Week in Review: January 10, 2025

January 10, 2025

In this Week in Review for January 10: we highlight CDCR fire crews supporting the Southern California wildfire effort. Plus, the first all-female cohort completes the Future Fire Academy, CDCR recruiters strengthen university partnerships, and staff come together to support reentry efforts and the Special Olympics.

What’s New?

CDCR Fire Crews: Supporting the Southern California Wildfire Effort

Inmate firefighters with Malibu Conservation Camp 13 respond to the Palisades Fire on Tuesday. (Caroline Brehman/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock)

CDCR continues to increase the number of incarcerated firefighters assisting CAL FIRE in Southern California. As of Friday morning, 939 Fire Camp firefighters have been working around the clock cutting fire lines and removing fuel from behind structures to slow fire spread, including 110 support staff. CAL FIRE took these photos which exemplifies the partnership our departments have when working together during a natural disaster.

CDCR Unlocked podcast graphic with a photo of David Gonzales, public information officer at California State Prison, Sacramento, discussing the California Model pillar of normalization.

CDCR Unlocked: Normalization Part 2

The wait is over. Part 2 on Normalization is out now on our podcast CDCR Unlocked. Hear the corrections point of view on Normalization, one of the pillars of the California Model. Lt. Gonzales, with CSP-Sacramento, talks about environmental changes as well as how interacting with the population can make a difference toward achieving normalization at our institutions. Listen to the full conversation: https://rss.com/podcasts/cdcrunlocked/1838006/

CDCR welcomes 136 new correctional officers

Graduation from the CDCR Basic Correctional Officer Academy in Galt.

CDCR welcomed 136 new correctional officers at a graduation ceremony held Friday, Jan. 3, at the Richard A. McGee Correctional Training Center in Galt. Thirty-seven of the graduates, or 27 percent of the class, are women. The number highlights the strides being made by CDCR to achieve the “30×30” pledge to have women make up 30 percent of correctional officer cadets by 2030. Read the full story.

Staff Spotlight

3 Questions with Eric Garcia, Post-Secondary and Continuing Education, NKSP

North Kern State Prison (NKSP) highlights Eric Garcia for his support and assistance with our ongoing tech needs and for leading a powerful, life-changing college program on A yard.

In his spare time, Garcia enjoys playing pickleball and is a nationally ranked champion.

Garcia has been enriching student lives at NKSP for two years, beginning as the head of the HSE program before taking over as college coordinator in 2023.

How did you first discover your passion for pickleball?

I first discovered my passion for pickleball in 2018 when I was looking for a physical activity that incorporated cardio so I could lose weight and relieve stress. I also wanted an activity that didn’t cost a lot of money. Pickleball is not very expensive.

All you need is a paddle, pickle balls, and tennis court shoes. You don’t need to join a gym either, as there are many public pickleball courts in Bakersfield and other cities all over the country. After one year of playing pickleball, I was living a happier, healthier life. (I also) lost 25 pounds and made many new friends.

In what ways has pickleball opened opportunities for you that you might not have had otherwise?

Pickleball has given me the opportunity to exercise outdoors and meet new people I wouldn’t have met otherwise. Playing in tournaments has allowed me to travel across the country and visit new cities. At these tournaments, I’ve met professional pickleball players and CEOs of companies.

These networking opportunities helped me build relationships that enabled me to start a pickleball program at my previous job as a fifth-grade teacher. I look forward to establishing a pickleball program at North Kern State Prison.

What role does pickleball play in your life beyond the institution?

Pickleball has played an important role in my life for the past six years. During that time, I dedicated myself to improving each year and to become a national champion in 2022 and again in 2023. I returned to Nationals this past November, hoping to win my third national championship, but finished in second place. I’ll continue to play pickleball, but not competitively. I got married last November to the love of my life, and I want to focus more on her and our family.

In Our Institutions

First all‑female cohort graduates Future Fire Academy

Five women future fire academy graduates

Five women made history as the first all-female cohort to graduate from the Future Fire Academy (FFA). This groundbreaking program provides individuals impacted by incarceration with the skills and certifications needed for careers in firefighting. Read the full story.

Recruitment

Peace Officer Recruitment December Virtual Career Fairs

Peace Officer Recruitment hosts virtual career fairs. December events via zoom drew 62 attendees with 92 percent saying they will apply or have already applied.

Closeup of correctional officer uniform showing left-hand shoulder and badge. Type says Now Hiring, joincdcr.com

Virtual career fairs are held twice per month on Wednesdays from noon to 1:30 p.m. in the following format:

Noon – 12:45 p.m.: Learn about the role of a correctional officer.
12:45 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.: Ask questions about the job and meet one-on-one with a recruiter.

