![]() He is one of the hardest working, knowledgeable, and most honorable people I have ever worked with. “The loss of Mark Inch as the Secretary of the is a huge loss for the State, the corrections officers, those incarcerated, and their loved ones. Petersburg Republican who has been heavily involved in criminal-justice issues, praised Inch in a Twitter post Friday. Inch had been absent from the Capitol halls, sending top aides - including Dixon - to House and Senate committees to make budget presentations.īut Sen. ![]() Senior legislative aides had predicted Inch, a soft-spoken, devout Christian who frequently quoted Bible verses in his monthly missives to inmates, would depart the DeSantis administration before the January start of the 2022 legislative session. Department of Corrections spokeswoman Michelle Glady said in an email Friday that Inch is retiring in December, though an organization chart on the department’s website showed Dixon as secretary.ĭixon started working for the department as a correctional officer and held various positions before becoming a deputy secretary in 2015, according to Friday’s announcement. It did not provide any similar comments about Inch, a retired Army major general and former director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons. Friday’s announcement from the governor’s office said Prudom “has faithfully served the state of Florida for more than 30 years where he has worked to develop, implement, and lead public policies and programs that improve the lives of Florida families.” The retirements of Inch and Prudom had not been previously announced. ![]() Julia Nesheiwat, who was hired by DeSantis in 2019 as Florida's first chief resilience office, left in 2020 for a federal job. Wesley Brooks, who has served as director of federal affairs at the state Department of Environmental Protection since January 2020, was named state chief resilience officer. Former DJJ Secretary Simone Marstiller exited in February to lead the state Agency for Health Care Administration. Hall replaces interim Secretary Josie Tamayo, who is expected to move to another position in the DeSantis administration. Eric Hall, who has served as a senior chancellor at the Florida Department of Education, was named secretary of the Department of Juvenile Justice. She is replacing the retiring Richard Prudom. ![]() Michelle Branham, who has served as vice president of public policy for the Florida Alzheimer’s Association, was named secretary of the Department of Elder Affairs. But he also drew criticism, including from Senate President Wilton Simpson, over how best to address the issues. Inch repeatedly painted a portrait of a state prison system “in crisis” because of the staffing woes. Inch struggled throughout his tenure to address chronic officer shortages and turnover exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic. Ron DeSantis on Friday announced the appointment of three agency heads, including a new secretary at the troubled Florida Department of Corrections.ĭeSantis tapped Ricky Dixon, a 25-year veteran of the Department of Corrections, to lead the agency after the retirement of Mark Inch, who became secretary in January 2019.
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