Newell was born in 1958 in Los Angeles, California. By 1960, his family moved to Jefferson Parish, Louisiana.

After graduating from Jesuit High School, he attended the University of New Orleans and graduated with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration. Newell started his law enforcement career in 1977 with the New Orleans Criminal Sheriff’s Office. He came to work for Sheriff Harry Lee upon his election in 1980. Newell continued his education and ended up with a law degree (Juris Doctor) from Tulane Law School.

Sheriff Lee immediately recognized that Newell had exceptional financial management skills. The Sheriff named Newell as Chief Financial Officer of the JPSO in 1994. Newell was an instant success as Chief Financial Officer, implementing several fiscal policies that stabilized the financial condition of the Sheriff's Office. A year later, as it became apparent that Newell also had outstanding skills as an attorney and an administrator, Sheriff Lee tapped him for the position of Chief Criminal Deputy. As both the Chief Financial Officer and the Chief Criminal Deputy at the JPSO, Newell Normand oversaw both the criminal law and the administrative side of the Sheriff's Office as well as the civil and financial side of the operation. It was the beginning of a relationship that saw Sheriff Harry Lee and Newell Normand work together to build an exceptional Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office.

Since 1995, Newell has worked closely with Sheriff Lee in trying to keep Jefferson Parish safe. Many of the policies and initiatives that were set up by the Sheriff were handed to Newell to carry out. With the help of the highly qualified men and women of the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office, these policies and initiatives have kept the crime in Jefferson in check. In fact, despite the recent spike in crime after Hurricane Katrina, the crime rates in Jefferson are much lower today than they were in 1980 when the population was much smaller.

During Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, Newell oversaw many of the operations associated with safely evacuating the citizens of the Parish, preventing looting and chaos in the aftermath of the storm, providing support and rescue operations in Jefferson and the surrounding parishes, assisting the local municipal police forces, and finally, when things were safe, bringing the residents of Jefferson Parish home.

In the Post-Katrina world that we now find ourselves in, Newell has worked tirelessly to find the funds to raise the pay of our front-line deputies, as well the Corrections Officers, the 911 Dispatchers, etc. In fact, since Newell became Chief Financial Officer, the salaries of our front-line deputies have nearly doubled. Today, nearly 80 cents of every dollar collected by the Sheriff’s Office goes to salaries and benefits. He is currently heading up a recruiting effort to bring the staffing levels of the office back to where it needs to be. Another important program that he is spearheading is the Parish’s neighborhood code enforcement sweeps which are designed to clean up troubled neighborhoods and to prevent others from slipping into disrepair.

Newell is married to Shawn Bridgewater and has two children – John Taylor, 12 and Sarah, 11. He currently resides in Metairie. Like Sheriff Lee, he is an avid sportsman and enjoys all of the benefits of living in the “sportsman’s paradise”.

Education

• Juris Doctor - Tulane Law School
• Bachelor of Science Degree, Business Administration, University of New Orleans
• FBI National Academy, Quantico, VA
• University of Virginia/Criminal Justice Education
• Louisiana State University - Criminal Justice - Continuing Education
• Jesuit High School - New Orleans

Experience

• Chief Criminal Deputy, Comptroller, and Administrative Assistant to Harry Lee, 27 years
• Louis Armstrong International Airport, Chief, Law Enforcement Detachment
• Deputy, Orleans Parish Criminal Sheriff's Office
• P.O.S.T. Certified (Peace Officer Standards and Training)
• Tulane University City College - Instructor
• Concordia University - Instructor

Professional Associations

• High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA), Board of Directors, 1998 - present, Chairman 2001-2002
• High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA), Louisiana State Board, Vice-Chairman 1999, Chairman 2000
• Louisiana Asset Management Pool, Inc., Board of Directors, 1998 - 2002
• Governor's Anti-Terrorist Task Force, Member
• U.S. Attorney, Project Safe Neighborhood Task Force, Member, 2001 - present
• New Orleans Chamber and the River Region Board of Directors, 1999
• New Orleans Chamber and the River Region Eastbank Executive Committee 1997 - 1999
• Government Finance Officer's Association Receipient of Award for Financial Reporting Achievement, 1994 through 2006
• Louisiana State Bar Association
• National Sheriff's Association
• International Association of Chiefs of Police
• Louisiana Sheriff's Association Legislative Team, 1985 - present
• Fraternal Order of Police
• Association for Public Safety Communications
• U.S. Attorney's Weed and Seed Program
• 2003 Crime Stoppers Law Enforcement Award

Civic Participation

• East Jefferson General Hospital, Board of Directors, 1998 - present, Chairman 2004 & 2005
• Volunteers of America - Greater New Orleans, Board of Directors, 1996 - 2001, President's Advisory Council, present
• Jefferson Community School, Board of Directors, 1999 - present
• Jefferson Children's Advocacy Center, Board of Directors
• ForeKids Foundation, Executive Committee, 1998 - present
• JPSO/Firemen Flag Fund, Board of Directors
• Stuart Hall School, Board of Trustees, 2002 - present
• Boy Scouts of America, Board of Directors, 2003

Personal

• Member, St. Catherine of Siena Church
• Married to the former Shawn M. Bridgewater
• Two children - John Taylor and Sarah Elizabeth