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Colette S. Peters

Peters, Director

Colette S. Peters is the Director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons. Ms. Peters was sworn in by Attorney General Merrick Garland on August 2, 2022, and assumed responsibility for the operation of 122 Bureau of Prisons' facilities, six regional offices, two staff training centers, and 22 residential reentry management offices. She is also responsible for the oversight and management of approximately 35,000 staff and 160,000 federal inmates.

Prior to being selected as Director, Ms. Peters served as Director of the Oregon Department of Corrections (ODOC) for ten years and provided oversight of 4,700 employees; a biennial budget of $2 billion; and the responsibility for managing 14,700 incarcerated adults in 14 prisons across the state. Ms. Peters has 30 years of experience in public safety and is the first woman to serve as the ODOC Director. She was also the Chair of the National Institute of Corrections Advisory Board and a past Vice President of the Association of State Correctional Administrators.

Ms. Peters began her career working with justice involved youth as a Youth Counselor in Johnston, Iowa. She served in positions of increasing responsibility, including as a Victim Advocate and Crisis Mediator with the Denver Police Department. In 2004, she became the Director of Public Affairs for the ODOC, and in 2006 she was selected as the ODOC Assistant Director for Public Services and Inspector General. She was appointed Director of the Oregon Youth Authority, the state agency responsible for providing custody, rehabilitation, and treatment services to youth who committed crimes prior to their 18th birthday, in 2009.

Ms. Peters holds a Master's degree in Criminal Justice from the University of Colorado in Denver, and a Bachelor's degree in Psychology from the College of Saint Benedict in Saint Joseph, Minnesota.