Panel Track: A Discussion on the Future of Community Corrections

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Chris Cirrito has over 25 years of experience in internal auditing, fraud detection and prevention, business process analysis, and quality assurance review. He is a Certified Internal Auditor, Certified Government Auditing Professional, and Certified Fraud Examiner. Chris’ unique combination of formal education, extensive hours of continuing professional education, and practical experience make him uniquely qualified to provide value and perspective to any team. Since 2015, Chris has served as Chief Audit Executive for the Texas Board of Criminal Justice. The Texas Board of Criminal Justice oversees Texas’ largest state-operated agency and the United States’ largest criminal justice system, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. He also serves as Chief Audit Executive for the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles, the independent decision making body for adult parole in Texas, and the Windham School District, which is charged with providing high school, college, and vocational education for prison inmates. Chris specializes in business process analysis, risk identification, and evaluation of internal controls impacting the achievement of organizational objectives. His tenure with the Texas Board of Criminal Justice has allowed him the opportunity to understand and evaluate all areas of the adult criminal justice system in the State of Texas. And, more specifically, his role as Chief Audit Executive allows a unique perspective on issues impacting criminal justice and corrections systems. Chris is an accomplished public speaker and actively develops industry leading continuing education initiatives introducing risk based monitoring, fraud awareness, and quality assurance to United States and international auditing and corrections professionals. He chairs the American Correctional Association’s Ethics Committee and serves on its International Corrections and Resolutions and Policies committees. He also serves on the Standards Committee for the Association of Paroling Authorities International and is actively involved in the International Corrections and Prison Association.

Ms. Cunningham has a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice and master’s degrees in Criminal Justice and Public Administration. She served as a justice system practitioner and reentry professional for more than 30 years – holding the top leadership position in two of the largest community corrections agencies in America – Department of Criminal Justice-Parole (Texas) where she led a team of 2400 employees and managed a nearly $200 million budget and the Cook County Adult Probation Department (Chicago) which is in the largest unified court system in the world. She also performed related work in the private and not-for-profit space, including a period at the Vera Institute of Justice. Ms. Cunningham is currently pursuing credentials as a certified meeting planner and a certified association executive. She is a proud member of a number of professional organizations; recipient of numerous awards and recognitions; published in justice industry journals; actively supports three think tanks and task forces; and proudly serves on two volunteer board of directors. Ms. Cunningham serves as APPA’s Executive Director.

Carey A. Green currently serves as the Director of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice-Community Justice Assistance Division (TDCJ-CJAD) which is the state oversight entity for adult probation in Texas. With 122 probation departments in a decentralized system, Carey directs oversight of approximately $616.5M in funding and more than 369,000 individuals under supervision. With more than 13 years in this position, Carey has helped unify the community supervision system around common state goals emphasizing public safety, accountability and results. Carey has helped direct probation leadership through several crises to include the COVID-19 pandemic, Hurricane Harvey and statewide budgetary shortfalls. Touching all levels of government, Carey frequently testifies before legislative committees, presents before judicial bodies and facilitates criminal justice initiatives with stakeholders at the executive level. Additionally, Carey was a leader for implementing the Texas Risk Assessment System which encompasses instruments throughout the system including probation, prison, reentry and parole. Carey holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology from Angelo State University and an MPA specializing in Criminal Justice from Texas State University. Carey has won state and national awards for her original research, Parole Officers Carrying Firearms in the State of Texas. She has been instrumental in developing evidence-based programming and piloted the first cognitive-behavioral program for Texas. Carey has worked on multiple legislative and statewide initiatives, including implementation of additional diversion funding for community supervision as well as development and training for progressive sanctions models throughout the state. Carey has served as president of the Texas Corrections Association, Field Coordinator for the National Institute of Corrections Southern Region, Chair of the Legislative Committee for the American Probation and Parole Association, and currently serves on the Board of the Texas Corrections Association. Under Governors Perry and Abbott, Carey was nominated for “Outstanding Women in Texas Government” and has twice received the Dr. George J. Beto Hall of Honor Award from the Texas Corrections Association for superior leadership and recognition of selfless dedication to the corrections profession and association.

Ines Sanchez, currently serves as a outreach worker for S.O.S. (Save Our Streets) Bronx, a project under the crisis management system for the Center for Justice Innovation. As a Bronx Native, Ines is able to give back to the community she grew up in, engaging individuals who are identified as being in high risk of involvement of violent crimes and working with them to engage in prosocial activities that will keep them from reentering the justice system. I have be with SOS Is an acronym for Saving our Streets. Ines was given the opportunity to become an outreach worker and credible messenger in 2021 through the Essie Fellowship. Ines is also a graduate of Hostos Community College. Ines is very passionate about increasing public safety throughout the communities she works in and wants to ensure every youth has the opportunity to live up to their full potential.