The Corrections Foundation's Board of Directors is appointed by the Secretary of the Florida Department of Corrections. In addition, the Secretary appoints the Board President, with the Vice President and Treasurer elected from the other board members.
The board is an all-volunteer board and receives no compensation for its service.
Mr. Wynns graduated from the Florida State University with a degree in Criminology and began working for the Department of Corrections in 1986 serving 35 years until retirement in June 2021. He worked solely on the Community Corrections side of the Department beginning his career as a Probation Officer and rose through the ranks until retirement as an Assistant Regional Director, Region III Community Corrections.
Mr. Wynns is a former recipient of the Prudential Productivity award in 2016 and the Florida Department of Corrections Secretary’s Leadership Award in 2020. Mr. Wynns believes in the mission of the Corrections Foundation with providing financial assistance for those in need when it is needed most. He has been proudly serving on the Foundation Board since first appointed in 2016.
Mr. Rush attended Louisiana State University, Palm Beach Junior College, and Florida State University, majoring in Business Management. He has also been the Chairman of the Leon County Republican Executive Committee, as well as Chairman of the Republican Party of Florida's 2nd Congressional District. Mr. Rush retired from 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.
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.
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.
Jose Colon began his career with the Florida Department of Corrections at Taylor Correctional Institution in April 1997 as a Correctional Officer and worked his way up the ranks to his current position. Mr. Colon held the ranks of Officer and Correctional Officer Sergeant at Taylor C.I. before promoting to Lieutenant at Charlotte C.I. in 2004. In 2006, he was promoted to Captain at Jefferson C.I. and later lateraled to Everglades C.I. in 2007. Mr. Colon was promoted to Major at Hollywood CRC/SFRC South Unit in 2008, and in 2009 was promoted to Colonel at South Florida Reception Center. In 2011, Mr. Colon was promoted to Assistant Warden at South Florida Reception Center and in 2012 he was promoted to Warden there.
Mr. Colon was later reassigned to Dade C.I. in 2017, and then to Everglades C.I. in 2020. Mr. Colon held the position of Warden for 9 and a half years before being named Assistant Regional Director in April 2022. During his 25 years with the Florida Department of Corrections, Mr. Colon has been given a wealth of opportunities to learn and progress. The Supervisors and Administrators he has had the privilege to work alongside, have provided him the ability to work at various levels within our agency to gain knowledge and develop strong leadership in correctional management. Throughout his career, Mr. Colon has learned that knowledge is the key to success, and the more knowledge he can pass on to those whom he supervises, the stronger we will be as a whole. Well-informed, well-trained, and valued staff is the cornerstone of any well-run organization.
Lisa served as Deputy Chief Financial Officer and Chief of Staff for the Florida Department of Financial Services, a $500 million agency with over 2800 employees and oversight of 13 divisions including Florida’s $20 billion treasury and 400,000 insurance agents. She also was the leader of the My Safe Florida Home program, a $250 million initiative established by the 2006 legislature, to encourage Floridians to strengthen their homes against hurricanes.
Prior to her work with the Department of Financial Services, Lisa served as Deputy Commissioner and chief lobbyist for the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation during 2004 and 2005. Lisa was also responsible for attracting and retaining major investors for the insurance marketplace and managed industry relationships for Florida’s over 1400 insurance companies. Prior to that, she worked as Director of Corporate Relations for an Ernst & Young municipal bond investor relations affiliate. Additionally, she spent 4 years with the Department of Revenue and in the mid-90's served as the Executive Director of the American Society of Notaries where she increased that organization’s membership from 12,000 to 20,000-plus and the budget from $200,000 to $1 million in less than five years.
Lisa has served on numerous panels and commissions including the Governor’s Property Insurance Reform Committee, and the Medical Malpractice Professional Claims Liability Reporting System Task Force. She was the Office of Insurance Regulation’s Board liaison to many quasi-governmental entities including Citizens Property Insurance Corporation, The Florida Automobile Joint Underwriting Association, The Medical Malpractice Joint Underwriting Association, the Workers Compensation Insurance Guaranty Association, and the Florida Insurance Guaranty Association. She was responsible for leading policy initiatives for the various insurance market sectors and she frequently contributed and presented at trade association meetings, corporate symposiums, and insurance industry conferences on the state of the Florida insurance market and legislative and regulatory trends.
