MILWAUKEE — Milwaukee County's House of Correction is one step closer to having a new superintendent.
On Thursday, the Milwaukee County Judiciary, Safety and General Services Committee unanimously approved Chantell Jewell as the next House of Correction Superintendent, who would be the first Black woman to lead the department.
Jewell’s appointment is subject to a vote by the full County Board later this month. Should her appointment be approved, nearly two-thirds of Milwaukee County Executive’s department leaders will be Black, and over half of department heads will be women, according to a statement from the county Thursday.
Jewell served for more than 20 years for the Wisconsin Department of Corrections, working as a parole agent, youth counselor and field supervisor. Jewell also co-chaired the Regional Diversity Committee. Following her time at the WDC, Jewell worked as a Reentry Services Manager for EMPLOY Milwaukee.
For the last year, Jewell has served as a Deputy Administrator for Milwaukee County’s Division of Youth and Family Services.
Jewell's first day as acting superintendent with the HoC was Nov. 16.
"Chantell is the right leader for the task of guiding the House of Correction in improving our efforts towards restorative justice and investing in equity by giving residents the resources they need to avoid entering the system in the first place," Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley said in the statement.
