Board of Directors

Louie Wainwright

Louie L. Wainwright

President of the Corrections Foundation

Mr. Wainwright received his Masters Degree in Criminal Justice from Nova University, later serving as an adjunct faculty member. He is the acknowledged Dean of American Correctional Administrators and served as Secretary for the Florida Department of Corrections for 25 years.

He received the American Correctional Association’s highest tribute, the E.R. Cass Award for outstanding service. His efforts in support of accreditation in Florida and nationwide earned him the 1986 Accreditation Achievement Award from the Commission of Accreditation for Corrections.

Mr. Wainwright was appointed to the Corrections Foundation Board in 2001 and re-appointed as President for consecutive terms since.

Tom Rush

Thomas A. Rush

Vice President of the Corrections Foundation

Mr. Rush attended Louisiana State University, Palm Beach Junior College and Florida State University, majoring in Business Management. He has also been the Chairman for the Leon County Republican Executive Committee, as well as Chairman for the Republican Party of Florida’s 2nd Congressional District. Mr. Rush currently works at the Florida Department of Transportation.

Mr. Rush has served on the Foundation Board since 2000 and has been reappointed subsequently. He has served as Vice President for consecutive terms since 2004.

Dave Mecusker

Dave Mecusker

Treasurer of the Corrections Foundation
Retired – Assistant Warden, Lawtey CI

Mr. Mecusker is retired from the Department of Corrections with more than 36 years with various positions from Tower Officer, Correctional Officer, Business Manager, Chief of Administrative Services, and Chief of Internal Audit. He retired as the Assistant Warden at Lawtey Correctional Institution.

He currently serves as City Manager of Lake Butler, Florida.

Mr. Mecusker obtained his first Bachelor of Science Degree in Education (with a major in Mathematics) from the University of Florida in 1973. His second Bachelor of Business Administration Degree (with a Major in Accounting) was earned from the University of North Florida in 1977. He has worked through Lake City Community College as a GED Instructor at RMC and as an Accounting Instructor at Cross City, Florida. He also operates a small consulting/federal tax preparation office in Lake Butler, Florida.

Mr. Mecusker has been an active member of SSCA, ACA and Florida Council on Crime and Delinquency. He is a past Executive Director and Executive Secretary for FCCD, having previously served in those capacities for seven years. He is a Past President of the Lake Butler Rotary, Union County Athletic Boosters Club, Past President of the Union County 4H Club, Past President of the Union County Historical Society, Past Chairman of the Union County Republican Party and Past State President of the Florida Council on Crime and Delinquency.

Mr. Mecusker was appointed to the Corrections Board of Directors in 2004 and has been reappointed to subsequent terms. Mr. Mecusker was elected as Treasurer also in 2004 and re-elected to subsequent terms.

Betty Bennett

Betty Bennett

Development Committee Chair

Ms. Bennett has recently retired as a Sr. Drug Testing Consultant with Varian Incorporated, a world leader in manufacturing drug testing products. She received her BS in Criminology with minors in Psychology, Sociology and Government from Florida State University in 1972. Prior to working for Varian, she worked as a Drug Testing Consultant for Roche Diagnostics for 10 years and has approximately 28 years experience working in the Criminal Justice field with both Juvenile and Adult Offenders as a Probation and Parole Officer and Supervisor in the State of Florida. Betty was appointed to the Corrections Foundation Board in 2002 and reappointed to subsequent terms.

Betty serves as Chairman of the Corrections Foundation’s Development Chair.

Jim Williams

James L. Williams

Membership Committee Chair
Finance Committee Chair
Co-owner and Chairman of the Board
Allstate Electrical Contractors, Inc.

Mr. Williams has ministered as a volunteer in jails and prisons throughout Florida, the United States and abroad and is currently a Deacon, Sunday School Teacher and Prison Ministry Director at First Baptist Church in Jacksonville, Florida. At Union Correctional Institution he has served as a volunteer with First Baptist Church at the faith-based dorm.

Mr. Williams served on the Governor’s Ex-Offender Task Force for Re-entry in 2006. He has promoted re-entry and its importance to our state legislature helping to reinforce that it is critical for ex-offenders to be connected to positive and productive activities in their community and that re-entry must be seen as a part of our public safety mission.

Mr. Williams received the Department of Corrections Volunteer of the Year Award in both 1997 and 2005. He has served on the Board of Directors of the Corrections Foundation since 1997 helping to increase membership from 500 in 1998 to more than 21,000 today. He believes in supporting our corrections officers and staff and strives to promote correctional officers and probation officers as proud and indispensable law enforcement vital in protecting our public safety and we are very fortunate to have him serve on our board.

Jason Clinger

Jason T. Clinger, MHS

Psychological Specialist
Lake C.I.

