Meet Kimberley Stuhr, analyst with DAPO

March 29, 2025

Kimberley Stuhr used to be a K-9 correctional officer with a sheriff's office but is now an analyst with the Division of Adult Parole Operations.

Kimberley Stuhr came to CDCR in July 2024 with a background in corrections, a love for solving puzzles, and her retired drug-fighting partner waiting at home.

Stuhr, an associate governmental program analyst (AGPA) with the Division of Adult Parole Operations’ (DAPO) Policy and Procedures Unit (PPU), is a former correctional officer K-9 handler with the Placer County Sheriff’s Office.

Early focus on criminal justice

Stuhr has been interested in pursuing a career in criminal justice since she was a child.

“I had a huge passion for the criminal justice field and an admiration for officers. When I was 19, I chose criminal justice as my major and excelled in school at it,” she said.

After graduating from California State University, Sacramento, with a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice, she began working for the Placer County Sheriff’s Office in 2019 as a correctional officer.

Becoming a K-9 handler

Kimberley Stuhr and her K-9 Shiloh when she was a sheriff's office correctional officer.

A sheriff's deputy K-9 correctional officer with her dog.

Stuhr’s original goal was becoming a detective but changed her mind when she met her jail training officer, a correctional officer K-9 handler.

“She was a huge inspiration for me,” Stuhr recalls. “I set my sights on becoming a K-9 handler that day.”

Stuhr applied for a position in the canine unit after she had worked the required two years at the sheriff’s office. In 2022, she was paired with her canine partner, Shiloh, a 15-month-old yellow lab rescue dog. Their assignment: narcotics detection.

Shiloh trained on five different narcotic odors. The team’s primary duty was to scan for drugs at sheriff’s office facilities. “We had a blast working together,” she said.

Ready for a change

Five years into her career at the sheriff’s office, Stuhr was looking for a career change to allow a more manageable work-life balance. Her brother, who works at CDCR, spoke very highly of the department, the people and the opportunities CDCR provides.

“I struggled for a long time about leaving (the sheriff’s office) because of how much I loved my work family, especially my canine family,” she said.

When she decided to make the change, she said the process was a “continual line-up of green flags. I have not had any moments where I questioned my decision. I’ve felt affirmed in this decision the entire way.”

One of the best moments was learning that she would be able to keep Shiloh.

“It just so happened that we didn’t have anybody lined up to be a handler and they were able to let me keep him and just retire him early,” she said. “We had formed a very incredibly strong bond from working together and living together. He’s great with my family. He’s great with people. He’s just a big puppy.”

PPU role

In her current position as an AGPA in the PPU, Stuhr said she has found a good fit. “I find that the work here is very fitting to my analytical brain,” she said. “I very much enjoy puzzles and challenges, and the work here provides a unique and welcomed mental stimulation.”

The PPU consists of analysts and parole agents. They assume the role of project managers for everything from forms development to legislative analyses to daily incident reporting to policy and procedures development and implementation.

Looking forward

Stuhr offered this advice: “If you’re looking for a change and you want stability and a place that can offer that—with a great schedule and a lot of advancement opportunities for your future—then come here. I’m happy to see there’s a ladder that continues all the way up to the top.”

Story by Mary Xjimenez, information officer II
Office of Public and Employee Communications

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