As way of background, I have been involved in the field of corrections for over 36 years. I began as a Correctional Officer I in 1985 and for the next 20 years progressively worked my way through the ranks (Correctional Officer II, Sergeant, Lieutenant, Captain, Deputy Warden and Warden). I retired in 2005 and took a few months to decompress. I was back at it in 2006. The Director at the time asked me to come out of retirement and asked that I take over as Division Director of Prison Operations. In this role I was responsible for oversight of all Prison and Community Corrections Operations. I managed over 10,000 employees and a budget of over $1 billion (yes with a B!) per year.
In 2014 I was appointed by the Governor of another state as Director of Corrections. I was ultimately responsible for all aspects of the agency, including field operations and administrative functions such as personnel, training, and budgeting. The Director is the primary contact for the Governor, legislators, and other law enforcement agencies. While I loved the job, I decided to return home for family reasons (the wife missed the grandbabies and I missed my wife because she was gone all the time). I returned back to Corrections in my previous state agency where I currently serve as the Senior Policy Advisor to the Director. In this role I provide high-level consultation and facilitation services to agency leadership in all aspects of agency operations.