Seven New ICPA Board Members Bring Global Expertise in Corrections, Health and Reform

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The International Corrections and Prisons Association (ICPA) welcomes seven newly elected Board members whose careers span custodial operations, clinical care, public health, research and national prison leadership. Together they bring a rare combination of frontline experience and strategic vision to the Association's work. 

The appointments come at a time when ICPA is working to deepen its engagement across every region. Board members play a central role in setting the Association's strategic direction, overseeing governance and supporting the partnerships that allow member organisations to learn from one another and share practical solutions to shared challenges. 

The new Board members include Heads of Service from Singapore, Malta, South Africa, and Argentina, alongside the former Head of the Persons Deprived of Liberty Division at the International Committee of the Red Cross, a leading scholar of gender-responsive corrections, and the chair of the ICPA Healthcare Network. 

Each of the new members brings a distinct regional background and professional path. Together they reflect the Association's commitment to including leaders from Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America and North America in its governance, and they widen the range of disciplines represented on the Board, from clinical practice and public health to research, criminology and operational leadership. 

Their collective perspective is broad. The Board members are: 

• Ivan Calder, CEO of Health through Walls and a Doctor of Public Health candidate at Indiana University, brings a public health lens to prison care and is researching AI-assisted tuberculosis screening in an African prison. 

• Terry Hackett, who spent 22 years with Correctional Service Canada before joining the ICRC, brings experience from more than 75 countries and from conflict-affected settings. 

• Fernando Julián Martínez, National Director of Argentina's Federal Prison Service since 2024, has 38 years in the field and presides over the 15-country COPEN Network and the OAS Meeting of Authorities Responsible for Prison and Penitentiary Policies (2026/27).  

• Dr Emily Salisbury, Associate Professor of Social Work at the University of Utah, co-founded the Women's Risk Needs Assessment, now used in more than 100 jurisdictions, and its counterpart, the Men's Risk Needs Assessment.  

• Christopher Siegersma, CEO of Malta's Correctional Services Agency, will strengthen ICPA's engagement in Europe and North Africa, bringing with him a wealth of experience as a leader of a small service.  

• Makgothi Thobakgale, National Commissioner of South Africa's Department of Correctional Services and chair of the African Correctional Services Association, who has committed to ensuring African perspectives shape global discussions.  

• Matthew Yik Keong Wee, Commissioner of Prisons at the Singapore Prison Service, brings a record of rehabilitation and reintegration leadership through the Yellow Ribbon movement and is committed to engaging across Asia and the globe. 

The new Board members will contribute to ICPA's committees, working groups and regional initiatives, drawing on their experience to share practical lessons with colleagues who face similar challenges. The Association looks forward to welcoming them and to the contributions they will make over their terms.