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Steering Committee Commissioner George Little On September 8, 2005, Governor Bredesen appointed George M. Little, veteran correction administrator for the state, as the new Commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Correction.  The department currently has custody of approximately 19,000 felony offenders in 15 prisons located across the state and employs a workforce of more than 5,000 employees. From 2003 to 2005, Commissioner Little served as Director of the Shelby County Division of Corrections located in Memphis, Tennessee.  In this capacity, he provided oversight of the administrative functions of the division, including the preparation of the division's operating and capital budgets and general oversight of the day-to-day operations of the division. From 1992 to 2002, Commissioner Little served as the Assistant to the Executive Director of the Tennessee Board of Probation and Parole in Nashville, Tennessee.  He administered the fiscal, personnel, and planning sections for the agency; established a strategic management program for the Board including performance measures and strategic goals; and conducted research and program evaluation projects to increase cost-effectiveness of agency operations. Commissioner Little has also served as the Regional Director for the Tennessee Department of Correction in Memphis, the Warden of DeBerry Correctional Institute, Assistant Commissioner for Adult Institutions with the Tennessee Department of Correction and Assistant to Governor Lamar Alexander, Office of State Planning. He holds a B.A. degree in Economic and Business Administration from Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia, which he received in 1977.  He also conducted graduate study in Economics, Urban/Regional Development at the University of Texas from 1977-1979.   Gayle Ray Deputy Commissioner Ray is no stranger to the field of corrections.  She has served in the Deputy Commissioner position for the Department of Correction since May 2004 and as former Davidson County Sheriff.  In addition, she has over twenty-five years of experience as a community leader, elected official, manager and teacher.  From July 13 - October 3, 2005, Governor Bredesen appointed Tennessee Department of Correction Deputy Commissioner Gayle Ray to serve as Acting Commissioner of Correction. From 1994-2002, Ray served as the Davidson County Sheriff.  In that position, she was responsible for managing one of the state's largest jails with 600 employees and a budget of $46 million.  Under Ray's direction, the jail was accredited by the American Correctional Association, which resulted in reduced liability from inmate litigation.  She also championed better treatment for mentally ill inmates, which eventually led to better local sentencing practices. Prior to becoming Sheriff, Ray worked as a program coordinator for Vanderbilt University, linking colleges and public schools for the Tennessee Space Grant Consortium.  She held this position from 1992-94, while simultaneously serving as a member of Metro Council, where she chaired the education committee.  In 2002, she also ran for Congress. Ray has a Bachelor of Arts in English from Middle Tennessee State University.  She also attended the University of Arkansas where she earned a Master of Arts in English.  Her education continued at the Jack Massey Graduate School of Business at Belmont University, where she earned a Masters Degree in Business Administration.  In addition, she is a graduate of the Senior Executives in State and Local Government Program administered by Harvard University, Kennedy School of Government.   Patricia B. Dishman (Pat) With over 28 years of professional experience in working with Tennessee state government, Pat Dishman has served in four state departments and overseen numerous state efforts to provide more efficient and effective direct and contract services for the citizens of Tennessee.  Pat has directed contract/grant offices in both the Tennessee Departments of Children's Services and Finance & Administration and currently served as Director for the Office of Criminal Justice Programs in the Tennessee Department of Finance & Administration.  She is responsible for the development, review, awarding, and administration of approximately 600 contracts for services with state, local, and not for profit agencies.  Additionally, she directs the state's application for and implementation of numerous Department of Justice and Department of Health and Human Services grants.  The Office of Criminal Justice Programs is also the State Administrative Agency for the Department of Justice. Pat Dishman received a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Psychology and Sociology from Middle Tennessee State University in 1975, a Master's Degree in Public Administration from the University of Tennessee in 1980, and has completed required course work for her Doctoral Degree in Public Administration from Tennessee State University.   Claire Drowota Mrs. Claire Drowota has served as the Executive Director of the Tennessee General Assembly's Select Oversight Committee on Corrections since 1986, when the joint Senate and House Committee was established during the Special Session on Corrections in 1985.  Prior to holding this position, she worked on the ad hoc legislative task force assigned the responsibility to propose solutions to alleviate overcrowding and violence in the corrections system in order to comply with a federal court order.  