Commissioner, Cookie Crews
Cookie Crews was named commissioner of the Kentucky Department of Corrections in May 2020 after 36 years with the department.
A native of the small town of Hardy in Pike County, Crews began her Corrections career in January 1984 as a correctional officer at the Kentucky Correctional Institution for Women (KCIW). Working her way up the security and program ranks at various institutions, she held many positions including sergeant, classification and treatment officer, and unit administrator. In 2002, she was promoted to deputy warden at Luther Luckett Correctional Complex (LLCC). Two years later she was named warden of the Frankfort Career Development Center, a minimum-security prison that for a period of time was located in Frankfort. Crews went on to serve as warden at both KCIW and LLCC. In 2009, she was named warden of the Kentucky State Reformatory, the prison with the largest medical operation and highest population at the time. In 2012, she was promoted to administrator of the Health Services Division, providing administrative oversight for the entire medical mission of the department.
Crews is a graduate of Eastern Kentucky University where she received a bachelor's degree in corrections and public relations. She is a longtime member of the Southern States Correctional Association (SSCA) and the Kentucky Council on Crime and Delinquency (KCCD). She was the recipient of the 2007 Warden of the Year Award.
Deputy Commissioner of Support Services, Hilarye Dailey
Hilarye Dailey serves as deputy commissioner of the Office of Support Services, which includes fiscal management, procurement services, property management, population management, training, offender information services, information and technology, and parole board support services. She was promoted to this position in May 2018.
Dailey began her career with the Department of Corrections in 2003 at Blackburn Correctional Complex as the fiscal manager for the prison. She held that role until accepting the position as fiscal branch manager in the department's central office in 2007. Three years later she was promoted to assistant director of the Division of Administrative Services. In 2015, she was promoted to director of that division and was responsible for managing the department's complex budget. She continues to serve as the department's primary budget expert.
Dailey received her bachelor's degree in business administration from the University of Kentucky and her master's degree in business administration from Morehead State University. She is a 2009 graduate of the Commissioner's Executive Leadership Program.
Deputy Commissioner of Community Services and Local Facilities, Lisa Lamb
Lisa Lamb serves as deputy commissioner of the Office of Community Services and Local Facilities, which includes the divisions of probation and parole, local facilities, addiction services and reentry services. She also oversees the Division of Public Affairs and the Victim Services Branch.
Lamb joined the DOC as the department's communications director in 2002. She was responsible for an overhaul of the Commissioner's Executive Leadership Program upon assuming oversight in 2013. She has also been instrumental in organizing and executing the annual awards luncheon, which brings much deserved recognition to the department's hardworking staff.
Prior to her career in state government, Lamb worked for 17 years in the newspaper industry. Her first job was as a reporter and editor for the Harlan Daily Enterprise. In 1996, she moved to the Frankfort area to become the new bureau director for the Kentucky Press Association (KPA).
In addition to numerous journalism awards, Lamb received the Department of Corrections Commissioner's Award in 2015. She is a member of the Kentucky Council on Crime and Delinquency (KCCD) and the Association of Women Executive in Corrections (AWEC), as well as a participant in the National Institute of Corrections (NIC) Communications Directors' Forum.
Deputy Commissioner of Adult Institutions, Randy White
Randy White serves as the deputy commissioner of the Office of Adult Institutions. White is in charge of all aspects of operation and administration for Kentucky's state prisons. This office also oversees Kentucky Correctional Industries, Emergency Management and the Division of Education.
White began his career as a correctional officer at Northpoint Training Center in 1996. After a series of promotions that took him to Eastern Kentucky Correctional Complex, Kentucky Correctional Institution for Women, and Luther Luckett Correctional Complex, he assumed his first wardenship at Green River Correctional Complex in 2009. White later served for six years as warden of the Kentucky State Penitentiary (KSP). While at KSP, he assisted in creating and implementing the Restrictive Housing Transition Program, designed to address behavioral management issues for inmates in restrictive housing.
In addition to his DOC service, White served our nation as a member of the Kentucky Army National Guard. He had two stateside activations and was twice mobilized for Operation Iraqi Freedom.
White is a native of Wolfe County and a 1994 graduate of Eastern Kentucky University where he received his bachelor's degree in corrections/juvenile services and police administration. He was a recipient of a Commissioner's Award in 2006 and is a 2007 graduate of the Commissioner's Executive Leadership Program.
Chief of Staff, Kim Potter-Blair
Kim Potter-Blair began her career with the Department of Corrections in 1998 as a correctional officer at Blackburn Correctional Complex. She promoted to classification and treatment officer there before transferring to the Division of Probation and Parole's District 9 in December 1999 as a probation and parole officer. After supervising a caseload of offenders for approximately four years, Potter-Blair was then promoted to assistant district supervisor for District 9 in 2003, and to the district supervisor in 2005.
She served as the department's deputy commissioner of Support Services from 2008 to 2017. During her time in this role, she oversaw the divisions of probation and parole, administrative services and training.
Potter-Blair is an active member and was elected to the board of directors for the Correctional Peace Officers Foundation (CPOF) in June 2015. She has been a longtime member of the Kentucky Council on Crime and Delinquency where she previously served as president of the Bluegrass Chapter. She is a graduate of the inaugural Commissioner's Executive Leadership Program, which began in May 2005 and received the Commissioner's Award in 2006. She is a member of the Association of Women Executives in Corrections (AWEC) and she served as a mentor to two women in the Governor's Minority Management Training Program (GMMTP) in 2018-2019. She was a participant in the National Institute of Corrections (NIC) Executive Forum for Deputy Directors and Executive Leadership for Women.
A native of Bowling Green, Potter-Blair graduated from Kentucky State University with a bachelor's degree in criminal justice and a graduate degree in public administration.