Theodis Beck

Patricia Caruso

Patricia L. Caruso joined the Michigan Department of Corrections in 1988 and has served in several capacities, which include three years as business manager, nine years as Warden, two years as Regional Prison Administrator and 10 months as Deputy Director.

In July of 2003, she was appointed Director of the Department. Director Caruso received a B.A. in political science and sociology from Lake Superior State University and a Masters in comprehensive occupational education from the University of Michigan. Director Caruso was elected Vice President of the American Correctional Association (ACA), for a two-year term beginning in August, 2008 and re-elected in 2010 for an additional term.

She also has served on the ACA’s Commission on Accreditation for Corrections since July, 2006 and has been a member of the ACA Standards Committee since July, 2003. Director Caruso is also serving as the President of the Association of State Correctional Administrators and previously served as their Vice President and Treasurer. She is a past member of the ACA Program Planning Committee and past president of the North American Association of Wardens and Superintendents. In addition, Director Caruso is active in a number of other professional correctional organizations.

Larry Norris

After twice serving as Interim Director, Larry Norris was named Director of the Arkansas Department of Correction in December 1993. He brought more than 20 years experience in correctional service to the Director’s Office.

He was born in southeastern Arkansas and educated in Dumas. After serving in the military in the ‘60s, he began his correctional career at the Cummins Unit. His responsibilities within the department increase over the years, from Infirmary Administrator and later Assistant Warden at Cummins, to Warden at the Maximum Security Unit at Tucker, Assistant Director and finally to Director. Along the way, Larry Norris earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, and his master’s degree in criminal justice from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. In 2003, he was named Alumnus of the Year by the College of Professional Studies at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.

Director Norris is a member of the Association of State Correctional Administrators and the American Correctional Association. He has served as president of the Arkansas Criminal Justice Association and the Southern States Correctional Association.

He is married to the former Phyllis Bryant of Altheimer and they are the proud parents of two children. Their son, Trevor, is employed at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., and their daughter, Ellen, works in public affairs with the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department.

Larry retired 12/31/09 and was replaced by Interim Ray Hobbs.

Morris Thigpen

Morris Thigpen serves as the Director of the National Institute of Corrections (NIC) for the U.S. Department of Justice. Appointed in 1994 by the U.S. Attorney General, Morris has oversight responsibilities for the Institute and ensures that NIC fulfills its mission to advance and shape correctional practice and public policy that respond to the needs of corrections through the collaboration and leadership and by providing assistance, information, education, and training.

NIC responds directly to the needs identified by practitioners working in state and local adult corrections and provides leadership to influence correctional policies, practices, and operations nationwide in areas of emerging interest and concern to the field of corrections.
NIC provides direct service rather than financial assistance as the primary means of carrying out its mission and is organized so that each primary constituent group in adult corrections—jails, prisons, and community corrections—is represented and served by one of NIC’s divisions. The Academy Division, the Offender Workforce Development Division, and the NIC Information Center also serve all adult corrections.

Before joining NIC, Morris served as the Deputy Director of the Mississippi Department of Human Services in Jackson, Mississippi. From 1987 to 1993, he served as the Commissioner of Corrections for the State of Alabama. Morris’s innovative program for substance abuse treatment received national recognition by the Innovations Transfer Program of the Council of State Governments and he was influential in the passage of the Community Corrections and Punishment Act of 1991.

From 1980 to 1987, Morris served as the Commissioner of Corrections under Mississippi Governors Winter and Allain. He achieved passage in the 1983 legislative session of a $51 million Capital Construction Package, which decentralized the state prison system and provided other significant reforms. From 1977 to 1980, he served as Deputy Commissioner for Community Services and was responsible for adult probation and parole services throughout the state.

Morris’s career in corrections began at Mississippi’s Department of Youth Services in Jackson, Mississippi. From 1971 to 1977, he served as the Director of Juvenile Probation and Parole, as the Superintendent of the Training School, and as the Coordinator of Personnel and Training.

For his many contributions, Morris received the David H. Williams Excellence of Service Award from the Southern States Correctional Association in 1994, the E.R. Cass Correctional Achievement Award from the American Correctional Association in 1993, and the first Michael Francke Award from the Association of State Correctional Administrators in 1992. His education includes a M.Ed. in Rehabilitation Counseling from Mississippi State University and a B.S. from Millsaps College, Jackson, Mississippi

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.

Roger Werholtz

Mr. Werholtz was appointed Acting Secretary of Corrections by Gov. Bill Graves on Sept. 30, 2002, and was appointed Secretary of Corrections by Gov. Kathleen Sebelius on Jan. 13, 2003. He served as Deputy Secretary of Corrections since 1987 and has supervised all three divisions of the Kansas Department of Corrections: Community and Field Services; Programs and Staff Development; and Facilities Management. He came to the department in 1982 after working as the first director of the Wyandotte County Community Corrections Program. He also has experience in community mental health, child protective services and substance abuse treatment and prevention. He has served as a graduate level instructor in the University of Kansas School of Social Welfare.

He chairs the Kansas Criminal Justice Coordinating Council; is a member of the Kansas Sentencing Commission; the Kansas Reentry Policy Council; and the Kansas Sex Offender Policy Board. He has been a member of the Governor’s Mental Health Services Planning Council; the Governor’s Substance Abuse Prevention Council; the Information Technology Executive Council; the Criminal Justice Recodification, Rehabilitation and Restoration Committee; and chaired that State Community Corrections Board. He was a recipient of a Garvey Memorial Scholarship and a Charlotte Leavitt Scholarship. In 1998, he was recognized as the outstanding alumnus of the University of Kansas School of Social Welfare and is a member of the school’s Advisory Board. He was named a 2005 Toll Fellow by the Council of State Governments. He serves as the Midwest Regional Representative on the Executive Committee of the Association of State Correctional Administrators. He has been a volunteer in scouting and youth athletics. Roger received the Michael Francke Award from ASCA in 2009.