Mr. Clinger was born and raised in Central Florida. As an undergraduate student at the University of Florida, he double majored in English (Bachelor of Arts) and Psychology (Bachelor of Science).

He went on to attend graduate school at the University of Florida where he earned a Master of Health Science degree in Rehabilitation Counseling. He worked as a Juvenile Probation Officer in the Department of Juvenile Justice while completing his master’s degree.He has been employed by the Department of Corrections since 1998 as a Psychological Specialist. He began his career at Florida State Prison. He went on to work at Central Florida Reception Center and currently works at Lake C.I.

He has and continues to participate in numerous institutional activities, programs and committees. He stays very busy outside of the Department of Corrections as well, including: FCCD CH 27, Orange County Juvenile Justice Council, Orange County Elections Board, American Correctional Association, Apopka Little League Coach, American Cancer Society Relay for Life Team, and Apopka’s Men in the Community.

Mr. Clinger was initially appointed to the Corrections Foundation Board of Directors in July 2006 and has been reappointed to subsequent terms. Mr. Clinger has been instrumental in planning and executing our Central Florida Officer Benefit Golf Tournaments.

Rosa Carson

Rosa McNaughton

Policy Coordinator
Department of Economic Opportunity

Rosa McNaughton, formerly, Rosa Carson, was appointed to the Corrections Foundation Board of Directors in May 2006 and reappointed to subsequent terms.

Ms. McNaughton extensive legal experience in the private and public sectors. A 1980 graduate of Florida State University’s School of Law, Ms. McNaughton has received the Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory’s highest attainable rating, AV, based on scores provided by other Florida attorneys and judges.

Ms. McNaughton began her legal career as a staff attorney in the Supreme Court of Florida’s Office of the State Court Administrator in 1980. She moved to the Parole Commission as Assistant General Counsel later in 1980 and to the Department of Corrections in 1981. She served the Department as Assistant General Counsel and Deputy General Counsel through 1991.

In 1991, Ms. McNaughton ventured on her own and was a partner in Carson and Adkins, PA, representing public sector clients. In 2001, she rejoined the Department of Corrections. During her second tenure with the Department, she served as Assistant General Counsel, Attorney Supervisor, and General Counsel.

Since February 2007, Rosa has been the General Counsel for the Department of Economic Opportunity.

Dick Pearce

Richard W. Pearce, Jr.

Program Manager, Community Corrections

Dick Pearce was appointed by then-Secretary James McDonough in June 2006 and reappointed to subsequent terms. A graduate of Lakeland High School in 1969 and Florida Southern College in 1973, Mr. Pearce served as a Lieutenant in the US Army’s Police Corps from 1974 through 1976 and earned his Certificate in Police Standards in 1976.

Mr. Pearce joined the Department of Corrections in 1984, rising from the rank of Correctional Probation officer to Program Manager in the Orlando Community Corrections Region Office. Mr. Pearce has been instrumental in planning and executing our Central Florida Officer Benefit Golf Tournaments.

Gail Reddick

Gail Kelly Reddick

Retired – Circuit 13 Administrator

Ms. Reddick has been employed with the Department of Corrections since 1977 and has worked in various positions in Community Corrections. Ms. Reddick started as a Probation Officer in Hillsborough County and worked her way through the ranks to Deputy Circuit Administrator before being promoted to Circuit Administrator for the 3rd largest circuit in the State of Florida, Circuit 13.

Ms. Reddick was the Circuit Administrator in Circuit 06 (Pinellas and Pasco Counties) for 9 1/2 years before returning to Circuit 13 (Hillsborough County) as the Circuit Administrator in 2004. The circuit covers all of Hillsborough County in southwest Florida with 257 staff and approximately 12,000 offenders under supervision.

Ms. Reddick works with various criminal justice agencies to ensure public safety and the reintegration of offenders back into the community. She has been a committed member of the Criminal Justice Community for well over 34 years and has dedicated herself to making the community a better place to live for all of us.

Ms. Reddick graduated from the University of South Florida with a Bachelor’s Degree and more recently graduated from Florida State University as a Certified Public Manager.

Ms. Reddick is currently in the Criminal Justice Master’s Program at the University of South Florida. She is on the board of the Hillsborough County Public Safety Council, Hillsborough Ex-Offender Re-Entry Network, Hillsborough County Offender Reentry, ITT Technical Institute, and the Woods & Wanton Chapter of the Buffalo Soldiers. Additionally, she was instrumental in helping to establish a First Step Program for Hillsborough County. This program is designed to have offenders help offenders, providing them with access to food, clothing, shelter, self-help programs and transportation without using taxpayer dollars. She incorporates her leadership skills in everything she does and the community is better for it.

Ms. Reddick was appointed to the Foundation’s Board of Directors in November 2009 and reappointed to subsequent terms.