Central Office - Industries, Education, & Vocational Training (IE&VT) Division

Mary M. Mitchell
Assistant Director,
Industries, Education, & Vocational Training Division


Mary M. Mitchell was appointed Assistant Director for the Industries, Education and Vocational Training Division in January, 2012. She is a career public servant in the Federal Bureau of Prisons. In this position she also serves as Federal Prison Industries’ Chief Operating Officer, with responsibility for education, vocational, and occupational training programs for Federal inmates nationwide.

Ms. Mitchell is a native of Pensacola, Florida and attended Pensacola Junior College. In addition, she completed the Harvard University Women of Power Program, as well as the Dale Carnegie leadership program.

Ms. Mitchell began her Bureau career in November 1989 as an administrative secretary at the Federal Prison Camp, Pensacola, Florida. Subsequently, she served in positions of increasing responsibility, at 13 different duty stations throughout the nation, including unit secretary, Associate Warden’s secretary, and accounting technician at FCI Terminal Island (CA); accounting technician at FPC Eglin (FL); budget analyst at FCI Pekin (IL), Budget and Accounting Officer at the Federal Detention Center (FDC) Miami (FL), Financial Manager at FCI Talladega (AL) and USP Pollock (LA), Executive Assistant at USP Atlanta and the Southeast Regional Office, (GA). She served as Associate Warden at FCI Talladega before being promoted as Warden over the medium security FCI and satellite camp at FCC Coleman (FL) and later assumed the FCC low security facility as well. In January 2009, she was appointed to the Senior Executive Service and selected as Warden for FCI Edgefield (SC). Ms. Mitchell was selected in January 2011 as Senior Deputy Assistant Director for the Correctional Programs Division with responsibilities for the Correctional Services, Correctional Programs, Designations & Sentence Computation, Drug Treatment, Intelligence & Counter Terrorism, Psychology Services and Sex Offender Management Branch for the agency prior to her appointment as Assistant Director, Industries, Education and Vocational Training.

She has been a dedicated public servant for nearly twenty-six years, and worked with inmates at every custody level within the Bureau. She is committed to the mission of the Bureau, making our communities safer while providing job training and educational opportunities for inmates while incarcerated, preparing them for reentry back into society. Ms. Mitchell has received numerous awards to include the U. S. Attorney General’s Award for Excellence in Management, and New Warden of the Year. She is a member of the Association of Women Executives in Corrections.