SALEM, Ore. (AP) — Gov. John Kitzhaber has nominated the director of Oregon’s juvenile penitentiary system to run the state Department of Corrections.
Kitzhaber says Colette Peters has increased efficiency and effectiveness during her time at the Oregon Youth Authority. She was previously the assistant director and inspector general of the corrections department.
Peters replaces Max Williams, who left the agency last year to run the Oregon Community Foundations. She takes over a prisons agency struggling with a tight budget that is likely to be cut even more next month.
Peters would be the first woman to run the prison system. She’ll be the department’s interim director until confirmed by the state Senate.
