N.C. Department of Correction--Correction News--December 1997

Sandy Pearce Named to Head Research and Planning

RALEIGH - Correction Secretary Mack Jarvis named Sandy Pearce the department’s Research and Planning Manager effective Nov. 1, replacing the recently promoted Ken Parker.

"Sandy Pearce has experience as a planner on the Crime Commission, the Sentencing Commission and recently in our department’s futures project that will serve our department well," said Secretary Jarvis. "She will help us analyze the data and information her office generates to better manage our day-to-day operations and to prepare for the challenges we face tomorrow." Pearce was promoted into her new position after serving the department as the Corrections Futures Project director. "We brought together a variety of employees who looked at their past experience, thought about the ideal future and talked about ways to get there," Pearce said. "I found that the ideas are here in the department to plan for tomorrow." She says its important to help managers understand the benefits of getting away from the daily pressures of work and using the important resource of employee’s experience to solve problems and prepare for the future.

Pearce started out in the field 20 years ago as a juvenile court counselor and director of a juvenile restitution program. For the past 15 years, Pearce has worked state as a state planner who helped to shape North Carolina criminal justice projects. For seven years, she worked with the Governor’s Crime Commission on administrative and legislative issues concerning the Department of Correction. She was the Sentencing Commission’s associate director for policy and co-author of the plans for the criminal Justice Partnership Program.

Pearce obtained her undergraduate degree in psychology and her masters degree at North Carolina State University. She is a certified public manager. She is a member of the American Probation and Parole Association, the American Correctional Association and the North Carolina Society for Public Managers.

Ken Parker will head up a two year grant funded by the Governor’s Crime Commission. Parker’s project team will automate management information and make it available to employees over the internet. It will provide our managers quick access to the latest information compiled from OPUS. A special part of the grant program is providing this information to probation managers and helping them analyze the information. "Ken Parker will coordinate and manage this entire effort," Jarvis said. "It is an exciting, cutting edge method of providing and using information."

NC DOC Correction News- December 1997
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