The Path to Women's Leadership Through the Journeys of Women Trailblazers

Go Back

Leann K. Bertsch, Sr. Vice President, Corrections – Ms. Bertsch has over 25 years of experience in the criminal justice field and has worked in both juvenile and adult corrections. As Senior Vice President, Corrections, Ms. Bertsch has direct oversight of all MTC corrections operation and management contracts. Ms. Bertsch was the Director of the North Dakota Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (ND DOCR) for 15 years before joining MTC. As Director of the ND DOCR, she was responsible for all state prisons, parole and probation supervision, community corrections, oversight and regulation of county jails, and the Division of Juvenile Services. As Director, Ms. Bertsch worked to reform the North Dakota corrections system from one that was focused on punishment, monitoring and compliance to a system that focused on repairing the harm crime causes for individuals, families and communities. Ms. Bertsch started her career in criminal justice as a state court prosecutor where she prosecuted major crimes and worked in juvenile justice. While in that role, Bertsch served on the Governor’s task force for violent and dangerous offenders. Ms. Bertsch serves on the Board of International Corrections and Prison Association, the Advisory Board of the Prison Fellowship Warden Exchange, and is President-elect of the Association of Women Executives in Corrections. Ms. Bertsch served as the President of the Association of State Correctional Administrators from 2014 through 2018.

Kathleen M. Kenney has worked in corrections for over 26 years and is honored to work alongside corrections professionals who often do not receive the recognition they deserve. She was appointed Interim Commissioner for the Kentucky Department of Corrections on June 1, 2019. Prior to that appointment, Ms. Kenney served as a Consultant with The Moss Group where she assisted state and local Department of Corrections with achieving organizational excellence. She served in the Federal Bureau of Prisons from 1992 through 2017. Ms. Kenney was the Assistant Director/General Counsel for the Federal Bureau of Prisons for thirteen years. She received her bachelor’s degree from The Catholic University of America in 1988 and her Juris Doctor from the University of Notre Dame in 1992.

Francine Perretta has been the Director of Probation for St. Lawrence County in Canton, NY for 20 years. She has participated in a number of federal initiatives including a Sex Offender Management Project which assisted the county in completing a comprehensive approach to management of sex offenders. Francine has been an active member with the American Probation and Parole Association (APPA) for the past 10 years. She currently serves on the Board of Directors as the affiliate representative for the Association of Women Executives in Correction (AWEC) where she is the President –elect. She has been a presenter at APPA training institutes and currently chairs the Gender issues committee which has been working on training issues affecting the women in Probation and Parole.

Director Anne L. Precythe is the Director of the Missouri Department of Corrections. As Director of Corrections, Precythe is responsible for the 20 adult correctional facilities, six community supervision centers, a community release center, and more than 40 probation and parole offices across the State of Missouri. This includes approximately 11,000 staff, 63,000 probationers and parolees, and more than 23,500 inmates. Precythe brings over 32 years of service as a Corrections professional into her role as director. Before becoming the second woman director for the Missouri Department of Corrections, Precythe served as the Director of Community Corrections in the North Carolina Department of Public Safety. Anne L. Precythe began her career with the Division of Community Corrections in North Carolina as a Probation/Parole Officer in Duplin County in 1988. During her career in North Carolina, she served in many capacities and was appointed the first female Director of Community Corrections in 2013. Anne has served on various councils and commissions throughout her career. She was a long-standing member of the North Carolina Probation/Parole Association and continues to support the Correctional Peace Officer Foundation. In 2015, Anne was appointed by United States Attorney, Eric Holder, and reappointed by United States Attorney, William Barr, in 2020 to the National Institute of Corrections Advisory Board, representing all of Community Corrections across the country. In 2018, Director Precythe was elected to serve on the Executive Committee of the Correctional Leaders Association and in 2020 she was elected to serve as President of the Association. In 2019, Director Precythe was also appointed to the Council of State Governments Justice Center Advisory Board. Director Precythe was nominated and approved by her peers to serve as a member of the Inaugural Class of the Council on Criminal Justice in 2020. Anne is married with two married daughters and four grandsons

Kathy Waters: Ms. Waters has over 36 years of criminal justice experience. She began her career with the Oklahoma Department of Corrections in 1984 as a Probation and Parole Officer. In 1989, she served the Department in the capacity of Training Coordinator of CLEET (The Council on Law Enforcement Education and Training). From December of 1989 until September of 1994, she was the District Supervisor of Probation and Parole, District V, in Enid. In September 1994, she was appointed the Deputy Director of Offender Services. Ms. Waters was named the Deputy Director of Probation and Parole/Community Corrections on March 17, 1997. She served in this capacity until January 2001, at which time she became the Division Director of the Adult Probation Services Division for the Administrative Office of the Courts, Arizona Supreme Court. Ms. Waters has led the initiative of Evidence Based Practices in Probation and Pretrial in the state as outlined in the Supreme Court’s Strategic Agendas with outstanding and promising results. In 2015 she received the Supreme Court’s Strategic Agenda Award for her efforts in implementing Evidence Based Pretrial Services in Arizona. In June 2016, she was awarded the Courts Administration of Justice Award recognizing her contributions and impacts to Arizona Probation and the Courts over a long period of time. In 2017, Ms. Waters was the recipient of the George M. Keiser Award for exceptional leadership from the National Association of Probation Executives. In 2018 she received the Susan Hunter Award from the Association of Women Executives of Corrections. Ms. Waters recently retired from the Supreme Court AOC after 19 years of service.