MILWAUKEE — Milwaukee County's House of Correction may soon have a new superintendent.
Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley appointed Chantell Jewell as the new superintendent Monday, following the resignation of former HoC superintendent Michael Hafemann earlier this year.
Jewell’s appointment is pending approval from the Milwaukee County Board. If she is approved, she will begin working in her new role Nov. 16.
If approved, Jewell will become the first Black woman to lead to the House of Corrections, and almost two-thirds of the County Executive’s department leaders will be Black and over half of department heads will be women, according to Crowley's office.
Jewell is currently the Deputy Administrator for Milwaukee County’s Division of Youth and Family Services. Her resume also includes a counselor and supervisor at Wisconsin Department of Corrections and a manager at EMPLOY Milwaukee.
“It is an honor to appoint Chantell Jewell as Superintendent of the House of Correction," Crowley wrote in a statement Monday. "Chantell will be Milwaukee County’s first Black woman to lead the House of Correction, but it is her nearly three decades of experience serving her fellow residents in Milwaukee County and her leadership in promoting racial equity, addressing disparities, reducing
incarceration, and promoting improved outcomes for residents that makes her uniquely qualified to lead the House of Correction in the spirit of our vision to achieve racial equity.”
According to Jewell in the statement:
"HOC has a big part to play in Milwaukee County’s goal to achieve racial equity and become the healthiest county in Wisconsin. When communities are healthy and the people living in them have access to the necessities they need to thrive, regardless of an individual’s participation in the justice system, we all win. Healthy communities are safe communities and I look forward to being part of the solution to make Milwaukee County neighborhoods the healthiest and safest in the state.”