A native of Florida, Lisa graduated cum laude from Florida State University (FSU) with a Master of Public Administration and Bachelor of Science degree in Business Management. She is also has a Certified Public Manager designation.
Jenny NimerMrs. Nimer was directly responsible for planning, implementing, organizing, and directing operational activities for pre-trial intervention, probation, prison release, community control, and interstate compact activities, for all felony offenders under the department’s supervision. Prior to being promoted to this position, she held the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Community Corrections.
Mrs. Nimer has 33 years of experience with the Florida Department of Corrections and prior to accepting her current and previous position with the Department, she was the Assistant Bureau Chief for the Bureau of Probation and Parole Field Services. Mrs. Nimer has held several positions within the department including Deputy Circuit Administrator for judicial circuit two in which she was responsible for overseeing 90 probation and parole officers and staff, monitoring workloads, quality assurance, and implementing Department policy and procedures. Mrs. Nimer has also worked in the Department’s Bureau of Research and Data Analysis where she was the manager of the community supervision section and was responsible for preparing legislative impact analyses, preparing reports, and various other types of information for the Bureau of Probation and Parole Field Services, and preparing reports, briefing packages, and summary materials to the Florida Legislature and the Governor’s office.
Mrs. Nimer is a member of the Florida Council on Crime and Delinquency, member of the American Probation and Parole Association, Florida Commissioner for Interstate Commission for Adult Offender Supervision as well as State Council Member for the Interstate Adult Offender Supervision, and Board Member of the Florida Association of Community Corrections.
Mrs. Nimer holds a bachelor’s degree in Criminology from Florida State University and has been certified as a correctional probation officer with the state of Florida.
Justine PattersonRegional Director Justine Patterson began her career with the Florida Department of Corrections in 1988 as a Correctional Probation Officer. She rose through the ranks to include: Correctional Probation Senior Officer, Correctional Supervisor, Correctional Probation Senior Supervisor, Deputy Circuit Administrator (Circuit 19, Circuit 11), Circuit Administrator (Circuit 19), and Deputy Regional Director for the Southern Region of Community Corrections. She was appointed as the Regional Director, Region IV Community Corrections in April 2016. She holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree from Bethune-Cookman University and a Master of Science Degree from Columbia Southern University in Criminal Justice.
Region IV Community Corrections is comprised of six (6) judicial circuits: Circuit 19 (4 counties) Indian River, Okeechobee, St. Lucie, and Martin; Circuit 15, Palm Beach County, Circuit 17, Broward County; Circuit 11, Miami Dade; Circuit 16, Marathon (Key West), and Circuit 20 (5 counties), Collier, Lee, Hendry, Charlotte, and Glades.
Mrs. Patterson holds several certifications to include: Correctional Probation Officer, Florida Department of Law Enforcement Certified Instructor, 2008 graduate of the Correctional Leadership Development Class of the National Institute of Corrections (NIC), Colorado, Thinking for a Change (T4C) facilitator, Level of Service Inventory-Revised (LSI-R) Facilitator, and an Ohio Risk Assessment System (ORAS) Facilitator. She is one of the “First Fifty” ACA certified as a Correctional Behavioral Health Professional for FDC in 2016. 2016 graduate of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) Executive Leadership Academy in Tallahassee.
Her Professional Affiliations/Memberships include: Corrections Foundation Board of Directors, Southern States Correctional Association; Correctional Peace Officer Foundation (CPOF); American Probation and Parole Association (APPA); Florida Association of Community Corrections (FACC) Board Member, Florida Council on the Social Status of Black Men and Boys – Criminal Justice Chair; Florida Council on Crime and Delinquency (FCCD) Lifetime Member.
Mr. Riedl began his employment with the Department of Corrections in 1993 as a Correctional Officer. His career has included various leadership positions and roles such as Classification Officer, Classification Supervisor, Correctional Probation Officer, Assistant Warden, Warden Regional Warden, and currently as Region III Director.
Mr. Riedl earned a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice/Corrections from Simpson College in Indianola, IA.
Mr. Riedl is very active in community partnerships and has received various awards and recognitions for this service. Mr. Riedl is also active in other professional affiliations including currently serving as Commissioner for the Criminal Justice Standards and Training Commission, previously serving as Chairperson for the Central Florida Criminal Justice Advisory Committee as well as President and Vice President for Florida Council on Crime and Delinquency.
