Introducing Correctional News’ 2018 Editorial Advisory Board

Correctional News is pleased to announce both our new and returning editorial advisory board members. Our members are carefully selected based on their background, dedication in the industry and passion of sharing this information with others. Their qualifications are exemplary and give our publication the added insider information that our readers have grown to appreciate. Our board members are able to provide industry knowledge to our editorial department and also report on current trends seen first-hand throughout the country. We would like to give a special thanks to those who have served on the board in previous years, and a big welcome to those serving in 2018.

Returning Members

Nick Warner has been working as a Sacramento, Calif., lobbyist since 1992. Warner established Nick Warner & Associates in 1997, which evolved into Warner and Pank LLC in 2007, and later into Warner, Pank, Salzillo & Sanchez (WPSS) in 2016. Prior to founding the firm, Warner was an advocate for the California State Association of Counties. He is an expert in the legislative process, state budget maneuvering, and strategic state and local government procurement. The firm was founded and runs on a passion for public safety but has evolved its reach and considerable client list to include technology, health and human services, financial services, automotive industry and telecommunications interests. Warner leads a preeminent team of advisers at WPSS on matters involving state and local government policy, law, administrative and regulatory affairs, and procurement services. He is a sought-after keynote speaker and leadership consultant.

Pennsylvania Department of Corrections Secretary John Wetzel is widely recognized as one of the thought leaders in corrections today. With more than 26 years of experience, Wetzel’s career began in Lebanon County, Pa., as a corrections officer in 1989. His time there was followed by nine years at Berks County, Pa., where he served as a correctional officer, counselor, treatment supervisor and finally director of the Training Academy. Then, in January 2002, he began his nine-year tenure as warden of the Franklin County Jail in Chambersburg, Pa. In December 2010, he was selected as the 11th secretary of corrections for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania by then-Governor-elect Tom Corbett (R). In January 2015, Governor Tom Wolf (D) asked Wetzel to continue as the secretary of corrections. In May 2016, the Indiana University of Pennsylvania presented to him an honorary Doctor of Laws.

Bill Dobyns has extensive knowledge of the construction industry with more than 30 years of construction experience on public and private projects throughout the Pacific Northwest. His expertise lies in alternative delivery methods, including design-build, general contractor/construction manager and construction manager at-risk. He is also well-versed in all facets of construction such as estimating, purchasing, scheduling, contract administration, marketing and overall management. Dobyns leads the civic and justice division for Lydig Construction Inc. and is the vice president of Business Development in the company’s Bellevue, Wash., office.

Alex Fox is a nationally recognized expert in emerging correctional technology. He served in senior management positions, including warden and director of security technology during his 30-year career with the Massachusetts Department of Correction. Fox founded the Northeast Technology Product and Assessment Committee. He served as chairperson of both the ACA Technology and Intelligence Committees. Fox was on the board of directors for the Office of Law Enforcement Technology Commercialization and was an executive member of the Law Enforcement and Corrections Technology Advisory Council. He is certified in both the Department of Defense and Department of Energy vulnerability assessment methodologies. Fox has also consulted for the U.S. Department of Justice, Department of Homeland Security, John Hopkins Applied Physics Lab, Lockheed Martin and the National Institute of Justice. He is currently the co-owner of ADF Consulting LLC, based in Prescott, Ariz., offering an array of services for law enforcement and corrections technology companies.

Beverly Prior, FAIA, NCARB, LEEP AP, joined AECOM in 2014 as vice president, justice lead for the U.S. West region. In her 35 years of professional practice, Prior has planned and designed law enforcement, adult and juvenile detention, prison, courthouse facilities and other civic projects. Her experience includes needs assessments and feasibility studies, master planning, programming, security consulting, site evaluations and full architectural services for both new and existing facilities. She is a national leader in the justice design community having served on the Advisory Group of the Academy of Architecture for Justice (AAJ), chairing a national AAJ conference and serving as a Justice Facilities Review juror and jury chair. Out of a passion for creating livable and sustainable communities, she co-founded the AAJ’s Sustainable Justice Committee and, with this group, developed the Green Guide for Justice.

Stephen Carter is the executive vice president and global strategic development officer for Miami-based CGL. Carter is personally involved in technical studies in the areas of needs assessment, operational and architectural programming, design review, program management and policy evaluation, among others. He is often engaged by governmental agencies to develop analytically based studies and build consensus for a variety of project types ranging from courthouses to correctional institutions to law enforcement installations. Carter received his bachelor’s degree in architecture from Clemson University and his master’s degree in urban design and planning from the Architectural Association, London, England. Additional post-graduate studies were completed in economics at the London School of Economics, in transportation planning at Imperial College and in sociology at the University of South Carolina.

A certified construction manager, Greg Offner has been responsible for the design and construction of more than 100 courtrooms and more than 30,000 beds for federal, state, county and private facilities as well as DHS, ICE and CBP facilities. With more than 30 years’ experience in planning, design and construction of adult, juvenile and mental health treatment facilities, Offner serves as a project executive and design and pre-construction manager for Moss and Associates, with offices in Florida. He is a regular contributor to Correctional News and has served on the magazine’s editorial board for the past 15 years. Offner attended Spring Garden College in Philadelphia and is known throughout the country as a secure facility subject matter expert. He is also a so-so golfer, washed-up ski instructor and an especially gifted day napper.

