The Baltimore County Council has confirmed Gail Watts to serve as the new director of the county’s Department of Corrections.

The Baltimore Sun reports:

Members of the Baltimore County Council were full of praise as they confirmed Gail Watts as the county’s new director of corrections.

The council voted 6-0 on Monday to support Watts’ promotion to the top job, replacing Deborah Richardson, who retired.

As reported in the article, Watts was nominated by County Executive Kamenetz to serve as director following the retirement of her predecessor Deborah Richardson. According to a county press release:

“Gail Watts is a natural leader who balances strong operational discipline with a compassionate people-centered approach that inspires her staff to excel, while at the same time ensuring that the people incarcerated at our detention center have the opportunity to turn their lives around through education, mental health and substance abuse treatment and vocational training,” Kamenetz said. He noted that when Watts was named BCDC employee of the year in 2008, the vote among all department staff was unanimous.

Watts is responsible for overseeing the daily operations of the County Detention Center, including programs, security, building operations, budget and finance, staff training and support service contracts. She oversaw the Department’s transition to direct supervision and was instrumental in overhauling the facility’s mental health unit. She started in the Department in September 1990 as a Correctional Officer and served in various positions of increasing responsibility in which she managed work release and home detention programs, staff training, inmate employment, staffing and policy analysis, staff disciplinary procedures, regulatory compliance, and more.

For more information:

Baltimore County Council confirms new corrections director (The Baltimore Sun)

Kamenetz Nominates Gail Watts Director of Baltimore County Department of Corrections (Baltimore County Government)