2023 Susan Hunter Award Winner: Patricia Caruso

AWEC President Leann Bertsch and the Executive Committee are pleased to announce Patricia Caruso as the 2023 Susan M. Hunter award recipient. Susan M. Hunter devised this award to recognize women who mentor, promote, and develop women in the corrections field.

Pat has been an active member of AWEC serving as a Past President and currently serving on the Board of Directors. Pat spent 23 years with the Michigan Department of Corrections including nine years as a warden and almost eight years as the Director of the Department, serving as a cabinet member to Governor Jennifer Granholm.  She retired from the Department on January 1, 2011.

Pat received a B.A. in political science and sociology from Lake Superior State University and a Master of Arts in comprehensive occupational education from the University of Michigan.  She currently serves as a member of the Board of Trustees and is a member of the Professional Advisory Board at Lake Superior State University.  She is a member of the Board of Directors and a Past President of the North American Association of Wardens and Superintendents.  She is a Past President of the Association of Women Executives in Corrections and the Association of State Correctional Administrators (ASCA) and is a past vice president of the American Correctional Association (ACA).  She remains active in a number of other professional correctional organizations.  In 2010, she received the Francke Award from ASCA (now Correctional Leaders Association).  This award is presented to a current director for outstanding service.  In 2018, she received ACA’s ER Cass Award for lifetime achievement in the corrections profession.

Pat and her husband, Stan, have been married for forty-seven years and make their home in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.  They are the parents of two grown children and have four grandchildren.

Here are some of the quotes in the letters of recommendation for Pat’s nomination: “ She remains tremendously active today taking her passion, commitment, and dedication for our profession and the people who serve in corrections by devoting much of her time to active teaching and training for emerging correctional leaders”; “She  was  a visible and approachable leader-her example being the mantra of AWEC-Each One Teach One”; and “No one was surprised when her fellow directors named her the best in the country and ACA awarded her the ER. . Cass Award.”

Please join us in congratulating Pat Caruso as the 2023 Susan Hunter Awardee