Governor Stitt on Tuesday announced five people he is appointing to sit on the Oklahoma State Board of Corrections. They are Reginald Hines, Dr. Kathryn LaFortune, Steven Harpe, Rodney Thornton and Betty Gesell.
“I am pleased to welcome five new members to the State Board of Corrections,” said Stitt. “They will each bring a diverse perspective to the Department of Corrections in order to implement needed change and innovative ideas. I look forward to working with the board to move our criminal justice and correction system forward.”
Hines is a former Deputy Director for the Oklahoma Department of Corrections. He retired after 37 years, but remains engaged with correctional system issues on the state and federal level. Hines is the current President of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, the Oklahoma Chapter of the National Association of Blacks in Criminal Justice and the Working Together Prison Ministry.
LaFortune is both a psychologist and an attorney. She’s currently working at the Tulsa County Juvenile Bureau providing forensic psychological services and sits on the American Psychological Association Committee on Legal Issues. LaFortune’s career has taken her through stints working with former Congressman Jim Bridenstine, mental health and veterans’ courts, the Oklahoma Indigent Defense System, the David L. Moss Criminal Justice Center and Bell Telephone Laboratories. She’s published and co-authored psychology research papers.
Harpe is the Chief Information Officer of Gateway Mortgage Group. He’s worked in the technology space for American Airlines, Sabre, HireRight, Capital One, and CGI. Additionally, Harpe has worked on initiatives for the U.S. Navy and Marines.
Thornton owns Thornton Construction Company as well as Eagle Drilling and RT Properties. He’s a member of the University of Oklahoma Seed Sower Society.
Gesell is a former small business owner and Senior Account Representative at Mead Data Central/Lexis Nexis.
The governor has five appointments to the Board of Corrections, while the House Speaker and Senate President Pro Tempore have two appointments each.
