Leann Bertsch (ND)

Governor John Hoeven appointed Leann K. Bertsch Director of the North Dakota Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation in July 2005, after serving as the Commissioner of the North Dakota Department of Labor from September 2004 through June 2005.

Prior to entering state government, Leann served as an Assistant State’s Attorney for Burleigh County from August 1996 through August 2004. Leann worked as an attorney for Legal Assistance of North Dakota from 1992 through 1996.

Leann served for 21 years in the North Dakota National Guard as an Assistant Judge Advocate until her retirement in 2007. Leann holds a Bachelor of Science degree from North Dakota State University and a Juris Doctor from the University of North Dakota School of Law.

Christopher Epps (MS)

Commissioner Christopher B. Epps was appointed to his current post by Democratic Governor Ronnie Musgrove in August of 2002 and was reappointed by Republican Governor Haley Barbour on January 13, 2004. Epps, honored as the longest serving Commissioner in the history of the Mississippi Department of Corrections (MDOC), has held virtually every management and supervisory position in the agency since beginning his career with MDOC in 1982 as a correctional officer.

During his term as Commissioner, Chris Epps has paved the way for the agency to move forward. He appointed the first female Deputy Commissioner in corrections and the first female superintendent for a state prison in the history of Mississippi; has successfully raised the salaries of all MDOC employees; has significantly increased the number of inmates graduating in ABE, Vocational School, and Alcohol and Drug programs; and has led the agency’s effort to achieve full ACA accreditation, becoming the 14th state to receive the ACA Eagle Award. Commissioner Epps received an honorable discharge from the Mississippi Army National Guard after attaining the rank Lieutenant Colonel.

Currently serving as president-elect of the American Correctional Association and immediate past-president of the Southern States Correctional Association, Commissioner Epps also serves on the Emergency Response Interoperability Center Public Safety Advisory Committee for the Federal Communications Commission and the National Board of Directors for the Correctional Peace Officers Foundation. Epps is a graduate of Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia with a Master of Arts Degree in Guidance and Counseling. He received his Bachelor of Science Degree in Elementary Education from Mississippi Valley State University.

Brian Fischer (NY)

Brian Fischer was appointed Acting Commissioner of the New York State Department of Correctional Services (now NY Department of Corrections and Community Supervision) by
Governor Eliot Spitzer effective January 1, 2007. The state Senate unanimously confirmed him on March 12, 2007.

Mr. Fischer leads the nation’s fourth-largest state prison system. He oversees an agency that employs 31,000 workers and houses approximately 63,500 inmates in 69 correctional facilities plus the 850-bed Willard Drug Treatment Campus.

Mr. Fischer began his career with the New York State Narcotic Addiction Control Commission in 1968, working as an Aftercare (Parole) Officer. In 1975, he transferred into the Department of Correctional Services with the title of Assistant Director, Drug Treatment Center. During his initial years with the Department he served as a Deputy Superintendent in several correctional facilities including the opening of the Downstate Correctional Facility which provided “separation services” to prepare inmates for their release.

From 1981 until 1991 Mr. Fischer was involved in several projects that involved regionalization, he worked on an inter-governmental agency task force, and was the director of the Department’s Division of Support Operations in Albany.

In 1991 he was appointed as the Superintendent of the Queensboro Correctional Facility and a Supervising
Superintendent. While the
Superintendent position called for coordinating the development of the inmate work release program and the conversion of Queensboro into a pre-release, re-entry facility, the Supervising Superintendent position
required his oversight of daily operations of seven prisons in the New York City area.

Mr. Fischer was appointed Superintendent of the Sing Sing Correctional Facility in 2000 while continuing to serve as the
Supervising Superintendent for the state prisons located in New York City. While at Sing Sing, he was twice nominated by the former Commissioner for the Warden of the Year Award with the North American Association of Wardens and Superintendents, and will be awarded that honor this summer at the American Correctional Association conference.

In addition to his positions as the Sing Sing Superintendent and a Supervising Superintendent, Mr. Fischer was involved in a number of presentations and task forces dealing with issues related to correctional management and programmatic
initiatives. They include a “Tools Needed to Succeed” presentation, “New Horizon in Re-Entry” panel speaker, Rockland County Jail Advisory Committee on Mental Heath member, “Community Orientation Preparation Program” presentation, opening remarks for the “Collaboration to Strengthen Transitional Planning for HIV nmates,” panel moderator for “Changing the Mission of Corrections; Re-Thinking Hiring and Promotion Standards in Corrections,” panel member for the “Practical Issues in the Relations Between Wardens and Corrections Counsel,” and a panel presenter for “Meshing Security and Program: Community-Based Organizations and Corrections.”

