Kathleen Dennehy likes a fast-paced environment, where change is constant.  That is why the first female Commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Correction, feels right at home working in corrections, where she says no two days are the same.

Since being appointed to lead the department in 2004, Dennehy has faced the challenge of taking over a prison system that had a high profile death of a pedophile priest in 2003.  She has also worked closely with the Governor's Commission on Correction Reform, which was tasked by Mass. Gov. Mitt Romney to review the state's corrections system.

Recently Dennehy talked with The Corrections Connection Network News about her rise through the Massachusetts DOC and the challenges she currently faces as Commissioner.  She also talked about what it takes to make it in the corrections field.

Q: How did you become involved in corrections?

Dennehy: I went to a women's college where, initially, I was interested in majoring in chemistry.  Somewhere along [the way], about my sophomore year, [I became] more interested in government, in particular state government.  Between my sophomore and junior year, I had an opportunity to take a summer job and internship at the state prison for men, so I worked there for a summer in a support role for the Department of Mental Health and went back to school. 

Right in the end of my senior year, the Department of Correction's management team at the Walpole [prison contacted] me.  They asked me if I was interested in a new job they were creating and it was the officer manager's role. I decided to do it, frankly, because there was a recession at the time and the job market was pretty tight, so I figured I would go to work in corrections for a little bit and figure our what I wanted to do.

There weren't many women [working for the DOC].  As I looked around the department, there weren't [female] superintendents.  There really weren't female department heads.  There were very few women [working for the DOC].  I later came to appreciate that, during that time period, the U.S. Department of Justice was actually suing the Massachusetts DOC for its hiring practices and discrimination against women.

Someone gave me some advice very early on; they told me one of the best things you can do was to develop an expertise, so I did.  I learned how to compute sentences and slowly was promoted because of that.  [I was] promoted into central office and, from there I just sort of gradually ascended up the career ladder, but it probably was not a traditional career path in the sense that I did not start as a corrections officer, nor did I start as what we call a corrections program officer, which previously had been referred to as a corrections counselor.  I started [doing] sentence computation and became the commissioner's  designee for discharges and release and the award of good time.  I worked in our central office signing the commissioner's name for a good part of the day on release papers etc.

Then, I went back to school and got a masters degree in public administration. I knew I wanted to stay in the public sector, so I chose to get an MPA as opposed to an MBA.  At that point, I decided to go in a totally different direction.  I applied for the position of personnel director and trainer.  I was part of the team that opened up Old Colony Correctional Center back in 1987.  I was responsible for the hiring and training of over 500 people.

It was going in a very different direction.  [Throughout my career], I seem to have done that.  I have cut across divisions and I have worked at several institutions, whereas I think some of my colleagues have come up a more traditional career path, starting in an institution and promoting in that facility.  I have come to appreciate [that] as an advantage for me in my current position - cutting across divisions.

The one job over the years that I really, really wanted was the director of our training academy and I assumed that role in 1989.  It was the dream job.  I loved it.  I loved being responsible for pre-employment training as well as in-service training and it was at that point there, I think [I accomplished] one of the things I am most proud of in my career- establishing the process for pre-employment screening of new employees.  It was a lot of work, but the system remains and I think the department has really benefited from that project.

Here I was at the academy in my dream job and the commissioner at the time called me up and asked me if I would take over as the superintendent warden at MCI Framingham - [the women's prison].  I went there.  From there, I was asked to promote into the position of Associate Commissioner of Health Services at the time when, frankly, we were having a crisis around the implementation of private inmate healthcare. I was brought in to stabilize the contract and, from there, my job description grew to become Associate Commissioner of Classification, Programs and Healthcare.  Then I became Deputy Commissioner and was in that position for six years.  Then [I became] Commissioner.

Q: What are some of the challenges you face in your current position?

Dennehy: Certainly, the well-publicized events in Massachusetts in the August of 2003 - we had a high profile homicide of the former priest John Geoghan, who was doing time for sexual abuse of children - were a challenge.  Needless to say, that homicide received enormous publicity and political attention.  The governor convened two separate panels to [explore the issue] - one [focusing on the] circumstances leading up to the death and the second panel was to conduct a top-to-bottom review of the department - the Governor's Commission on Corrections Reform.  That panel issued a comprehensive report, which includes 18 recommendations for reform.  My immediate challenge was to take that report, assess how doable the recommendations [were] and within what timeframe [and] how contingent we [were] on the involvement and participation of other stakeholders.  In addition to assessing the feasibility, I was also charged with developing strategic plan to implement these recommendations with many of the department's team mangers.  We are now a good year into implementing those recommendations and the reforms that [are] resulting.

[Another challenge], in general, I tend to refer to as PAC.  I use that term a lot.  It's sort of short hand for our key issues.  One is performance.  Our major focus is on raising individual performance standards as well as the system's performance standards.  We are looking to improve performance throughout the agency.

[Our second focus is] accountability - of staff and offenders.  We put considerable time and energy into sending the message that folks are going to be held responsible and accountable - everyone, including myself.  As supervisors and as managers, we need to be held to a higher standard. 

[The third focus is] culture and trying to effect cultural change within the organization.  That reflects our vision, our mission and our core values.  All of these are challenging to do within the context of a broader agenda.  At the operational level, we are revamping the inmate grievance [system], the discharge and classification systems.  That's a huge amount of systems reform [and] that represents just [some] of the 18 recommendations that we are working on.  Our plate is pretty full.  The sheer volume of the work is a challenge.  It's also a challenge in as much that we appreciate that these recommendations need to be implemented in concert with one another.  They really are a package deal. 

Q:  What do you like best about your job?

Dennehy:  I like the pace.  I like to be really, really busy.  I like to be at full throttle. I have always been one of those people [who] can survive on very little sleep.  I like the pace.  I like the diversity of the issues.  No two days are the same in corrections.  It's a constant learning experience with new exposure to new issues, new people and new circumstances.  There's always the opportunity to learn and I like that.  I find it really energizing.

Q: What advice do you have for people who choose corrections as a career?

Dennehy: I have always been impressed when I assemble a new class of recruits.  Almost to a person, [when I would ask why they chose to enter the corrections field], people brought up the same issues - people come into this profession to make a difference.  Yes, there may be good benefits and there may be stability, but I caution folks - it's tough to maintain that commitment to public service and to not be discouraged sometimes by the realities of the scarcity of resources and the realities of political transitions.  Sometimes it's difficult to maintain that overarching commitment to public service.

I would caution folks to remember that, first and foremost, we are public servants.  It's easy to forget that.  You have to stay true to your values.  If your values are not in synch with those of the organization, you really need to consider whether you belong in the organization or not.  For those that are in it for the long haul, try to maintain balance in your personal life and to surround yourself with people who work both inside and outside of the system who constantly reinforce your commitment to the important work that you are doing.

I think it's important to note that most people who work in corrections, certainly in the Mass. DOC - the vast majority, 85-90 percent of the employees that we work with come to work every day with that commitment and want to make a difference.  Our goal is to see that be a hundred percent of the workforce. 

There are an awful lot of folks who work in the system who do good work and are unsung heroes every day.  Unfortunately, I think in our business, it's the bad news stories that get the headlines and you don't hear every day about [the positive things that go] on in the cell block.

I'm always impressed with the level of professionalism.  It's tough work.