Board Profile
Nick Karafa, CCT, CJM
Jail Director Delaware County Sheriff's Office
Delaware, Ohio
Hello, my name is Nick Karafa, CCT, CJM. I have been employed at the Delaware County Sheriff’s Office in Central Ohio for approximately 19 years. For the past four years, I have served as the Jail Administrator for the Corrections Division. I have a bachelor’s degree in criminology from The Ohio State University and am a little over halfway through my master’s in public administration at OSU. I am a graduate of the NJLCA Class 36, the Jail Executive Institute Class 3, and hold a CJM and CCT through the American Jail Association.
One item from my personal "bucket list" is to...
take a 4-week journey through Europe, starting in Norway and making my way down to Greece.
My motto is...
I tell new hires to be honest, do your best, and take responsibility for your actions.
I am most proud of...
being a father.
I decided to enter the field of corrections and make it my career because...
I wanted to enter law enforcement. At the time, I felt corrections would provide me with valuable experience that would help me continue my growth in the criminal justice field. I found that I very much enjoyed working in the jail, and the job came quite naturally to me.
My favorite way to relax is...
watching sports with friends and family. Particularly The Ohio State Buckeyes. In case anyone was unaware, we just throttled that team up north.
You'd be surprised to learn that...
I am a pretty good artist. I almost went to college for art and design.
The most unusual job I’ve ever had was...
I was a package handler at a major shipping corporation for a summer in college and it was the least favorite job I’d ever had because of the working conditions and environment. Apparently, there are major earthworm farms in Michigan, and they ship a significant amount of worms to the southern states in giant Styrofoam boxes and they tend to explode in the shipping chutes. There were several hot summer nights I left work covered in mud and worm guts.
I felt it was important to be a member of AJA and serve on the board because...
I think corrections needs strong professional representation to advocate for a workforce that largely goes unnoticed in the public sector. This is a complex and difficult job that is undervalued in our society. As a member of a medium/small jail, I think it is important to be a voice for corrections professionals that make up the bulk of institutions in this nation.
Three people living or deceased I'd invite to dinner are...
I’ll go all deceased and stick with a comedy genre because I think it’d be the most entertaining: John Candy, Chris Farley, Mitch Hedberg.
The hardest thing I've ever done is...
being a father. That’s also my favorite thing.
My favorite meal is...
This is a hard one. I’m a bit of a foodie and, situationally, this could vary. Comfort food: Pizza, Tacos, and Lasagna; Fine Dining: Depending on the mood, Sea Bass/Halibut or a nice steak; Casual: I love a good craft burger; I love Creole, Mediterranean dishes, fresh seafood, and Carolina BBQ.
One piece of advice that I would give anyone considering correction as a career is...
It can be a fulfilling career. It’s exciting, and if you like working with a team, it can be a great opportunity. It’s much more complex than it may seem on television, and it takes a special type of person to excel in this field.
AJA Board of Directors
President
Shaun Klucznik, MA, CJM
Major/Jail Administrator
Judicial Services Bureau Commander
Hernando County Sheriff’s Office
Brooksville, FL
President-Elect
Elsie Judon, MS, CJM
Lt. Colonel/Director of Operations
Broward Sheriff’s Office
Ft. Lauderdale, FL
1st Vice President
Diana Knapp, MS, CJM, CCE, CCHP
Director
Jackson County Detention Center
Kansas City, MO
2nd Vice President
Lisa Peck, CJM
Lieutenant
Detention Division
Mesa County Sheriff’s Office
Grand Junction, CO
3rd Vice President
Jonathan Ede, MSCJ, CJM
Captain
Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office
Austin, TX
Secretary
Sam Davis, MA, CJM
Major/Jail Administrator (Retired)
Ingham County Sheriff’s Office
Director of Official Services
Michigan High School Athletic Association
East Lansing, MI
Treasurer
Denise Diamond, BA, CJM
Captain (Retired)
Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office
Diamond Consulting
Punta Gorda, FL
Immediate Past President
Shawn Laughlin, MCJ, CJM
Commander
Broomfield Police Detention and Training Center
Support Services Division
Broomfield, CO
Parliamentarian
Marsha Travis, CJM, CCM
Director of Standards & Accountability (Retired)
Davidson County Sheriff’s Office
Nashville, TN
Sergeant-at-Arms
Laura Bedard, PhD, CJM
Chief of Corrections
Seminole County Sheriff’s Office
Sanford, FL
1-Year Term
Daniel Hagan, CJO, CJM
Captain
Pasco County Corrections
Land O' Lakes, FL
Mané Martirosyan, MSSW, CSW
Director of Correctional Services
Louisville Metro Department of Corrections
Louisville, KY
Mark Foxall, PhD, CJM
Community Service Associate Director
Master of Science Program Coordinator
Director, London Study Abroad Program
University of Nebraska Omaha
School of Criminology and Criminal Justice
Omaha, NE
Louis A. Quiñones, Jr., CJM, CCE
Chief of Corrections
Orange County Corrections Department
Orlando, FL
2-Year Term
Jeffrey M. Begue, CJM
Captain
Stark County Sheriff’s Office
Canton, OH
Dorothy Harris, MBA, CJM
Major/Juvenile Detention Center
Sheriff Al Detention Center
North Charleston, SC
Fred W. Meyer, MA, CJM, CCHP
Deputy Chief (Retired)
Managing Director, NCCHC Resources
National Commission on Correctional Health Care
The Villages, FL
Jared Schechter, MS, CJM, CCM
Colonel/Jail Administrator
Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office
Wichita, KS
3-Year Term
Danielle Frane, MS, CJM, CCE, CCHP
Special Sheriff/Superintendent (Retired)
Barnstable County Sheriff’s Office
Bourne, MA
Stacy Heath, MS, CJM
Captain
John E. Polk Correctional Facility
Sanford, FL
Nicholas Karafa, CCT, CJM
Jail Director
Delaware County Sheriff’s Office
Delaware, OH
Michael Myers, MS, LMHP, CJM
Director of Corrections
Douglas County Department of Corrections
Omaha, NE
Chaplain
Linda Ahrens, MBA, BGEA
Founding Volunteer Chaplain for Staff
Cook County Sheriff’s Office
Chicago, IL
Medical Advisor
Marc Stern, MD, MPH
Affiliate Assistant Professor
University of Washington, School of Public Health
Seattle, WA
Mental Health Advisor
Bart Abplanalp, PhD
Correctional Mental Health Consultant
Olympia, WA
Legal Counsel
Ashley Miller
Hernando County Sheriff’s Office
Brooksville, FL
Executive Director
Chris Daniels, MPA, CAE
American Jail Association
Hagerstown, MD