Prior to this work, at the request of the Davidson County District Attorney General, she helped establish the first Victim-Witness program in Nashville and served as the volunteer coordinator for the program. Ms. Drowota has participated in numerous national conferences on correction issues and has served on the American Correctional Association's Legislative Affairs Committee and as the Staff Chair of the National Conference of State Legislature's Criminal Justice Committee.  In addition to writing impact statements on all corrections bills, she has co-authored reports on Tennessee corrections including comparisons of privately managed and state managed prisons and jail and prison population issues. She attended Wellesley College from 1963-1965 and received her B.A. from Vanderbilt University in 1967.   James W. Kirby Executive Director to the District Attorneys General Conference James Kirby was born March 16, 1947, in Louisville, Kentucky.  He attended Macon County High School and received a bachelor's degree from Middle Tennessee State University in 1969. Mr. Kirby has held the following positions: 1975  Administrator, Tennessee Crime Lab 1972-76  Assistant District Attorney, 23rd District 1976-90  Senior District Attorney, 23rd District 1990-97  Deputy District Attorney, 23rd District 1997-99  Executive Director, District Attorneys General Conference In 1999, he was a member of the TBI Nominating Committee, the Tennessee Judicial Council, and secretary/treasurer for the National Association of Prosecutor Coordinators.   Elizabeth (Libby) Sykes Elizabeth (Libby) Sykes currently serves as the Deputy Director of the Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts.  Ms. Sykes joined state government in 1986.  Prior to joining the Administrative Office of the Courts in 1993, Ms. Sykes served as a staff attorney for both the Tennessee Departments of Correction and Health.  Libby lives with her husband in Clarksville, Tennessee Ms. Sykes is a graduate of Austin Peay State University and holds a Doctor of Jurisprudence degree from the University of Memphis School of Law.   Charles M. Traughber Charles M. Traughber began his career in the criminal justice field in 1969, as an institutional counselor with the Tennessee Department of Correction.  He progressed through the correctional ranks to Director of Counseling and then Special Projects Coordinator.  He was appointed to the Tennessee Parole Board in 1972, and now serves as Chairman of the Board of Probation and  Parole.  Mr. Traughber currently sits on the Governor's Commission on the Enhancement Factors for Criminal Justice Sentencing,  serves on the Conference Criminal Justice Task Force, and is a Charter Member of the Annual Tennessee Legislative Retreat and Training Conference. He has served on the Governor's Corrections and Law Enforcement Training Committee and Conference for a Drug-Free Tennessee; the Tennessee Sentencing Commission; served as Chairperson of the Council for Chairs for the Association of Parole Authorities International; the Juvenile Justice Reform Commission; the National Criminal Justice/Mental Health Consensus Project; and the Association of Paroling Authorities International, where he served as Southern Regional Vice-President and member of the Executive Committee for that body. A graduate of Tennessee State University, he has earned postgraduate hours in Guidance and Counseling and Criminal Justice Administration from both Tennessee State University and Middle Tennessee State University.  He has also received specialized training from the National Institute of Corrections, the Association of Paroling Authorities International, the American Correctional Association, and the National Association of Administrative Law Judges.  In 1999, the Association of Paroling Authorities International recognized Chairman Traughber with its highest honor, the "Ben Baer Award" for his many contributions to the field of parole. Facilitator Becki Ney Becky Ney is a Principal of the Center for Effective Public Policy where she has worked since 1982.  Ms. Ney has provided facilitation and technical assistance and training for grantees of the Serious and Violent Offender Reentry Initiative (SVORI) sponsored by the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Assistance, and for jurisdictions participating in the National Institute of Corrections' Transition from Prison to Community Initiative (TPC). Most recently, Ms. Ney has directed NIC's Improving Community Responses for Women Offenders (ICRWO) and has worked closely with Tulsa County, OK, Davidson County (Nashville), TN, and Maui County, HI, over the past two years to identify and implement gender responsive approaches to women offenders.  Ms. Ney also coordinates the technical assistance component for the Center for Sex Offender Management (CSOM) and works closely with several jurisdictions throughout the country to improve their community management of sex offenders. She has directed a variety of other initiatives in the field of criminal justice, with particular emphasis on intermediate sanctions, community corrections, prison and jail crowding, pretrial screening and release, probation and parole supervision, transition and reentry, violations and revocation decision making, and managing specialized offender populations.  Ms. Ney holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology and Sociology from La Salle University in Philadelphia, PA, and a Master of Science degree in Criminology from the University of Edinburgh, Scotland. Send any comments and questions to TDOC Webmaster.