Executive Committee

The Executive Committee, composed of our three CLA officers, four regional representatives, and a past President, directs the Association’s functions and activities and is the decision making body for the Association.   

Executive Committee Members
CLA President: Rob Jefferys (NE)   Vice President: Open Treasurer: Josh Tewalt (ID) Southern Region Chair: Bryan Collier (TX) Western Region Chair: Dan Shannon (WY) Northeast Region Chair: Carol Mici (MA) Midwest Region Chair:  Heidi Washington (MI) Past President: Open


CLA Operational Committees

Mental Health Committee

The Mental Health and Substance Abuse Committee was established to provide a forum for the exchange of ideas and current initiatives regarding substance use and mental health treatment and services in correctional settings. The Committee focuses on prevention, alternatives, institutional care, case management, release planning, continuation of care, and best practices with limited resources.

Mental Health Committee Members
Committee Chair: Helen Hanks (NH) Members: Brian Gootkin (MT), Jimmy LeBlanc (LA), Alisha Tafoya Lucero (NM), Paul Schnell (MN), Cheryl Strange (WA), Wynnie Testamark (USVI), Josh Tewalt (ID)


Special Populations

This committee will focus on developing correctional best practices surrounding the management of complex populations.

Special Populations Committee Members
Committee Chair: Heidi Washington (MI)  Members: Annette Chambers-Smith (OH), Jimmy LeBlanc (LA), Carol Mici (MA), Cheryl Strange (WA), Alisha Tafoya Lucero (NM)


Racial Disparity Committee

The Racial Disparity Committee examines correctional policies and practices that contribute to racial disparities; promotes promising practices for eliminating racial disparity within systems; and actively advocates to find solutions that may eliminate these disparities.

Racial Disparity Committee Members
Committee Chair: Rob Jeffreys (NE) Members: Jimmy LeBlanc (LA),  Carol Mici (MA), Dan Martuscello (NYS), Testamark (USVI) Associates: John Baldwin, Pelicia Hall, Luis Spencer


Recruitment and Retention Committee

This Committee will work hard to decrease turnover among the correctional ranks and share innovative ways to attract people to this rewarding profession.

Recruitment and Retention Committee Members
Committee Chair: Bryan Collier (TX)  Members: Nicholas Deml (VT), Brian Gootkin (MT), Helen Hanks (NH),  Todd Ishee (NC), Tommy Johnson (HI), Jimmy LeBlanc (LA), Dan Shannon (WY), Alisha Tafoya Lucero (NM), Wynnie Testamark (USVI), Heidi Washington (MI), Christina Reagle (IN), Dan Martuscello (NYS), and James Dzurenda (NV)


Reentry and Community Corrections Committee

The Reentry and Community Corrections Committee was formed to identify and promulgate practices that are likely to reduce the number of offenders returning to prison after release. To that end, this committee solicits presentations and reports on promising reentry projects, monitors several information-sharing projects produced by other committees and entities when they relate to reentry successes, and participates in the Council of State Governments (CSG) National Reentry Resource Center, and searches and shares with members federal funding for institutional and community reentry programs and services.

Reentry and Community Corrections Committee Members
Committee Chair: Dr. Beth Skinner (IA) Members: Burl Cain (MS), Helen Hanks (NH), Rob Jeffreys (NE), Tommy Johnson, Jimmy LeBlanc (LA), Alisha Tafoya Lucero (NM), Wynnie Testamark (USVI), Josh Tewalt (ID), Jeff Macomber (CA)


Restrictive Housing Committee

The goal of this Committee is to become a key resource to all CLA members on the topic of Restrictive Housing by developing tools for members, collecting and sharing state and national best practices, serving as a marketplace of ideas, and a safe venue for a conversation on this policy area.

Restrictive Housing Committee Members
Committee Chair: Nicholas Deml (VT) Members: Harold Clarke (VA), Helen Hanks (NH), Todd Ishee (NC), Jimmy LeBlanc (LA), Jeff Macomber (CA), Ricky Dixon (FL), Frank Strada (TN), Ryan Thornell (AZ), Wayne Salisbury, Jr. (RI) Associate: Leann Bertsch


Staff Wellness Committee

The staff wellness committee aims to promote and improve the health and well-being of our correctional professionals through health education and workplace health promotion activities that will support positive lifestyle changes. "Wellness" can cover many things. This committee will focus on; physical fitness, nutrition, mental health & stress reduction, chronic disease management, financial security, disease & injury prevention, generational workforce issues, family health, and caregiver & elderly concerns.

Staff Wellness Committee Members
Committee Chair: Todd Ishee (NC)  MembersBryan Collier (TX), Alisha Tafoya Lucero (NM), Wynnie Testamark (USVI),  Christina Reagle (IN), Laurel Harry (PA), and Ricky Dixon (FL),  Tommy Johnson (HI) 


Technology Committee

This committee will focus on identifying current and emerging correctional technologies. 

