Representative Tobias Schlingensiepen (HD #55) was appointed to the Sentencing Commission on January 21, 2025. Rep. Schlingensiepen earned a B.A. in classical languages from the University of Kansas in 1986. After completing his seminary degree in Germany, he worked and taught in the department of social ethics in the Protestant faculty of the University of Bonn. Schlingensiepen's career experience includes working as a Senior Minister with the First Congregational Church of Topeka, Kansas, as secretary of Communities Creating Opportunity, and as the treasurer of the Kansas Democratic Party. He served as the volunteer lead chaplain with with the Topeka Police Department and as chair and vice chair of the Topeka Center for Peace and Justice. He has also served as president of the board of directors of Brewster Place in Topeka.