Leann Bertsch

Leann K. Bertsch has served as the Director of the North Dakota Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (NDDOCR) since July 2005. Prior to serving as Director, Bertsch served as the Commissioner of the North Dakota Department of Labor. Prior to entering state government, Bertsch worked as a state court prosecutor and as an attorney for Legal Assistance of North Dakota. Bertsch also served 21 years in the North Dakota National Guard, retiring as a Major in the Judge Advocate General’s Corp in 2007. As Corrections Director, Bertsch has implemented the ‘what works’ principles of reducing recidivism throughout the North Dakota Corrections system focusing resources on long‐term behavior change as opposed to monitoring and compliance. Bertsch served as President of the Association of State Correctional Administrator from 2014 through 2018. Bertsch was awarded the Tom Clements Award for Innovation in Corrections by her peers in 2016.