Cookie Crews
Commissioner
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.
Scott Jordan
Deputy Commissioner of Adult Institutions
Jordan began his DOC career in 2001 as a correctional officer at the Kentucky Correctional Institution for Women. He was promoted through the security ranks to the position of senior captain, which he held at both Luther Luckett Correctional Complex (LLCC) and the Kentucky State Reformatory (KSR). In 2013, he was promoted to deputy warden at Western Kentucky Correctional Complex and then KSP. Jordan was named warden at the Ross-Cash Center in 2015 and then warden at LLCC in 2016.
Jordan has more than a decade of internal affairs experience, serving as the internal affairs officer at both LLCC and KSR. He was also the security threat group coordinator at LLCC and a member of the department's Corrections Emergency Response Team (CERT) for several years.
Prior to his time in corrections, Jordan had a lengthy career in retail management. He managed several stores, becoming a district manager and a regional manager developing stores in three states. Jordan is also a combat veteran paratrooper with the U.S. Army's 82nd Airborne Division.
During his career Jordan has received several awards and accolades including being named the 2019 Warden of the Year, an annual honor given to a warden who exhibits outstanding job performance and leadership ability.
Hilarye Dailey
Deputy Commissioner of Support Services
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.
Kim Potter-Blair
Deputy Commissioner of Community Services and Local Facilities
Potter-Blair began her career with DOC in 1998 as a correctional officer at Blackburn Correctional Complex (BCC). She promoted to classification and treatment officer at BCC before transferring to Probation and Parole in District 9 in 1999 as a probation and parole officer. Potter-Blair promoted to assistant supervisor in District 9 in 2003, and then to district supervisor in 2005.
During her time in District 9, which encompasses Fayette County, she was instrumental in the efficient flow of court work in the Fayette circuit court system. She was also active in creating the Fayette County Reentry Program for offenders on probation and parole, as well as serving on a committee that worked to aid in the reentry of incarcerated individuals.
From 2008 through 2017 she served as the deputy commissioner of support services, where she oversaw probation and parole, administrative services, offender information services, parole board services, and training. Most recently, she served as DOC's chief of staff from 2020 through 2024.
Potter-Blair was elected to the board of directors for the Correctional Peace Officers Foundation in 2015. She is a member of the Kentucky Council on Crime and Delinquency and previously served as president of the Bluegrass Chapter. She is a member of the Association of Women Executives in Corrections, and she served as a mentor to two women in the Governor's Minority Management Training Program in 2018-2019. She was a participant in the National Institute of Corrections Executive Forum for Deputy Directors and Executive Leadership for Women.
Potter-Blair graduated from Kentucky State University with a bachelor's degree in criminal justice and a graduate degree in public administration, she is also a graduate of the inaugural class of the Commissioner's Executive Leadership Program. She is a 2006 recipient of the Commissioner's Award.