To register for the next virtual career fair in January, visit: California Correctional Officer Career Fair – Peace Officer Careers

One attendee commented,“I love hearing about your personal experiences of becoming a CO.” “Another attendee said, “Looking forward to becoming a correctional officer.”

Thanks to all recruitment staff who participated.

CDCR recruiters strengthen ties with university

A CDCR recruiter speaks with a student athlete at Sac State University.

CDCR recruiters took part in a unique event featuring student athletes at Sacramento State University. The Peace Officer Recruitment Unit participated in the inaugural Hornets in Action mock interview event hosted by the university’s athletic department. Read the full story.

Upward Mobility

Chance Andes has been appointed as Warden, San Quentin Rehabilitation Center

Travis Pennington has been appointed as Warden, California Institution for Men

*List is in alphabetical order based on last name.

In the Community

Sierra Conservation Center and local law enforcement participate in a Tip-A-Cop event to support Tuolumne County Special Olympics

Law enforcement and volunteers holding donate to support Special Olympics signs — Pictured Above: Correctional Officer N. Holets, Capt. T. Harrington and Warden (A) Joshua Prudhel greet patrons with the support of Tuolumne County Raven Athletes.

Sierra Conservation Center (SCC) collaborated with the California Highway Patrol (CHP), Sonora Police Department (SPD), Tuolumne County Sheriff’s Department (TCSD), and Applebee’s Restaurant to support the Tuolumne County Ravens, Special Olympics of Northern California.

“It was an amazing opportunity to work with other law enforcement agencies to support our local community,” said Lt. Ruben Jauregui, who also participated in the event.

Uniformed staff members from SCC, including acting Warden Joshua Prudhel and acting Chief Deputy Warden (CDW) Robert Kelsey, worked as greeters and servers alongside local law enforcement on Nov. 20, 2024, from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. at the Applebee’s Restaurant in Sonora.

Thanks to the hard work of all of the participating agencies and contributions from the community, an estimated over $2,000 was raised during the event.

SCC recruiters also joined in on the fun to support Special Olympic athletes. Correctional Officers N. Holets, A. Nunnelee, and Lt. V. Melendez were on-site helping with this great cause, serving food and distributing CDCR swag, including fidget spinners and stickers, to guests establishing community engagement.

Division of Adult Parole Operations

$140,000 of Clothing to DAPO and Reentry Partner Chrysalis

On Nov. 26, 2024, FOX Television Studios donated clothing from the television series 9-1-1, worth an estimated value of $140,000 to Chrysalis, a Division of Adult Parole Operations (DAPO) reentry partner. In turn, Chrysalis invited DAPO partners from the Riverside, San Bernardino, South Coast, San Gabriel Parole Districts, as well as the Los Angeles Female Community Reentry Program, to receive clothing for their respective supervised persons. DAPO Field Unit and Community Reentry Unit (CRU) staff helped unload two large trucks full of clothing and received a generous amount of clothing to replenish the various clothing closets.

Chrysalis is a non-profit organization “offering a job readiness program, individualized support services, and paid transitional employment” with six locations serving the Los Angeles Area. Services are free to all participants and include one-on-one support from an employment specialist, a job search toolkit, and employment preparation classes. Chrysalis provides interview clothing to their clients and has a high job placement rate.

DAPO is grateful to FOX Television Studios and Chrysalis for the collaboration and being a recipient of this generous donation.

For more information about Chrysalis, visit Chrysalis | a nonprofit Changing Lives Through Jobs (changejobs.org)

In the Media

Cal State LA’s Prison Graduation Initiative celebrates Class of 2024

Dec. 5 marked graduation day for the third cohort of the Prison Graduation Initiative (PGI) through California State University, Los Angeles, as 16 students walked in a commencement ceremony on prison grounds.

PGI is an innovative program founded by Cal State LA that offers a university Bachelor’s Degree with classes taught by professors inside a prison. They call it transformation through education.

For Edwin Cruz and Casi Amezcua, it was a day for them to return to Cal State LA. Both have been out on parole for less than a year after serving more than two decades locked up.

Both Cruz and Amezcua were LWOP, serving Life Without Parole, for murder. They have since been granted commutations and found suitable for parole. PGI is about returning such men to the community as leaders and productive members of society.

The PGI program was born by Dr. Bidhan Roy, PhD, and he calls it his life’s work.

‘Essential’: nearly 800 incarcerated firefighters deployed as LA battles wildfires

Embedded with Cal Fire teams, nearly 400 imprisoned firefighters from the state’s fire camps are stepping in to support overwhelmed crews as the fires spread across the region.

Read more about the critical role these firefighters are playing and how California’s fire camp program works: ‘Essential’: nearly 400 incarcerated firefighters deployed as LA battles wildfires | Los Angeles | The Guardian