HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) Former Connecticut Governor M. Jodi Rell is returning to politics as a member of a national Republican group working to increase the ranks of GOP state government leaders.

The Republican State Leadership Committee announced this week that Rell has joined the group's board of directors. Rell said in a statement that she'll be focused on the fall elections and the committee's efforts to recruit new female Republican leaders.

The 68-year-old Brookfield resident became governor in 2004 after Governor John G. Rowland resigned in a corruption scandal, and she held the post until 2011. She was lieutenant governor under Rowland from 1995 to 2004.

The Republican State Leadership Committee works on increasing the GOP ranks in state legislatures, lieutenant governor posts and secretary of state positions across the country.