Technology Committee Members
Committee Chair: Bryan Stirling (SC) Members: Bryan Collier (TX), Dan Shannon (WY), Cheryl Strange (WA), Jeff Zmuda (KS), Christina Reagle (IN), Ricky Dixon (FL) and Wayne Salisbury, Jr. (RI), Dan Martuscello (NYS)  Associates: Jon Ozmint


 

 CLA Internal Committees

Francke Award Committee

The Francke Award Committee: James Michael Francke was an exceptional man and an avant-garde leader in the corrections field in the 1980s. His work as secretary and director of corrections in New Mexico and Oregon helped reshape and rebuild penal systems stuck in the status quo. He was a progressive leader whose legacy will influence future generations of correctional administrators striving to make a difference. After serving for two years as Director of the Oregon Department of Corrections, his career was tragically cut short on the night of January 17, 1989, when he was stabbed to death on the doorsteps of the Oregon Department of Corrections in Salem, the state’s capital. In honor of his legacy, each year, CLA presents the Michael Francke Award, the highest honor bestowed by the Association, to recognize the outstanding CLA member who personifies dedication to the corrections profession and demonstrates exceptional career achievements.

Francke Award Committee Members
Committee Chair: Jeff Beard Associate Members: Harold Clarke, Glenn Goord, Brad Livingston, Reginald Wilkinson


New Directors Onboarding Committee

The New Directors Onboarding Committee was established to assist New Directors in transitioning into a correctional leadership position.  The goal of sharing common practices and experiences is to provide New Directors with an outlet and support through CLA.  The correctional field is unique and provides a distinct set of challenges; therefore, the Committee will focus on specialized onboarding, as it is essential to ensuring success in the New Director role.  The Committee will conduct quarterly zoom meetings and maintain open communication with new members to support their leadership development.

New Directors Onboarding Committee Members
Committee Chair: Josh Tewalt (ID)  Members: Kevin Carr (WI), Annette Chambers-Smith (OH), Rob Jeffreys (NE), Carol Mici (MA), Bryan Stirling (SC), Alisha Tafoya Lucero (NM)


Past Presidents Committee

The Past Presidents' Committee oversees the Susan M. Hunter and the Wainwright Awards. The Susan M. Hunter Correctional Scholarship is named in honor of Susan Hunter, former Chief of the Prisons Division at the National Institute of Corrections, as a lasting tribute to her commitment to the field of corrections. Susan was 58 when she passed away on March 14, 2004. The Scholarship provides the opportunity for former presidents of CLA to contribute their experience and knowledge for the betterment of the Association, to formally acknowledge the contributions of former members, and to encourage higher education for the children of correctional employees through the awarding of the Susan M. Hunter Scholarships. The Wainwright Award honors Louie L. Wainwright, Secretary of Corrections in Florida for many years during the 60s, 70s, and 80s. He holds the record for the longest-serving correctional agency head in a single state. He has for years been the acknowledged Dean of American Correctional Administrators based on his twenty-five years of continuous service as Secretary of the Florida Department of Corrections. He presided as President of ACA and along with Ellis MacDougall, founded the Association of State Correctional Administrators (now known as CLA). He established many facilities and implemented countless innovations in Florida during his tenure. His facilities were best known by ACA auditors as the cleanest and most orderly in the nation. He was an ACA Standard-bearer; and during his tenure, all of his facilities were accredited. This award is bestowed on the Associate member of CLA who has contributed greatly to corrections since having left his/her post as director of a corrections agency.

Past Presidents Committee Members
Committee Chair: Ron Angelone (Associate, VA). Members: Harold Clarke (VA) Associates: Leann Bertsch (ND) Reginald Wilkenson (OH) Glenn Goord (NYC) Theodis Beck (NC) Louie Wainwright (FL) Richard Stalder (LA) Morris Thigpen (AL) Larry Norris (AR) Elaine Little (ND)  John Wetzel (PA)


Program and Training Committee

The Program and Training Committee designs and develops training and programs that are relevant to the membership’s current needs for specific information, enriched by the research and study of experts and the experiential wisdom of fellow members who are dealing successfully with challenging issues and tailored for new and experienced members.

Program and Training Committee Members
Committee Chair: Josh Tewalt (ID)   Members: Wynnie Testamark (USVI), James Dzurenda (NV). Associates: Rick Raemisch 


Tom Clements Award Committee

The Clements Award Committee honors Tom Clements, who was formerly Director of the Colorado Department of Corrections, and who was assassinated in the line of duty in March of 2013. Throughout his thirty-three years as a correctional professional, Tom pursued a progressive vision of a corrections professional that supports the redemption of offenders. An innovator, he was continually on a mission to find new and better ways to improve conditions for staff, provide needed programs and treatment for offenders, and build bridges to community services that would enhance offenders’ chances for success. The Clements Award Committee is charged with developing an award that recognizes members of the Association who exemplify Tom Clements’ virtues of vision and innovation in the corrections profession. The award signifies that the recipient, among all other members of the Association, most closely exemplifies Tom’s virtues of vision and innovation during his work in the corrections profession.

Tom Clements Award Committee Members
Committee Chair: Rick Raemisch (Associate CO), Bernie Warner (Associate WA)  Members: Harold Clarke (VA), Heidi Washington (MI), James Le Blanc (LA), Bryan Stirling (SC), Dean Williams, (AK, CO)