Corrections_Today_November_December_2020_Vol.82_No.6

Election Category

2020 Election

Myra Walker (TX) Chief, Office of Professional Standards Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ)

Lt. Col. Myra Walker began at the TDCJ as a nurse and manager IV in the Office of Health Ser - vices Monitoring before being appointed to her current position as chief of the Office of Professional Standards. She graduated with a B.S. in nursing from the University of Texas’ School of Nursing and has served on active duty in the U.S. Army and Army Reserves/Inactive Reserves. She has received several awards, including two meritorious service medals, and is an active member of ACA and the Delegate Assembly. In January 2016, Walker became a Certified Corrections Nurse/Manager, the first nurse from her division to do so. Additionally, in 2017, Walker earned the Certified Health Services Administrator (CHSA) designation from the ACA.

Mental Health (2 Positions)

Joel T. Andrade (MA) Senior Director of Behavioral Health Services Centurion

Joel T. Andrade, Ph.D., LICSW, has over 23 years of correctional and forensic health experience. Andrade has worked as a direct care clinician, expert witness, clinical director of a large state behav - ioral health program, and private consultant. He is currently the senior director of Behavioral Health Services for Centurion, where he provides clinical consultation to numerous correctional healthcare programs throughout the country. Andrade holds a Ph.D. and MSW in clinical and forensic social work from Boston College. He has published peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters and presented at national conferences on numerous correctional and forensic topics. He is the author and editor of the Handbook of Violence Risk Assessment: New Approaches for Mental Health Professionals. He has been a member of the ACA Behavioral Health Committee since 2016.

Carol Brooks (TX) Program Supervisor III Texas Department of Criminal Justice

Carol Brooks joined the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) in 1999 after 16 years of working in the oil and gas industry. She has held pivotal positions during this time, including nine years as human resources specialist for employee services; 12 years in the Health Services Division; and 11 years as program supervisor III for the Office of Health Services Monitoring. Brooks actively chairs and serves on pertinent TDCJ health services committees. She received recognition for suc - cessfully completing TDCJ’s Building a Bridge to the Future Leadership Training, the Human Resources Topics for Supervisors course and the Advisory Council on Ethics. She joined the American Correctional Association in 2011 and Texas Corrections Association in 2014. She is currently serving as a member of the ACA Delegate Assembly.

72 — November/December 2020 Corrections Today