Board Profile
Stefanie Bush, CJM
Captain Scott County Sheriff's Office, Jail Division Davenport, Iowa
Hello, my name is Stefanie Bush, CJM. I am the Captain at the Scott County Sheriff’s Office-Jail Division. I have worked at the jail for almost twenty-five years. During my time as a Lieutenant, I earned my Certified Jail Manager Certificate through the AJA. I have renewed that twice. I graduated from the National Jail Leadership Command Academy Class #3 in 2010.
I decided to enter the field of corrections and make it my career because...
it was a job where you could feel you made a slight impact in some of the incarcerated individual’s lives. There were not boring days when you went to work. You had your own little city within your jail that you maintained with ensuring they were safe, staff were safe and the community was safe. Working in corrections is not for the weak, I was able to use all of my strengths I had as a person in the job such active listening, being able to have honest conversations, and problem solve quickly under extreme conditions at time. All of these things kept me enjoying the job.
I felt it was important to be a member of AJA and serve on the board because...
it is important to have a panel of experts who are from a diverse background, from small, medium and large facilities. The American Jail Association has been my main way of learning during conferences on jail matters. To serve on the Board has been an honor so that my voice can be heard and make an impact on important jail issues.
One item from my personal "bucket list" is to...
to go to Iceland.
My motto is...
“if it won’t matter in five years, forget about it.”
I am most proud of...
overcoming obstacles in life and achieving career goals and promotions.
The most unusual job I’ve ever had was...
As a child in grade school, I had a paper route in my home town. I would ride my bike in all four seasons to include winter delivering the newspaper.
My favorite way to relax is...
reading.
You would be surprised to learn that...
I love snakes.
Three people living or deceased I'd invite to dinner are...
my dad, Ronald Reagan and Jesus.
The hardest thing I've ever done is...
raising two sons alone after a separation immediately after my youngest son’s birth
My favorite meal is...
anything made out of a smoker.
One piece of advice that I would give anyone considering correction as a career is...
it would be to remember you are dealing with human beings. Treat them with dignity regardless of how awful they treat you. At some point, you need to remember your job is to protect the inmates, staff, and the public. Many of the incarcerated are mentally ill and do not always know what they are saying. I have found that when you walk away or disengage from someone who is lashing out, they will often not do it again. You have a right to discipline them. However, there are times when you need to ask yourself if you want to be writing up twenty inmates a day, or have some flexibility and understand that many of the people you are dealing with do not always have coping skills or the mental capacity to fully understand how to react to things that upset them.
AJA Board of Directors
President Louis A. Quiñones Jr., MS, CJM Chief of Corrections Orange County Corrections Department Orlando, Florida Louis.QuinonesJr@ocfl.net
President-Elect Shawn C. Laughlin, MCJ, CJM Commander Broomfield Police Detention & Training Center Support Services Division Broomfield, Colorado slaughlin@broomfield.org
1st Vice President Robert Leslie Hood, CJM Lieutenant Shelby County Sheriff’s Office Columbiana, Alabama lhood@shelbyso.com
2nd Vice President Anthony Yeber, MPA, MSCJ, CJM Captain/Facility SupervisorTurner Guilford Knight Correctional Center Miami-Dade Corrections and Rehabilitation Department Miami, Florida anthony.yeber@miamidade.gov
3rd Vice President Shaun Klucznik, CJM, CCE Major/Jail Administrator Judicial Services Bureau Commander Hernando County Sheriff’s Office Brooksville, Florida sklucznik@hernandosheriff.org
Secretary Sam Davis, MA, CJM Major/Jail Administrator (Retired) Ingham County Sheriff’s Office Adjunct Staff, School of Criminal Justice Michigan State University East Lansing, Michigan samdavis8224@gmail.com
Treasurer Eddie K. Lance Jail Administrator (Retired) Transylvania County Sheriff’s Office Internal Sales Specialist Southern Software Southern Pines, North Carolina elance@southernsoftware.com
Immediate Past President Darren Sieger, MS, CJM Director Broward Sheriff’s Office Department of Detention Fort Lauderdale, Florida darren_sieger@sheriff.org
1–Year Term
Stefanie Bush, CJM Assistant Jail Administrator Scott County Sheriff’s Office- Jail Division Davenport, Iowa Stefanie.Bush@ scottcountyiowa.com
Kevin Jones, CJM, NCCE, CCE, CJE Major/Detention & Court Services Bureau Commander Charles B. Webster Detention Center Richmond County Sheriff’s Office Augusta, Georgia KJones@augustaga.gov
Mané Martirosyan, MSSW, CSW Executive Administrator Louisville Metro Department of Corrections Louisville, KY mane.martirosyan@ louisvilleky.gov
Lisa Peck, CJM Lieutenant, Detention Division Mesa County Sheriff’s Office Grand Junction, Colorado lisa.peck@mesacounty.us
2–Year Term
Laura Bedard, PhD, CJMChief of Corrections Seminole County Sheriff’s Office Sanford, Florida lbedard@seminolesheriff.org
Sonya Gillespie Chief, Employee Relations Denver Sheriff Administration Denver, Colorado sonya.gillespie@denvergov.org
Elsie Judon, MS Major, Assistant Director of South Operations Broward Sheriff's Office Ft. Lauderdale, Florida elsie_judon@sheriff.org
Henry Reyes, MAM, MPA, CJM, CCE, NCEE Chief Deputy/Assistant Jail Administrator Tarrant County Sheriff's Office Fort Worth, Texas hreyes@tarrantcounty.com
3-Year Term
Denise Diamond Captain Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office Portland, Oregon denise.diamond@mcso.us
Jonathan Ede, MSCJ, CJM Captain Travis County Sheriff’s Office Austin, TX jonathan.ede@traviscountytx.gov
Mark Foxall, PhD, CJM Community Service Associate University of Nebraska Omaha School of Criminology and Criminal Justice Omaha, Nebraska markfoxall@unomaha.edu
Diana Knapp, MS, CCEDirector Jackson County Department of Corrections Kansas City, Missouri dknapp@jacksongov.org
Parliamentarian Fred W. Meyer, MA, CJM, CCHP Deputy Chief (Retired) Managing Director, NCCHC Resources National Commission on Correctional Health Care Las Vegas, NV fredmeyer@ncchcresources.org
Sergeant-at-Arms Jared Schechter, MS, CJM, CCM Colonel, Jail Administrator Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office Wichita, KS jared.schechter@sedgwick.gov
Chaplain Linda Ahrens, MBA, BGEA Founding Volunteer Chaplain for Staff Cook County Sheriff's Office Chicago, Illinois lindaahrens_1@yahoo.com
Executive Director Chris D. Daniels, MPA, CAE American Jail Association Hagerstown, Maryland chrisd@aja.org