Dan Pacholke
Gov. Jay Inslee has appointed Dan Pacholke to serve as the new Secretary of Corrections for the State of Washington, effective Oct. 17.
Pacholke, whose mother is Japanese American, served as the Deputy Secretary for the department, and has more than 32 years of experience with the agency. Since 2014, in his role as Deputy Secretary, he has overseen the leadership of prisons, community corrections, healthcare, offender change, reentry services, and correctional industries divisions.
Pacholke started his career with the agency in 1982 as a Correctional Officer at McNeil Island Corrections Center. He was promoted through the ranks, including serving as the Superintendent at three Washington state prisons prior to becoming the Prison Administrator for Command West in 2008.
In 2010, Pacholke was appointed as Assistant Secretary over the Prisons Division.
Inslee praised Pacholke for being widely recognized for innovative prison change and for the operation of safe, humane prisons. (end)