Jennie Lancaster started her career in 1972 and she retired in 2004 after managing prisons for 32 years. More specifically she held the following positions during this time:

- Warden of North Carolina Correctional Institution for Women (NCCIW)
- Chief of Program Services - Division of Prisons
- Female Command Manager - She developed this role and it directly supervised all 6 female prisons and several transition houses. During this time Ms. Lancaster opened the Mary Frances Center, which provided substance abuse treatment for women, developed the NC Travel and Tourism program operated at NCCIW, opened the Black Mountain Correctional Center for Women and became a nationally recognized expert in the field of female correction management and programs.
- In 1998 she became the first Central Region director and supervised 12 prisons that included Central Prison, Caledonia and Polk institutions and the 3 largest prisons housing women. She retired from this position in September 2004.

During her career, Ms. Lancaster designed the following prisons:

- Neuse Correctional Institution
- Dan River and Tyrrell Prison Work Farms
- North Piedmont Correctional Center for Women
- Death row housing unit at Central Prison
- Medical and mental health facilities at Central Prison and North Carolina Correctional Institution for Women.

 In 2002, Ms Lancaster began and completed the development of the training program we know now as ‘Undue Familiarity” and it became a cornerstone of national efforts to provide training to corrections staff in this important operational area.

 Ms Lancaster has been a trainer for the National Institute of Corrections in 12 states. She has served as an expert witness in class action lawsuits in four states. She is considered a national expert in the field of female corrections and the areas of prison sexual assault and undue familiarity.

 Ms. Lancaster has received several outstanding awards in her career.

1976 Correctional Officer of the year
1987 Governor’s Award for Excellence
1994 Meredith College Alumnae of the Year
2004 Order of the Long Leaf Pine from Governor Easley.

She is a graduate of executive training programs at the UNC School of Government and also was a graduate of the first National Institute of Corrections training program for “Executive Women in Corrections”

She holds a Bachelor of Arts from Meredith College in Religion and completed graduate work at Duke Divinity School in pastoral counseling.

Ms. Lancaster came out of retirement in January 2009 at the request of Governor Perdue to assume the role of Chief Deputy Secretary of the NC Department of Correction.