Theresa C. Lantz

President

Theresa C. Lantz began her corrections career in 1976 as a correctional officer in the District of Columbia Department of Corrections. She also served as a correctional counselor at two male facilities and staff training manager in that system. In 1988, she joined the National Institute of Corrections – Academy in Boulder, Colorado as a Correctional Program Specialist. She was appointed as the Director of Training and Staff Development for the Connecticut Department of Correction in 1989, the beginning of a rewarding 20-year career with that agency. In 1991, she was appointed as Deputy Commissioner for Administration, and in 1993 was appointed Warden of the newly constructed high security facility for women offenders. She served as the Warden of two high security male facilities for 4 years, and in 2000 was again appointed as Deputy Commissioner of Administration.

In 2003, Theresa was appointed as the Commissioner of the agency, with responsibility over 18 correctional facilities (jails and prisons), 7,000 staff and 23,000 offenders under supervision. Since her retirement from the CT DOC on June 30, 2009 she has been working as a corrections consultant with federal, state, municipal, and private agencies. Her work has included staff training, leadership development, staff culture and organizational development, strategic planning, expert witness, facility security assessments, and she is one of the principle authors of the NIC publication APEX: Achieving Performance Excellence. She holds BS and MS degrees in Criminal Justice, and was an adjunct criminal justice instructor for 20 years at Tunxis Community College, CT. Theresa is proud to serve as the AWEC President for two years beginning in September 2015.