Governor Josh Green, M.D.

DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS AND REHABILITATION

KA ‘OIHANA HOʻOMALU KALAIMA A HOʻOPONOPONO OLA

 

 

JOSH GREEN, M.D.

GOVERNOR

KE KIAʻĀINA

 

 

TOMMY JOHNSON

DIRECTOR

KA LUNA HO‘OKELE

 

 

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

February 13, 2024

 

 

Pamela Sturz sworn in as Deputy Director for Correctional Institutions

HONOLULU — Pamela Sturz was sworn in today as the new Deputy Director of the Hawai’i Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation’s (DCR) Correctional Institutions Division.

“I would like to thank Governor Green and Director Johnson for giving me the opportunity to serve the people of Hawai‘i in the capacity as Deputy Director for Correctional Institutions. This is an honor and privilege to serve in this capacity and I look forward to the challenges and opportunities that will come in this position,” Sturz said.

“The paradigm shift our department is moving toward as a rehabilitative, restorative, and reentry-focused system is an exciting opportunity for our staff, persons entrusted in our charge, and our communities at-large. I am thankful to be part of this team,” Sturz added.

Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation Director Tommy Johnson said, “Pamela’s vast leadership and security experience in corrections, that spans more than three decades, is a welcomed addition to the DCR leadership team and will be invaluable as we transition the department.”

Sturz has more than 30 years of leadership experience in corrections. She had served as a deputy warden for the Stanley Correctional Institution in Wisconsin as well as deputy warden for the Racine Correctional Institution before her appointment as warden for both the Stanley Correctional Institution and Chippewa Valley Correctional Treatment Facility.

From 2005 to 2008, Sturz simultaneously oversaw the Stanley Correctional Institution and Chippewa Valley Correctional Treatment Facility. As warden, she established community relations boards and worked closely with the public, city officials, legislative entities, and law enforcement agencies to promote and support correctional needs related to security programs and overall prison operations at the facilities.

She has also taken part in leadership teams that guided offenders, taking a holistic approach through evidence-based programs from incarceration to reentry back into communities.

Sturz continued to serve as warden at Chippewa Valley Correctional Treatment Facility where she managed the largest Drug and Alcohol Treatment Facility in the state. She also developed restorative justice initiatives through community service projects.

In 2014, Sturz was appointed to oversee the Racine Youthful Offender Correctional Facility, which housed 450 youthful male offenders where she focused on providing evidence-based programming to aid in recidivism reduction and promote safer communities.

A strong advocate of human rights and prison reform, Sturz worked with the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL), an agency that reports to the Unders ecretary for Civilian Security, Democracy and Human Rights within the U.S. Department of State.

Following retirement from the Wisconsin Department of Corrections in 2019, she worked on international prison reform as a contracted senior corrections advisor with the U.S. Department of Justice, International Criminal Investigative Training Assistance Program in the Republic of Kosovo and more recently, the Republic of North Macedonia.

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Media Contact:

Rosemarie Bernardo

Public Information Officer

Hawai‘i Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation

Office: 808-587-1358

Cell: 808-683-5507

Email: [email protected]

Website: https://dcr.hawaii.gov