John Baldwin (IA)

John Baldwin was appointed Director of the Iowa Department of Corrections on April 25, 2007. Mr. Baldwin, a Ft. Dodge native, has been with the Iowa Department of Corrections since 1977 and served as Deputy Director of Administration since 1983. Along with former DOC directors Hal Farrier and Paul Grossheim, he helped establish the Department of Corrections when they split from the Department of Human Services in 1983.

Some of his accomplishments have included:
• Department leader over multiple building and expansion projects including new facilities at Newton, Ft. Dodge and Clarinda.
• Development of Iowa Offender Based Management System (ICON)
• Appointed to the Criminal Justice Information System Committee to develop a sharing plan of all offender and court data among all criminal justice agencies in the state.
• Overseeing the two year Durrant study of the Department of Corrections.

John received his undergraduate degree in Economics from the University of Iowa and an M.A. in Political Science and Public Administration from Iowa State University.

John is married with two grown sons.

Robert Houston (NE)

Director Houston was appointed as Director by Governor Dave Heineman effective March 14, 2005. Immediately preceding his appointment, he was Director of the Douglas County Department of Corrections having served in that position since April 2003. He started his state corrections career in 1974 as a counselor at the Nebraska State Penitentiary. In the years that followed, he held progressively more responsible positions throughout the Agency to include Unit Manager at the Lincoln Correctional Center, Unit Administrator at the Nebraska State Penitentiary, Associate Superintendent at the Omaha Correctional Center, Deputy Warden at the Penitentiary, Warden at three institutions: Omaha Correctional Center, Lincoln Correctional Center, and Nebraska Correctional Youth Facility; from September 2002 to April 2003 he served as the Assistant Director for Programs and Community Services. Mr. Houston serves on many boards and committees including the Jail Standards Board, the Crime Commission, the Community Corrections Council, the Capitol Facilities Planning Committee, and the Interstate Compact for Adult Offender Supervision. He is the Co-Founder and Member of the Omaha’s Metropolitan Chief’s Association, Board President of the University of Nebraska Omaha/Lincoln (UNO/UNL) Criminal Justice Education Fund within the University of Nebraska Foundation, past president of the United State’s Deputy Warden’s Association and the Nebraska Correctional Association. In 2009, Mr. Houston was Chairman of the Charitable Giving Campaign for Nebraska State Government. He has served both as an auditor for the American Correctional Association (ACA), as a consultant for the National Institute of Corrections (NIC) and was recently appointed as a Commissioner of ACA.
Mr. Houston has a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice from the University of Nebraska-Omaha and a Master of Science in Criminal Justice from the University of Nebraska where he served as a part time instructor from 1984 to 2005. He was recognized by the UNO as the College of Continuing Studies Instructor of the Year in 1998 and by the College of Public Administration and Community Service (CPACS) for Excellence in Community Service 2002, the Alumni Community Service Award in 2009, in 2011 the Hubert Locke Award, and the 2012 UNO Alumni Citation Award Recipient.

Denny Kaemingk (SD)

Denny Kaemingk was appointed Secretary of the South Dakota Department of Corrections by Governor Dennis Daugaard on April 4, 2011. The Department of Corrections manages the state’s adult and juvenile correctional facilities, adult parole services, and juvenile aftercare. It has 845 employees and an annual budget of 98 million dollars.

Kaemingk served for nine years on the Board of Pardons and Paroles. He was starting his fourth year as chairman of the Parole Board when appointed as Secretary of Corrections.
Kaemingk’s law enforcement career began in 1976 as a patrolman in the Mitchell, SD Police Department. He later advanced to drug detective, special investigator for the Attorney General’s Office, Captain of Detectives and Communications/911 Supervisor before finally retiring from the police force in 2000. During his law enforcement career, Kaemingk was recognized as the Mitchell Jaycees Outstanding Law Enforcement Officer and Mitchell Exchange Club Outstanding Law Enforcement Officer of the Year.
He is a part-time Criminal Justice instructor at Dakota Wesleyan University in Mitchell, SD.

