Superior Court.
Beckham holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from Florida State University (FSU) and a law degree from the FSU College of Law. He is admitted to practice law in the states of Connecticut and California.