Robert Carter

As a vice president of public affairs, Rob advises clients on a wide range of policy and government relations matters.

Rob has a long history of working in public safety administration. Prior to joining Taft, he served as Commissioner of the Indiana Department of Correction, a position he was appointed to in 2017 by Indiana Governor Eric J. Holcomb. In this role, he led Indiana’s largest agency with operations of 19 adult facilities, five juvenile facilities, and 10 parole districts statewide. Rob also served as executive director of risk management and security at Ivy Tech Community College, where he was responsible for the safety and security of the Nation’s large college with over 100,000 students and staff at more than 40 campuses statewide. Prior to that, Rob was the director of the Indiana Department of Natural Resources (DNR) for the State of Indiana under Indiana Governors Mitch Daniels and Mike Pence. He was responsible for the stewardship of land, associated regulatory functions, and promoting Indiana’s outdoors. Rob also served as director of the Indiana DNR Division of Law Enforcement, a position he was appointed to by Governor Daniels. Early in his career, he was elected as the youngest Sheriff in the State of Indiana, serving two terms for Clay County, Indiana.

Rob received a Master of Public Administration in Public Policy Analysis from Indiana State University, a Bachelor of Science degree, magna cum laude, in Public Administration from Franklin University, and an Associate of Science degree in Criminal Justice/Police Science from Ivy Tech Community College. He is a part-time adjunct lecturer at Indiana State University in the political science department.