Executive Board

President
Geri Reece
(913) 715-6742
g_ard4@yahoo.com
Vice President
Douglas K. Lawson
(620) 875-2728
dklawson21@yahoo.com
Past President
Thomas Schmitt
(913) 758-3602
thomas.j.schmitt.civ@mail.mi
Secretary
Kimberley Mancuso
(913) 208-1059
kimberleymancuso@gmail.com
Treasurer
James (Jim) Terrones
(913) 220-3277
jim.terrones@aol.com
Member-at-Large
Open
Member-at-Large
Jared Schechter
(316) 660-3900
jared.schechter@sedgwick.gov
Member-at-Large
Open
Member-at-Large
Dr. Patricia Dahl
(785) 670-1413
Patricia.Dahl@washburn.edu
Student Member-at-Large

Open

Geri Reece – President

Geri Reece is a Compact Officer for the Johnson County Department of Corrections.  She has been with Corrections since 1990.  Geri is a graduate of Wichita State University, having earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Administration of Criminal Justice. Prior to coming to Corrections, Geri worked as a Child Care Worker I and as a Civil Litigation Paralegal. She currently serves as a Work Place Safety Coordinator for Johnson County and is trained as a Community Emergency Response Team member, as well.  Geri serves as a Safety Trainer for her department and is the President to the Kansas Correctional Association. Geri looks forward to serving the membership of the Kansas Correctional Association.

Douglas K. Lawson – Vice President

Doug Lawson has been in the field of corrections since 1992.  Beginning as a Corrections Officer Trainee at Larned Correctional Mental Health Facility, he has served in various uniformed and non-uniformed positions throughout the years.  Doug has been fortunate to work with both male and female offenders as well as both adult and juvenile populations.  He currently serves as the Deputy Warden at Ellsworth Correctional Facility after having spent from 2014-2017 as Deputy Superintendent at Larned Juvenile Correctional Facility.

Doug is a graduate of Barton Community College and Fort Hays State University with a Bachelors in Justice Studies degree.  He is currently pursuing a masters degree in criminal justice through Grand Canyon University.  Doug proudly served with the Kansas Army National Guard during two deployments to the Middle East, earning a Bronze Star during his service in Operation New Dawn.  He serves on the Ethics, International Corrections, and Religion and Faith-based Services committees for the American Correctional Association.

Thomas J. Schmitt – Past President

Tom Schmitt is a Certified Correctional Executive (CCE), Certified Correctional Health Professional (CCHP), and is a Certified Auditor for the American Correctional Association.  Mr. Schmitt retired from the Medical Service Corps, US Army as a Lieutenant Colonel, after 28 years of military service.  After retiring from the Army, he served as the Superintendent, Juvenile Detention Facility, Jackson County, Missouri for over one year, before returning to the Army as a civil service employee.  He currently is the Deputy Commandant of the United States Disciplinary Barracks (USDB), Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.

This facility is a maximum security facility housing approximately 460 inmates.  Mr. Schmitt has over 16 years of experience in military corrections as a social worker and health care administrator.  He served as the Director of Treatment Programs at the US Disciplinary Barracks and as a consultant for Detainee Operations in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba and deployed to Iraq to support the detainee operations.  He developed the initial mental health mission for detainees in Iraq and coordinated training in the field of corrections for deploying health care professionals.  Mr. Schmitt is very interested in supporting the profession of corrections through working with the Kansas Correctional Association.

Kimberley Mancuso – Secretary

Kimberley Mancuso was the Programs and Classification Director for the Wyandotte County Sheriff’s Office Adult Detention Center from 2004-2017. Prior to her tenure with the Unified Government of Wyandotte County Kansas City, KS, Ms. Mancuso honorably served in the United States Marine Corps. She has a Master’s Degree in Legal Analysis, is a Certified Paralegal, as well as a Certified Corrections Manager (CCM) and Auditor through the American Correctional Association and a Certified Jail Manager (CJM) through the American Jail Association. She also serves on the boards of various organizations to include Kiwanis, the Marine Corps League, and the Kansas Board of Cosmetology.

Jared Schechter – Member-at-Large

Jared Schechter has been employed by the Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office in the Detention Bureau from 1999 until present.  During his career, he has risen through the ranks from detention deputy to corporal to sergeant to lieutenant and finally captain. Currently Jared is the Support Division Commander for the Detention Bureau and is in charge of the support services of the 1,158 bed Sedgwick County Adult Local Detention Facility and the general welfare of the entire inmate population of approximately 1,350 inmates, at this time, including work release inmates and inmates housed in other counties.   Under his command are two lieutenants, two sergeants, 15 corporals, and 16 deputies who handle all services, contracts, policies, and vendors for the largest Detention Facility in the State of Kansas.  In addition to supervising the work release program which can hold up to 157 inmates, the classification/intelligence section, and the population control section which oversees the movement of all out of county inmates.

Jared also works at Wichita Area Technical College (WATC) as an adjunct professor.  Currently he instructs introduction to criminal justice, agency administration, corrections, and criminal law. Jared is a graduate of Butler County College with an Associates Degree in Administration of Justice (2003), Southwestern College with a Bachelors Degree in Criminal Justice and Human Resource Development (2007), and the University of Louisville with a Masters Degree in Justice Administration (2013).

Professionally he is a member of the American Correctional Association (ACA), Kansas Correctional Association (KCA), Kansas Sheriffs Association (KSA), and the Kansas Peace Officers Association (KPOA).  Jared is a certified jail auditor through ACA and has conducted audits.  Additionally, he is a Certified Jail Manager (CJM) through AJA and a Certified Correctional Manager (CCM) through ACA. Jared is a graduate of the Large Jail Administrator Program through the National Institute of Corrections (NIC) in Colorado.  He is also a graduate of the 125th Administrative Officers Course and Police Executive Leadership Graduate Program through the Southern Police Institute (SPI) in Kentucky.

James (Jim) Terrones – Treasurer

I began my Corrections career in May 1979 as a Correctional Officer in Topeka, Kansas. I will never forget my Correctional Officer experience. l wanted more opportunities for advancement therefore, l started working for the Parole and Probation Department as a Parole Officer l located in Great Bend and Garden City, Kansas. I returned to Eastern Kansas as l accepted a position at the Lansing Correctional Facility as a Institutional Parole Officer.

During my remaining tenure with the state, l held a variety of administrative positions within KDOC from Deputy Compact administrator to Parole Director. I left KDOC for Johnson County, Kansas. I accepted the Deputy Director for Programs at the Juvenile Detention Center. Because of reorganizational issues, my title changed to Deputy Director of the Juvenile Services Center. I remained in that position for approximately 20 years. My experience in the juvenile profession taught me a lot because of the huge difference when working with the juvenile population.

I recently retired from Corrections with nearly 38 years in the business. I am past President of KCA and a past member-at-large. I remain very active in the community belonging to a number of boards and committees within the City of Olathe. I am a huge advocate of KCA, and l would like to continue to see the association grow and prosper.

Dr. Patricia Dahl – Member-at-Large

Patricia Dahl is an associate professor in the Criminal Justice and Legal Studies Department at Washburn University. Dr. Dahl received her master’s degree in Criminal Justice and her Ph.D. in Public Administration/Criminal Justice from the University of Colorado in Denver. Prior to teaching at the college level, Dr. Dahl worked in the criminal justice field for 20 years at the county, state, and federal level in Colorado. Her research interests include institutional corrections, correctional education/training, emerging adults, and elder abuse/justice.