Roger Lichtman, a registered architect, is the senior vice president and justice lead for corrections and detention at AECOM’s New York office. He is familiar with all aspects of criminal justice design including architectural programming, design and documentation, and construction administration of all criminal justice-related facilities. As an experienced architectural designer, he works directly with clients on creating and developing planning and design concepts as well as supervising staff architects and planners from inception through occupancy. Lichtman has designed more than $5 billion worth of correctional facilities, including 50,000 beds both nationally and internationally. He holds a bachelor’s degree in architecture from the Pratt Institute and a master’s degree from Rutgers University.

After his appointment by Georgia Governor Nathan Deal in November 2012, Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) Commissioner Avery D. Niles was sworn into office and endorsed by a unanimous vote of the DJJ Board. Today, Commissioner Niles leads a workforce of more than 4,300 state juvenile correctional employees working in 26 facilities and 97 community services offices engaged in the restorative justice of more than 13,000 Georgia youths. With more than 30-plus years of distinguished law enforcement and criminal justice experience, Commissioner Niles built his corrections career as warden of the Hall County Correctional Institute and commander of the Hall County Detention Center. Niles spent more than 20 years in the Hall County Sheriff’s Office where he rose through the line from patrolman to sergeant in Juvenile Investigations; ranked first lieutenant while serving as assistant commander of Patrol Division; and served as lieutenant in the Work Release/House Arrest Division before assuming command of the adult detention center.

Gerry Guerrero has more than 28 years of experience in architecture with a specialization in criminal justice facility planning and design, and serves as senior vice president, justice director of the justice practice for HOK in the firm’s Chicago office. He has worked extensively on needs assessments, planning studies and designs of adult and juvenile facilities for local, state and federal clients. Guerrero serves as a principal, project designer or project manager, depending on the client and project needs for HOK pursuits. As co-director of the justice practice, he is responsible for working with each regional business unit of the HOK Corporation. He was the only architect as a member of the Illinois Juvenile Task Force responsible for the new physical plant standards for all new Illinois Juvenile Facilities.

Jeff Goodale leads HOK’s global justice practice from the firm’s Chicago office. He has more than 30 years of direct experience in the government and justice design community and is highly involved in HOK’s always evolving approach to project delivery. Goodale has delivered court, detention and correction projects for state, county and federal agencies. His expertise includes master planning, programming, design, security consulting and construction management. He has overseen projects ranging from 50 to 1,800 beds, and his experience encompasses diverse facility types, including detention, juvenile, correctional, courts and public-safety sectors. Goodale also serves on HOK’s Board of Directors and as the chair of HOK’s Marketing Board.

Scott Kernan is currently the secretary of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR). He was owner of Kernan Consulting from 2011 to 2015. Prior to his appointment, Kernan served in several positions at CDCR, including undersecretary for operations from 2008 to 2011 (and then again from March to December 2015), chief deputy secretary of adult operations from 2007 to 2008 and deputy director of adult institutions from 2006 to 2007. He also was warden at California State Prison, Sacramento, and warden at Mule Creek State Prison. Kernan served as a correctional captain at CDCR, a correctional lieutenant, an associate budget analyst, a correctional sergeant and a correctional officer. He also served in the U.S. Navy from 1979 to 1982.

Ken McGinnis is senior vice president with CGL. Over the course of his 42-year public service career, McGinnis has worked as a warden in maximum-, medium-, and minimum-security institutions and served as director of both the Michigan Department of Corrections and the Illinois Department of Corrections. While serving as the chief administrative officer of two of the nation’s largest and most complex correctional systems, his professional duties and responsibilities encompassed virtually every aspect of the criminal justice system. In the last 15 years, McGinnis has served as a consultant in security and management issues to numerous state, local, and federal correctional and detention facilities and systems. McGinnis has a Bachelor of Science in administration of justice and a Master of Science in rehabilitations administration from Southern Illinois University.

Rick Raemisch, who has decades of experience working in numerous areas of the criminal justice system, was appointed as executive director of the Colorado Department of Corrections (CDOC) by Governor John Hickenlooper in July 2013. During his time with CDOC, Raemisch has successfully implemented prison reforms in Colorado and, except 15 days maximum-punitive segregation, has ended the use of restrictive housing. Raemisch is recognized as a leader on prison reform and is highly sought after to participate as a subject matter expert on both the national and international level.

Gary C. Mohr is director of the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction (DRC). Appointed by Governor John Kasich in January 2011, he has more than 43 years of correctional experience and a national reputation for being an innovative prison reformer. Since beginning his career in 1974 as a teacher’s aide at the Marion Correctional Institution, Director Mohr has been a progressive figure in the world of corrections. Director Mohr, who is the president-elect of the American Correctional Association (ACA), was awarded the very first Tom Clements Award for innovation in correctional practices in 2016 and also the 2017 Michael Francke Career Achievement Award by the Association of State Correctional Administrators. He received the 2015 International Community Corrections Association’s President’s Award in recognition of support of community corrections. He is the recipient of the Walter Dunbar Award from ACA in recognition of commitment to correctional accreditation (2015) and is director of the first correction system to receive the Lucy Webb Hayes Award (2016).

New Member

Colonel Jeff Dunn was appointed commissioner of the Alabama Department of Corrections on April 1, 2015. Commissioner Dunn, a native of Alabama, joined the department after serving 28 rewarding years in the United States Air Force. In addition to serving as military planner for U.S. European Command Headquarters in Stuttgart, Germany, Dunn served at the Pentagon as deputy director, combating terrorism and support activities for the Office of the Secretary of Defense and as the Senior Military Assistant to the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Homeland Defense and Americas’ Security Affairs.

Check out the entire list in the January/February issue of Correctional News.