Kaemingk was the Chairman of the Abbott House Foundation, a private program that provides residential treatment services, therapeutic foster care and outpatient services to girls between the ages of 7 and 17 in Mitchell, SD. He also is Past President and Member of the Mitchell Area Safehouse Foundation, a member of the Mitchell Lions Club, Past Board Member of the South Dakota Lions Foundation and Lions Eye Bank, Coordinator of the Sight and Service Committee, Past member of the Mitchell Regional Habitat Public Relations Committee, Past Lay President of the Board of Directors of the First Reformed Church and member of the Mitchell Chamber of Commerce. He has received the Outstanding Lay Person Award from the South Dakota Pharmaceutical Association, Outstanding Young Lions Club Member Award and Lion of the Year Award and was named Melvin Jones Fellow of the International Lions Club Foundation.

Kaemingk and his wife Wyonne have two sons, Adam and Bryan and one grandchild, Eliot Claire.

Robert Lampert (WY)

Robert O. (Bob) Lampert is a Marine Corps veteran with more than 32 years of correctional experience, including military and state service. He came to Wyoming from the Oregon Department of Corrections, where he worked as superintendent of the largest correctional facility in the northwest and as assistant superintendent at Oregon’s only maximum-security institution. He began his position as director of the Wyoming Department of Corrections on November 10, 2003.

Before joining the Oregon prison system, Director Lampert retired from the Texas Department of Criminal Justice following a 20-year career that saw him rise through the ranks from correctional officer to senior warden. While in Texas, he worked at nine different facilities and was personally charged with developing and implementing several innovative programs for high-risk inmates.

During his first two years of service with the Wyoming Department of Corrections, Director Lampert was able to obtain nearly $139 million in funding for new construction and the expansion of existing facilities, the majority of which was spent on adding education, programming and treatment space. He was also successful in guiding the legislature through a site selection process and approval for a new 706-bed prison that is uniquely designed to house and meet the needs of inmates with the highest medical, mental health, substance abuse, sex offender, or other special treatment needs. He was also successful in increasing authorized staffing levels in the agency by 32%, gaining P.O.S.T. certification for correctional officers and supervisors, and obtaining statutory law enforcement retirement eligibility for parole agents.

Director Lampert was born in Newcastle, Wyoming and is a graduate of Steven’s High School in Rapid City, South Dakota. He holds Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in criminology and corrections, as well as a master’s of business administration, from Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Texas. He also earned a doctorate of jurisprudence from the University of Houston and is licensed to practice law in Texas.

James Le Blanc (LA)

James M. Le Blanc was appointed Secretary of the Department of Public Safety and Corrections by Governor Bobby Jindal and officially took over the position in January 2008. Secretary Le Blanc served as Acting Chief of Operations for the Department from June 2007 until his appointment. He served as Warden of Dixon Correctional Institute from 1995 to 2007. Le Blanc has worked for the state and the Department for more than thirty-five (35) years, serving as Undersecretary (1992 – 1995) as well as interim Director of Probation and Parole (1998 – 1999).

Secretary Le Blanc received a B.A. in Business Administration from Southeastern Louisiana University in December 1972, with minors in Marketing and Accounting. He also proudly served his country as a member of the United States Army from July 1969 to May 1971. A Vietnam veteran, he was honorably discharged.

As Warden of Dixon Correctional Institute (DCI) for twelve years, Le Blanc oversaw many “firsts” for the department – the first Youthful Offender Program, the first dialysis unit in the prison system and the first Faith and Character Based Dormitory program. The National Association of Wardens and Superintendents (NAAWS) unanimously voted Le Blanc its “Warden of the Year” for 2007-2008. Le Blanc accepted the award in August 2008.

In accordance with Governor Jindal’s goals for the state’s justice system, Secretary Le Blanc stresses the fundamental importance of public safety while giving all citizens the opportunity to live productive lives by emphasizing “reentry” as a major factor of the Department’s mission. Perhaps Le Blanc’s most important contribution over the last several years is the establishment of reentry programming at DCI. Reentry is his passion. Establishing valuable, real-world vocational, educational and life skills training for offenders in all institutions is the number one goal for the next four years, aside from the core mission of public safety. Reducing Louisiana’s number one (in the world) incarceration rate is a tall order, but Le Blanc’s enthusiasm for seeing offenders succeed is all the motivation this leader needs. While the Department’s overall recidivism rate is 48%, DCI’s five-year rate (the measuring stick in corrections) is around 35%. Replicating DCI’s success at institutions statewide and at the community corrections level (Probation and Parole) will result in significant savings to the state as well as safer communities, reduced violence and fewer victims of crime.

