Association of State Correctional Administrators

About - ASCA Executive Committee - ASCA Committees - Constitution and Resolutions

	President Larry Norris has been Director of the Arkansas Department of Corrections since 1994 and is the second longest tenured director in the country. Larry has been an active member of ASCA, having served on many committees, attended numerous meeting and programs and served as a trainer at various training events. Larry was the 2006 recipient of ASCA's Michael Francke Award, the highest honor bestowed by ASCA. He serves on the Executive Committee as the President of the Association.

	Vice President Patricia L. Caruso is the Director of the Michigan Department of Corrections. She joined the Department of Corrections in 1988 as assistant business manager of Kinross Correctional Facility. In 1991 she was named warden of the Chippewa Correctional Facility, a multi-level prison and the Straits Correctional Facility, a minimum-security prison. In 2000, she was appointed as one of three regional prison administrators for the Correctional Facilities Administration (CFA), overseeing 13 prisons and eight camps from Saginaw to the tip of the Upper Peninsula. Prior to her appointment as Director, Caruso held the post of CFA Deputy Director. She serves on the Executive Committee as the Vice President of the Association.

	Treasurer Ashbel T. Wall, II is the Director of the Rhode Island Department of Corrections. He began his careen as probation counselor in Connecticut. Working his way through law school at Yale University, he later served as Assistant District Attorney in Manhattan, served as Director of the Manhattan Community Sentencing Project for the Vera Institute, and as Policy Analyst for the Rhode Island Governor's Office. A.T. came to the Rhode Island Department of Corrections in 1987 as Assistant Director of Policy and Development, and was later promoted to the position of Assistant Director of Administration. He was appointed Director in 2000. A.T. is the third longest tenured Director in the country. He is currently the Chair of ASCA's Clearinghouse Committee, and is a member of the Program and Training and Re-Entry Committees. A.T. is the 2008 recipient of the Michael Francke Award, the highest honor bestowed by ASCA.

	Past President Harold W. Clarke is the Commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Correction. Harold began his corrections career with the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services in 1974 as an institutional counselor and parole advisor. He rose through the ranks and became the first employee promoted to Director in 1990 from within the Nebraska DOCS. He held that position until 2005 when he left to become the Secretary of the Washington State Department of Corrections. In 2007 Harold became the Commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Correction. Harold currently serves as Co-Chair of ASCA's Racial Issues Committee and also serves on the Clearinghouse, Intelligence Sharing, Legal Issues, Re-Entry and Safety Committees. He also serves on the Executive Committee as Past President. Harold is the 1997 recipient of ASCA's Michael Francke Award. He is also the president of the American Correctional Association and has served on the ACA Board of Governors and as a commissioner of the Commission on Accreditation.

	Roger Werholtz, Midwest Regional Representative, was confirmed as Secretary of the Kansas Department of Corrections in 2003. Prior to his appointment, he served as Acting Secretary and as Deputy Secretary of Corrections. He has supervised all three divisions of the Kansas Department of Corrections. Roger came to the Department in 1982 after working as the first director of the Wyandotte County Community Corrections Program. In addition to serving on the Executive Committee as the Representative of the Midwest Region, Roger is a member of the Correctional Research Committee, Corrections Industries Committee, Performance Measures Committee, and the Reentry Committee.

	Jeffrey Beard, Northeast Regional Representative, was appointed Secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections in February of 2001. He began his criminal justice career as a corrections counselor in 1972. He has held the positions of classification and treatment supervisor, deputy superintendent, superintendent and deputy commissioner. Jeff chairs ASCA's Performance Based Measures Committee. He is also a member of the Correctional Research Committee and the Program and Training Committee and he plays an active role in the training activities of the association. Jeff was the 2005 recipient of ASCA's Michael Francke Award. He serves on the Executive Committee as the Representative of the Northeast Region.

	Ari Zavaras, Western Regional Representative, joined the Denver Police Department in 1966, rising through the ranks to Captain until 1987 when he was named Chief of Police. He served as Chief until 1991. He was named Executive Director of the Colorado Department of Corrections in 1993 and held this post until 1998. Ari also served as Executive Director of the Department of Public Safety in 1999 and in 2000 was named as Manager of Safety where he served until July 2002. Colorado's Governor named Ari as Executive Director of the Department of Corrections for the second time on January 1, 2007. Ari currently serves on the Executive Committee.

	Gene M. Johnson, Southern Regional Representative, began his career in the Virginia Department of Corrections in 1966 as Recreation Supervisor at Southampton Correctional Center, where he later became Assistant Superintendent. He was Warden of St. Brides Correctional Center, Mecklenburg Correctional Center, Southampton Correctional Center, and Powhatan Correctional Center before being named Regional Administrator in the Northern, Eastern, Central and Southeastern Regions. He was named Deputy Director of Operations in 1994. Governor Mark Warner appointed Johnson as Director on October 9, 2002. He is an active member of the American Correctional Association and the Association of State Correctional Administrators.