Governor Cooper Appoints Department of Adult Correction Secretary | Eastern NC Now

Press Release:

    RALEIGH: Today, Governor Roy Cooper appointed Todd Ishee to lead the newly created Department of Adult Correction. The Department was formed as a stand alone Cabinet Agency in the 2021-2023 budget that was passed by the legislature and signed into law by the Governor in November of last year.

    "Todd Ishee brings decades of knowledge and experience to this role and I am confident in his ability to stand up and lead this new Department," said Governor Cooper. "He is a nationally sought after leader and I am grateful for his willingness to serve as Secretary here in North Carolina and continue his critical work in our corrections system."

    "I am thankful for the opportunity to serve the people of North Carolina and lead this new agency. Our state's corrections system is essential to not only keeping our state safe, but to help people move beyond their mistakes and live meaningful lives when they reenter our communities," said Ishee.

    Ishee brings more than 30 years of correctional experience to his new role as Secretary. He most recently served as North Carolina's Commissioner of Prisons within the Department of Public Safety. He previously served as the Deputy Director for the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction's Office of Reentry and Enterprise Development. He started his career in corrections as a correctional officer and took on increasingly more supervisory roles, eventually serving as a region director, warden, security administrator, and operations chief. He has provided oversight of prison security, unit management, violence reduction, security threat groups and is a trained evaluator of all aspects of institutional security operations.

    Ishee is a certified U.S. Department of Justice auditor for the Prison Rape Elimination Act and a certified auditor for the American Correctional Association (ACA). He has provided technical assistance to the National Institute of Corrections as an instructor for management of violent, high-risk offenders housed in the highest security level. He is a national and international presenter on a variety of correctional topics, including reducing the effects of solitary confinement, the importance of providing viable reentry opportunities for offenders and prison reform. Ishee received his bachelor's degree in organizational management from Malone University.

    Though Ishee was recruited in August to lead a national correctional organization, he will remain in North Carolina to start his new role as Secretary on October 3.


    Contact: Mary Scott Winstead

    Phone: (919) 814-2100  •      Email: govpress@nc.gov