Secretary Le Blanc works closely with the Louisiana Sheriffs Association, the Louisiana District Attorneys Association and the Louisiana District Judges Association to forge a productive partnership between state and local criminal justice systems.

Bruce Lemmon (IN)

Governor Mitchell E. Daniels, Jr. appointed Bruce Lemmon to be Commissioner of the Indiana Department of Correction effective January 17, 2011.

Before being appointed to Commissioner, Bruce Lemmon served as the Superintendent of the Putnamville Correctional Facility in Greencastle, IN. While in his post as Superintendent, he made many improvements to the facility, such as doubling the size of both the CLIFF Unit and the PLUS Unit, initiating a recycling program, and establishing the Park and Furniture Program, Farm Fresh Dinner, and the Inmate to Work Mate Program. Commissioner Lemmon also increased the amount of jobs for the offender population during his tenure at Putnamville.

Lemmon began his career as a recreation coordinator in 1976 at the Rockville Correctional Facility. He has served in various capacities within DOC during his 35-year career including Supervisor of Work Release Services, Assistant Superintendent of the Indiana Girls School, Regional Director of Adult Operations, Superintendent of the Wabash Valley Correctional Facility and Deputy Commissioner. Lemmon also served as interim DOC Commissioner on two occasions.

Commissioner Lemmon is a veteran having served his country in the United States Army and was honorably discharged as a Specialist 5. He is an auditor for the American Correctional Association (ACA), and he holds a membership with the American Correctional Association (ACA), Indiana Correctional Association (ICA) lifetime member, National Major Gang Task Force (NMGTF), and the Certified Correctional Executive (CCE). Lemmon received the IDOC’s Distinguished Service Award in 2009.

Lemmon earned a bachelor’s degree from Indiana State University. He and his wife, Cindy, reside in Clay County. Together they have four children, Dustin, Brittany, Alexa, and Makenzie.

Brad Livingston (TX)

Brad Livingston has served as the Executive Director of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) since November 1, 2004. In this role, he oversees the operations of one of the largest governmental entities of its kind, with approximately 40,000 employees statewide. TDCJ has oversight responsibilities that include state correctional facilities, parole and probation. Brad reports to the Texas Board of Criminal Justice, which is chaired by Oliver Bell, an appointee of Governor Rick Perry. In July of 2007 and again in June 2009, the Texas Public Employees Association presented him with the Agency Administrator of the Year award for his effectiveness in this role.

Brad joined TDCJ in October 1997 as the Deputy Director of the Financial Services Division. He was appointed Chief Financial Officer in June 2001 and assumed broad responsibility for the agency’s day-to-day business, fiscal, and administrative operations; he also had specific oversight authority for the Facilities, Information Technology and Manufacturing and Logistics Divisions. Brad continued as the agency’s CFO while serving as the Interim Executive Director for nine months.

Early in his tenure at TDCJ, Brad was a key member of the senior executive team within the agency. He provided direct fiscal leadership as well as being heavily involved in the day-to-day executive decision making process involving the wide range of operational and strategic issues inherent to a large criminal justice agency.

Brad has a broad range of governmental experience. Prior to joining TDCJ, he served in Governor Bush’s Administration as a Group Director in the Governor’s Office of Budget and Planning. In this capacity, he played a key role in developing, as well as presenting the Governor’s budget proposal to the Legislature. Before joining the Governor’s Office, Brad worked for the Legislative Budget Board, where he provided fiscal analysis and testimony, to the Texas Legislature, on budgetary and programmatic issues of various state agencies, including TDCJ.

Brad has a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Political Science, with honors from Metropolitan State College of Denver, and holds a Master of Public Affairs (MPA) from the University of Texas at Austin.

Joe Ponte (ME)

Governor Paul LePage swore in Joseph Ponte as Commissioner of Maine’s Department of Corrections on February 24, 2011. The Governor nominated Ponte, 64, of Pahrump, Nevada and he was unanimously voted in by the Senate on February 15.