Mr. Fischer received recognition by a number of community groups and programs including, The Criminal Justice Award, in Honor of Benjamin Ward, presented by the NYS Minorities in Criminal Justice, 2006.

Recognized by the NY Theological Seminary for special support of their Master’s Degree in Professional Studies
Program at Sing Sing, the New York Theological Seminary’s 2006 Urban Angel Award Banquet.

Scholarship in the name of Superintendent Brian Fischer for former inmates who have used their education earned at Sing Sing in helping formerly incarcerated persons. Awarded by Hudson Link for Higher Education, 2006.

Mr. Fischer has been an adjunct professor at both Pace University and John Jay College of Criminal Justice. He is also Vice President of the New York Corrections Historical Society, a member of the American Correctional Association, the North American Wardens and Superintendents Association, the New York Corrections and Youth Services Association and until his appointment, the New York State Association of Correctional Facility Superintendents.

Mr. Fischer is a native of Rockland County and has a wife and two grown sons. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in
Psychology and a Master’s Degree in Guidance and Counseling.

Ray Hobbs (AR)

Governor Mike Beebe’s recommendation and the Board of Corrections’ decision have placed a 35-year veteran of corrections at the helm of the Arkansas Department of Correction as interim director. Ray Hobbs, 57, of Pine Bluff was selected following the retirement of Larry Norris, longtime director of the agency. Hobbs served as Norris’ Chief Deputy Director for nine years.

Hobbs began his employment at the ADC in 1975 as an entry level correctional officer at the Tucker Unit. After moving through the ranks, he was promoted to assistant warden in 1978 and to warden the following year. Hobbs became Assistant Director of Institutions in 1994, Deputy Director of Institutions in 1998, and Chief Deputy Director in 2001.

He is recognized nationally for his work with emergency preparedness, the Prison Rape Elimination Act and accreditation of correctional facilities. Hobbs is a certified auditor for the American Correctional Association and serves on its Board of Governors. He is also a member of the Southern States Correctional Association, Arkansas Criminal Justice Association and North America Association for Wardens.

Hobbs a Master of Arts degree in Criminal Justice for the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, where he is a part time Criminal Justice lecturer and instructor.

He will serve as interim director until a permanent replacement for Norris is named, which likely will take place in the late spring.

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.

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.

Tom Patterson (UT)

Thomas E. Patterson was appointed Executive Director, Utah Department of Corrections by Governor Jon M. Huntsman, Jr. on January 5, 2007. Utah Senate confirmed his appointment on January 16, 2007.

Prior to his work with Utah Department of Corrections, Patterson served as the Utah Sentencing Commission within the Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice (CCJJ) Executive Director.

Tom received his undergraduate degree from Brigham Young University. Tom went on to Washburn University in Topeka, Kansas where he obtained his juris doctorate degree. Tom’s career prior to CCJJ includes serving as Rush County Attorney (Kansas): Chief Administrative Law Judge and legal counsel with the Utah Department of Workforce Services; and Director of the Utah Sentencing Commission.

Patterson and his wife, Reta, live with their five children in Alpine, Utah.

Director Patterson states, “I am humbled by the trust the Governor is showing in my abilities. I truly look forward to this new challenge and working with the dedicated men and women at the Department of Corrections.”

LaDonna Thompson (KY)

LaDonna H. Thompson, an 18-year veteran of the Kentucky Department of Corrections, made history when Gov. Steve Beshear named her commissioner, marking the first time a woman has been chosen for the top DOC post.
Thompson, 45, has spent the last two and a half years as Deputy Commissioner of the agency. While serving as a project manager, she was instrumental in implementing a statewide offender management system – a comprehensive project that combined three large, outdated systems to allow for a seamless flow of information.
As one of the original correctional officers at the Eastern Kentucky Correctional Complex, Thompson moved on to hold a position at Kentucky State Reformatory and Luther Luckett Correctional Complex in LaGrange. She made her way up through the ranks, working with the VINE program (Victim Information and Notification Everyday), inmate classification and population management divisions.
During her career in Corrections, Thompson received numerous awards, including three honors for distinguished service to the department. A recent graduate of the Leadership Kentucky class of 2007, her awards also include two for recommendations that resulted in fiscal savings for the Commonwealth. Thompson was a 2007 recipient of the “Breaking the Glass Ceiling” Award presented by the National Center for Women and Policing, and was selected as a participant in the 2006 NIC Executive Leadership for Women class.
A graduate of Morehead State University, Thompson received her degree in psychology and sociology. She and her husband Brian, a detective with the Louisville Metro Police Department, live in Bullitt County with their two sons, Seth and Christian.

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.