A Collaborative Approach to Success: Family, Community and Employer Engagement

ICPA2023 Presentation by Kristina Hartman, Douglas Dretke and Bryan Collier (ICPA2023-PID130)

Authors

Kristina Hartman

Superintendent, Windham School District

Kristina J. Hartman began her journey in correctional education during an internship at the Adult Probation Office in Waco, Texas as part of her undergraduate program of study. Following graduation, Ms. Hartman relocated to Florida and began her career with the Florida Department of Corrections in 2003. She served in various roles to include academic and special education teacher, Family Literacy and Teaching Assistant Coordinator, Education Supervisor/Principal and Bureau Chief of Programs. In October 2018, Ms. Hartman returned to Texas as the Division Director of Instruction for Windham School District, and in September of 2019, she was unanimously appointed by the Windham Board of Trustees as the district’s superintendent where her team of over 1,000 employees supports 50,000 students a year at 85 campuses in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Superintendent Hartman currently serves as the President of the Council of Education Directors for the Correctional Education Association.

Superintendent Hartman holds a bachelor’s degree in English with a minor in Political Science from Baylor University, a master’s degree in Special Education and education specialist’s degree in Educational Leadership from the University of West Florida. Throughout her career, she has emphasized the importance and power of including correctional education studens as active partners in determining their needs and career pathways. Under her leadership, the Windham School District has been recognized for their policies and practices related to humanistic language and practices in corrections.

Douglas Dretke

Executive Director, Correctional Management Institute of Texas, Sam Houston State University

Douglas Dretke has been the executive director for the Criminal Justice Center's Correctional Management Institute of Texas (CMIT) for 16 years. He is a 26-year veteran of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) and Sam Houston State University (SHSU) alumnus with first-hand knowledge of corrections. During his tenure with TDCJ, Dretke built strong working relationships with state and national leaders. His life-long field experience gives him insight on the issues and challenges corrections leaders are facing today. Dretke rose from the bottom of the ranks at TDCJ, starting out as a correctional officer for a year before moving up to assistant warden, senior warden and eventually to director for the Correctional Institutions division.
Dretke earned his bachelor's degree from SHSU in criminology and corrections in 1980 and his Master of Public Administration with a criminal justice concentration from Texas A&M - Corpus Christi in 2001. Over the years he has become a highly regarded presenter/facilitator, delivering a number of speeches nationwide and internationally on various criminal justice-related issues.

Bryan Collier

Executive Director, Texas Department of Criminal Justice

Bryan Collier has over 38 years of adult correctional experience and became the Executive Director of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) on August 1, 2016. In his current role, he oversees the operations of one of the largest adult criminal justice systems in the country; responsible for the confinement and care of over 128,000 felony inmates, the supervision of roughly 291,000 more inmates on probation or parole and the management of approximately 31,000 employees statewide. Bryan joined the TDCJ in 1985 as a Clerk and has held a wide variety of positions to include Correctional Officer, Parole Officer, Section Director, Parole Division Director, and Deputy Executive Director. He has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Criminology and Corrections from Sam Houston State University. Bryan is an active member of the Correctional Leaders Association (CLA), the American Correctional Association (ACA), and serves on the Board of the 4th Purpose Foundation. He was chosen by the CLA Board to serve as the CLA Southern Regional Chairman and is the Chair of the Recruitment and Retention Committee. Bryan was elected to serve on the ACA Board of Governors and serves as the Vice-Chair for the Performance Based Standards Committee. Bryan formerly served as president of the Texas Corrections Association (TCA) and served on the Board of Directors for the Council of State Governments Justice Center. He has been recognized as one of ACA’s “Best in the Business”, received the Dr. George J. Beto Hall of Honor award from the TCA, and was the recipient of the 2022 CLA Michael Francke award.

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