(Telling My Story collaborator, Regional Director, South Carolina DOC)

I grew up in Wyoming, the fourth generation of Wyomingites. My parents ere school teachers and I am the third of four girls in my family. I graduated from the University of Wyoming with dual Bachelor of Science degrees in Sociology and Administration of Justice and a Master’s degree in Sociology. In my over 40-year career in the criminal justice system, I have had the opportunity to work in many different areas. I have been a police dispatcher, city police officer, detention officer/supervisor, victim-witness coordinator for the prosecutor’s office, Director of Victim Services for the State of Wyoming, and Deputy Administrator for the Wyoming Department of Corrections. I currently service as a Regional Director for the Department of Corrections in South Carolina where I oversee six prisons: three male institutions and three female institutions. Among my specific duties, both in Wyoming and South Carolina, I have been tasked with creating opportunities for women who are incarcerated to gain knowledge and skills to help them “grow and go” once they leave prison. The ideas for these opportunities have come from the women themselves by just asking and listening to what they tell us.

I have been involved in creating several opportunities for women in Wyoming and South Carolina, to included “Telling My Story,” and “Women’s Words/ Women’s Worlds (WoW), A Peer-to-Peer Mentoring Program. In addition to working in the criminal justice system, I taught criminal justice, sociology, and women’s studies courses at the University of Wyoming, Laramie County Community College, and Park University. I retired from Wyoming in 2021 and joined the South Carolina Department of Corrections as the Region 3 Director.

In addition to work, I have been active in community civic organizations and volunteered for many community non-profit organizations and their boards working with women, children, and animals. I also played intramural sports in my communities, and coached high school volleyball. I am married to my best friend, Charlie, and together we share four daughters, nine grandchildren and two exceptionally spoiled dogs: Cooper Murphy and Cora Sioux.