Ponte’s previous post was as warden for Corrections Corporation of America-Nevada Southern Detention Center located in Pahrump, Nevada. Ponte began his career in 1969 as a correctional officer at the Massachusetts Department of Corrections, where he promoted through the ranks to become warden at two different facilities and was later named assistant deputy commissioner. Ponte has also successfully led two facilities through the American Correctional Association accreditation process

Brent Reinke (ID)

Brent Reinke has been the Director of the Department of Correction since January 1, 2007. Reinke oversees the department’s eight state prisons, one private prison, five community work centers and seven district probation and parole offices. The Department of Correction manages more than 20,000 offenders.

Director Reinke has chaired the Idaho Criminal Justice Commission since it was established by Executive Order in 2005. In his roles and Director and Commission Chair, Director Reinke has worked to develop a systems approach to managing criminal justice issues in Idaho more effectively.

Prior to his appointment to the Department of Correction, Director Reinke served as Director of the Idaho Department of Juvenile Corrections. Prior to his ten years of service at Juvenile Corrections, Reinke was a Twin Falls County Commissioner and business owner.

Current IDOC Accomplishments and Approach
Director Reinke is leading the Department of Correction to respond to this year’s budget cuts with a novel approach. Rather than cutting more than 100 staff to balance a 14% reduction, the department is retaining staff and committing all resources to maintaining no prison growth. The “No Growth in 2009” initiative means putting the right inmate in the right bed at the right time so they’re ready for parole in a timely manner. It’s working. The prison population is down nearly 100 inmates this fiscal year.

Focusing on efficiencies, moving inmates to lower cost beds and making certain treatment is available are all part of this effort.

Jim Rubenstein (WV)

Jim Rubenstein was appointed Commissioner of the West Virginia Division of Corrections in June 2001 by Governor Bob Wise after serving as Acting Commissioner since February 2001. Jim was re-appointed as Commissioner of the West Virginia Division of Corrections by Governor Joe Manchin, III on March 2, 2005 and is tasked with the responsibility to oversee the day to day operations of the Division of Corrections throughout the entire State of West Virginia.

Jim Rubenstein has over two-decades in the corrections profession. Mr. Rubenstein began his career with Corrections in 1973 as a Correctional Officer at the Forestry Camp for Boys. He also served as a Recreation Coordinator, a Correctional Officer, and a Counselor at the WV Industrial School for Boys. Mr. Rubenstein went on to serve as a Corrections Case Manager and Corrections Case Manager at Pruntytown Correctional Center. In 1994, Mr. Rubenstein was named Superintendent of Anthony Correctional Center. In late 1998, he was named Deputy Warden of St. Marys Correctional Center and was instrumental in the conversion of that facility from a state hospital to a medium security correctional institution. On June 1, 1999, Mr. Rubenstein was appointed to the position of Deputy Commissioner of Institutional Operations and served in that position until his appointment as Commissioner.

His qualifications and skills offer him a unique opportunity to bring insight and experience to the DOC. His career in corrections has prepared him with the management abilities, training and development skills, and interpersonal communications expertise necessary to promote programs, technology and training within the DOC.

Commissioner Rubenstein is affiliated with the following organizations: Member of the Association of State Correctional Administrators (ASCA), member of the American Correctional Association (ACA), Secretary for the Regional Jail and Correctional Facility Authority Board, member and former President of the WV Association of Correctional Employees (WV ACE), and member of Southern States Correctional Association (SSCA).

Charles Ryan (AZ)

Charles L. Ryan has 30 years of experience in the field of Corrections, having served most recently as a corrections consultant on the national and international level. He has also served as Assistant Program Manager for the Department of Justice, a Director of the Arizona Department of Corrections, as Prison Warden and as Prison Administrator. He possesses in-depth, and hands-on institutional skills developed at entry-level, supervisory, administrative and executive level positions from minimum to super-maximum security.

