Biography:  Commissioner Nelson Peters

Nelson Peters was re-elected to a second term as 1st District Allen County Commissioner in November 2008.  He first took office on January 1, 2005, and currently serves as secretary of the Board of Commissioners.

In November 2006, Peters was named “Outstanding First Term Commissioner” by the Indiana Association of County Commissioners. The award recognized his work on several projects, including the merging of Allen County and Fort Wayne Homeland Security functions, passage of an ethics policy for county employees and elected officials, reducing the number of county-owned vehicles, drafting a community-wide comprehensive land use and development plan, establishing an early retirement benefit program for county employees and expanding the public’s access to county government through annual Commissioners’ Night Out town hall meetings.

Peters holds a Master's Degree in Public Administration and a Bachelor's Degree in Public Affairs, both from Indiana University.

Prior to becoming an Allen County Commissioner, Peters served in both the public and private sectors.  Most recently, Peters served as Director of Human Resources for Taylor Made Systems, Inc., headquartered in Gloversville, N.Y., from 1999 until 2004.

From 1995 until 1999, he served as Vice President, Human Resources, for Connor Corp. in Fort Wayne, Indiana.  Prior to that, from 1988-1995, Peters served as Director of Human Resources for the City of Fort Wayne, appointed by Mayor Paul Helmke, and as Allen County Human Resources Director from 1984 until 1988.

He is also a partner in Calico Precision Molding, located in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

Peters' experience in Allen County government covers more than 15 years.  From 1991 until 2000, he served as an At-Large member of the Allen County Council.  During that time, he served as Council Vice President (1993) and he was recognized by Who's Who in Governmental Services in America (1991).

As a council member, he chaired the Criminal Justice Task Force, which developed a long-term strategic approach to make Allen County's criminal justice system more efficient and cost effective.  He also championed the improvement of county government's openness and accessibility through increased use of television and the Internet as well as assisting in the development of the county’s current tax abatement program.

As Commissioner, Peters has served as a member of the Allen County Plan Commission, the Allen County Community Corrections Board, the Maumee River Basin Commission, the Convention and Visitor’s Bureau, the Alliance Board and as President of the Allen County Emergency Management Advisory Board.

His community involvement has included memberships on the Salvation Army Board of Directors, board of the Chandler's Landing Association, the Faith Baptist Church Board of Managers, the Northeast Indiana Easter Seals Board of Directors, United Hispanic-Americans and the board of Park Center, Inc.  Peters is a member of the Society for Human Resource Management and an associate faculty member at Concordia University and the IPFW School of Public and Environmental Affairs.

Peters lives in the Chandler's Landing addition in St. Joseph Township with his wife, Tammy, and his children, Nelson and Chelsea.