Winter 2024

The New Warden Culture: Leadership Creates Innovative Ways of Operating Units

There’s a new warden in town; or perhaps more accurately, there is a new warden culture emerging throughout the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. It is inspiring new and innovative ways to manage inmate behavior, supervise and support unit staff.

TDCJ has long had an established mission, “to provide public safety, promote positive change in offender behavior, reintegrate offenders into society, and assist victims of crime,” but the ways in which unit wardens are accomplishing this mission are considerably different from the methods of the past.

The Visible Warden

Chances are, if you were a correctional officer or unit staff 15 or more years ago, you would have little contact with the senior warden. The chain of command and where you fell into it would more often than not dictate how much contact you had with each tier of unit leadership. Questions, concerns and work-related information went up and down each step of the ranking ladder. While the established chain of command is important and vital to unit structure and operations, it isn’t quite as rigid as it once was.

Today’s senior warden is out of the office; they are at shift turnout, at program graduations, and they walk the tiers. A TDCJ senior warden is visible and involved.

The senior warden of the Hobby Unit, Audrey England, spends her days walking the unit and experiencing first-hand all the daily activities. You’ll often see her helping with pat searches, checking on staff and directing traffic.

“Sometimes you have to put the title aside,” England said. “We have to swing the pendulum of change and create more positive leaders, who lead through trust and by optimistic example.”

The Connected Warden

Many current wardens have crossed paths as they progressed through the ranks and now can readily pass information and ideas between each other. With the Internet, virtual meetings and social media, innovative ideas are available from vast sources within TDCJ and beyond. The success and failure of these ideas can quickly be assessed, fine-tuned, and implemented at other units across the state.

Allred senior warden, Kevin Smith, and Estelle senior warden, Anthony Newton, are great examples of this. They began their TDCJ careers within nine months of each other and served together as assistant wardens at the Stiles Unit. The relationship they have cultivated has led to exchanging ideas and enhancing their respective units. They agreed it is easier today to share information and ideas.

Newton said, “The technology we have at hand today enables real-time information gathering and sharing. We see what works on one unit and how that may improve what we are doing on our unit.” Smith added, “Wardens of the past didn’t always share or have the opportunity to share with one another immediately. Today we are constantly sharing different projects we’re in. We take great pride in being a part of the agency’s culture change.”

This communication leads to units constantly evolving and improving.

Senior TDCJ wardens are taking ideas from other units, modifying and implementing them at their own units.  For example, earned incentive living areas are operating at the Clements, Hughes, Murray, O’Daniel, Polunsky and Stiles Units. In addition, other specialized housing, such as faith-based dorms, dorms for veterans and pods for substance use assistance, are operating throughout the state.

“We are being afforded opportunities and change starts with us,” Smith explained.

The Involved Warden

Senior wardens are boldly inspiring new and fresh ways of overcoming difficult circumstances, such as staffing challenges, and are revamping their units with creative ideas.

While at the Ramsey Unit, Newton repainted housing areas with themes to build community and morale. West side became Hollywood, and had a rendition of the famous sign painted on the walls; East side became The Hamptons; the trusty camp became Bora Bora; and restrictive housing became TMZ, because as Newton said, “that’s where, ‘all the drama’ was.” Inmates and staff accepted it and the Officer Dining Room became a simulated sports grill.

Now as the senior warden at the Estelle Unit, Newton has continued his style of leadership. The number of hand-painted walls and signs are increasing, displaying messages of motivation, unity and strength. Newton attends and mentors cadets at the nearby correctional officer academy. He participates in on-the-job trainings with his staff and models proper pat searches and pepper spray use. The Estelle Unit Facebook page is active with posts of staff accomplishments and inmate successes.

The Compassionate Warden

Perhaps two of the most visible units in TDCJ are the Huntsville Unit and the O’Daniel Unit. The Huntsville Unit has withstood the test of time and fire, and has seen a city and university grow around it. According to Huntsville Unit senior warden Kelly Strong, the staff are the foundation of the unit and are what makes it successful. Strong said the senior warden must be in touch with their staff and “understand the depth of the individual and recognize the individual’s purpose.”

Patrick L. O’Daniel Unit senior warden Andrea Lozada agrees. Beginning her career as a field officer at the O’Daniel (then Mountain View) Unit, Lozada has been the senior warden at that unit since November 2021. The O’Daniel Unit has an array of notable programs and services for its inmate population, including the STRIVE program, the Billman Braille Center, Ladies of The Tank radio station and a number of individualized housing dorms.

Walking the grounds of the unit with Lozada, you can feel the connections she has developed and the rapport she has built with inmates and staff alike.

“It is the warden’s commitment and engagement that helps persuade unit staff to accept and trust in the groundbreaking programs and philosophy,” Lozada said. “The senior warden is there to run the unit, but also to be available and encouraging for inmates and staff even through the tougher times.”