Mr. Ryan has extensive experience in the development of correctional institutional policy including the formulation of the inmate classification system, the staffing and activation of various prison complexes and the development of budgetary requirements all presented to the executive and legislative branches of government. He has also been instrumental in developing operational processes designed to enhance inmate accountability and safer prisons and detention facilities. He has executive experience in human resources and inmate management processes at an agency employing over 10,000 personnel and the custody and control of more than 31,000 inmates

Derrick Schofield (TN)

Derrick D. Schofield was sworn in as Commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Correction (TDOC) on January 15, 2011 by Governor Bill Haslam. Commissioner Schofield has served as Assistant Commissioner and Chief of Staff of the Georgia Department of Corrections where he directed the day-today activities of the fifth largest prison system in the country. As Commissioner of the TDOC, Schofield oversees 14 prisons with an inmate population of over 20,000. The Department employs 5,440 professionals and has an operating budget of more than $662,000,000.

Commissioner Schofield has almost twenty years of correctional experience having served in various positions including Warden, Facility Operations Director and Director of Investigations and Compliance. Prior to being Commissioner, Schofield served in the United States Army from 1982-1989 where he reached the rank of Captain.

He holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Political Science from Fort Valley State University and a Master’s of Public Administration from Georgia’s Law Enforcement Command College and Columbus State University.

Schofield is a recipient of the Distinguished Social Sciences Alumnus Award from Fort Valley State University and recently served on a national committee on the incarceration of youthful offenders in adult prisons.

Luis Spencer (MA)

Luis S. Spencer was appointed as the Acting Commissioner for the Department of Correction in January 2011. He was named Commissioner June 5, 2011. Prior to this appointment he was serving as the Acting Deputy Commissioner of Prisons.

He started his career in the Massachusetts Department of Corrections in 1980 as a Correction Officer. In 1982, he joined the United States Air Force where he received an honorable discharge in 1985 as a Sergeant. Upon his return to the Department of Correction in 1985, he quickly advanced through the ranks as a Correction Officer, Sergeant, Captain, Director of Security, and Deputy Superintendent. In 1995, he was appointed Superintendent of MCI Lancaster, a Co-Ed minimum/pre-release facility. Following this assignment he was appointed as the Superintendent to three other facilities. After serving 7 years as a Superintendent of MCI Norfolk, he was promoted to Assistant Deputy Commissioner of the Southern Sector. His duties included oversight of the nine correctional facilities which include facilities such as the Bridgewater State Hospital, Massachusetts Treatment Center for the Sexually Dangerous, Massachusetts Alcohol and Substance Abuse Center, and MCI Cedar Junction.

He has enhanced his professional background by attending the National Institute of Correction’s Executive Excellence Program for up and coming leaders in corrections, the Senior Executives Program at Harvard University/J.F.K. School of Government, and Labor Relations from Massasoit Community College.

Kim Thomas (AL)

On January 17, 2011, Governor Robert Bentley appointed Mr. Kim T. Thomas as Acting Commissioner of the Alabama Department of Corrections. An interest in criminology and corrections led Kim to study at Marshall University in West Virginia where he earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in 1983. Upon graduation, he relocated to Alabama and began his career with the Alabama Department of Corrections. Following his completion at the Correctional Academy, he rose through the ranks as a Correctional Officer, Correctional Sergeant, and Classification Specialist at a maximum security facility. While employed with the Department, Commissioner Thomas attended the Birmingham School of Law and received his Juris Doctorate in 1993. In April 1995, he was given the honor of providing legal representation to the Alabama Department of Corrections as an Assistant General Counsel. For the past six years, under Commissioners Donal Campbell and Richard Allen, he has served as General Counsel to the Department.

A.T. Wall (RI)

Prior to this appointment Mr. Wall served in the capacity of Assistant Director for a number of years. In this position he was responsible for the central management of Departmental operations and functioned as the Director’s second-in-command.

Mr. Wall’s career in corrections began in 1976 as a Probation Officer. After his graduation from Law School, he served as a Prosecutor in the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office and then joined the Vera Institute of Justice, where he was Director of a sentencing project for chronic offenders convicted by the New York City Courts. A native of Rhode Island, he returned to his home state in 1985 and worked in the Governor’s Office on policy issues in the areas of corrections and criminal justice. He was tapped by the Director of Corrections to join the Department in 1987 as Assistant Director. Mr. Wall was named Interim Director in 1999 and became Director in 2000.

Mr. Wall received a Bachelors of Arts Degree from Yale University in 1975 and his Juris Doctor from Yale Law School in 1980.