FRANKFORT, Ky. (May 6, 2022) – Kentucky Department of Corrections (DOC) Deputy Commissioner Lisa Lamb today announced staffing changes in the department's Communications Office. This includes the promotion of Katherine Williams to communications manager and Keesha Solomon to the administrative open records coordinator. Jerry Sudduth transferred into the public information officer role that is primarily responsible for overseeing the department’s official social media accounts and photography/videography projects.
“We are so proud of these individuals and believe all the moves place DOC’s Communications Office in an excellent position to contribute to the overall success of our agency,” said Lamb. “This office’s primary role is to showcase the great work going on around the state by DOC employees so I’m excited to see what contributions they’ll bring to this effort.”
Katherine Williams began her DOC career as a probation and parole officer in 2005. She supervised offenders, prepared pre-sentence investigation reports, and worked closely with Drug Court. In 2007, she was hired as a classification and treatment officer, working first at Roederer Correctional Complex’s Assessment and Classification Center and then at Frankfort Career Development Center (FCDC). In addition to managing a caseload, Williams conducted orientation for all incoming inmates, facilitated the substance abuse treatment program “Life Without a Crutch,” and served as a crisis negotiator.
When FCDC closed in 2011, Williams transferred to a parole board specialist I position in Parole Support Services in Central Office. In 2012, she was promoted to a parole board specialist II, which included completing risk and needs assessments and supervising staff who provided administrative support to the Parole Board. In 2017, she was promoted to a public information officer in the Communications Office. While the primary function of her position was as the administrative open records coordinator for the department, Williams also wrote press releases, communicated with media, and worked on special projects in the office.
Williams earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology from Berea College and master’s degree in social work from the University of Kentucky. She is the recipient of a 2009 DOC Achievement Award and a graduate of the 2015-16 Commissioner's Executive Leadership Program.
Keesha Solomon began her career with the department in 2018 as an administrative specialist III in Offender Information Services (OIS). During these four years, she served in the vital role as the open records coordinator handling inmate-related records requests sent to Central Office. Solomon established many close working relationships with other divisions within the department, as well as with several state and federal agencies. Before coming to Corrections, Solomon worked for 10 years in the private sector in security as an account manager. In this role her responsibilities included overseeing security management accounts, monitoring compliance, and facilitating staff training and development.
Solomon received her bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from the ITT Technical Institute in 2011. She is an active member of the Kentucky Council on Crime and Delinquency (KCCD), where she currently serves as the goodwill officer for the Capital Chapter. She received the Employee of the Year award in Offender Information Services in 2020.
Jerry Sudduth started his career with the DOC in OIS as an offender information specialist I in 2010. His main duties involved calculating parole time credit of parole violators and managing the parole violator log for the department. In 2013, Sudduth transferred to the Office of Vocational Rehabilitation where he gained experience in monitoring federal grants.
After returning to the DOC in 2014 as an offender information supervisor, Sudduth provided oversight of the sections responsible for good time calculation and jail management. He stayed in this position until transferring to Parole Support Services as a parole board specialist II in 2017. While there, he supervised support staff assigned to this division and assisted in completing risk and needs assessments utilized by board members during parole hearings.
In September 2018, Sudduth promoted to offender information administrator in OIS. In this role, his responsibilities included hiring staff, serving as the liaison between the Personnel Division and OIS, acting as the records liaison with Libraries and Archives, and overseeing three sections.
Sudduth is a veteran of the United States Army and a 2008 graduate of Eastern Kentucky University, where he received a bachelor’s degree in history with minors in police studies and journalism. He is a graduate of the 2017-18 Commissioner’s Executive Leadership Program.