BATON ROUGE, La. – The Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections has promoted an assistant warden and mental health practitioner to lead Louisiana Correctional Institute for Women (LCIW). Kristen Thomas has been named Warden of Louisiana's only state-run women's prison. Thomas is the first female warden to lead LCIW in a decade. Mariana Leger who was LCIW's first female warden served in that capacity April 2006 - February 2011.
"Warden Thomas brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to this position," said Jimmy Le Blanc, secretary, Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections. "Warden Thomas’s extensive educational and clinical background aligns well with the Department’s ongoing efforts to develop a gender-responsive correctional program tailored to the unique needs of females in the criminal justice system. With the recently approved rebuild of LCIW, the state has a unique opportunity to reimagine what corrections for women looks like in the state, and to become a model for gender-responsive corrections nationally."
Thomas began her career in the Department of Public Safety and Corrections in 2007 at Elayn Hunt Correctional Center (EHCC). She later promoted to the Assistant Mental Health Director at the facility before transferring to Louisiana State Penitentiary as the Mental Health Director in 2015. Thomas returned to EHCC to serve as Assistant Warden for Healthcare in 2016 and became that prison's Chief of Security earlier this year. Thomas has a Bachelor of Science in Psychology and Sociology from LSU, and has earned a Masters in Forensic Psychology from John Jay College of Criminal Justice.
"I am humbled and am grateful for the confidence Secretary Le Blanc has in me to lead Louisiana Correctional Institute for Women," said Kristen Thomas, warden, Louisiana Correctional Institute for Women. "I am excited about this opportunity and dedicated to building a relationship with my staff to successfully carry out the mission and goals of this Department, which include public safety, reentry, programming, and rehabilitation."
Thomas replaces LCIW Warden Frederick Boutte, who is retiring at the beginning of the year. She assumed command of the prison Monday, December 6, 2021.