Governor Phil Bryant
reappointed Christopher B. Epps as Commissioner of the
Mississippi Department of Corrections, January 9, 2012.
Commissioner Epps was initially appointed to the post,
August 30, 2002, by then Governor Ronnie Musgrove, and
received reappointment by former Governor Haley R. Barbour
on January 13, 2004. Commissioner Epps is the longest
serving commissioner in the history of the agency.
Commissioner Epps started his career with the Mississippi
Department of Corrections (MDOC) in 1982 as a correctional
officer at the Mississippi State Penitentiary. His
extensive corrections experience with the MDOC includes:
Chief of Staff, Deputy Commissioner of Institutions, Deputy
Commissioner of Community Corrections, Director of Offender
Services, Deputy Superintendent,
Chief of Security,
Corrections Case Management Supervisor, Director of
Treatment Services and Corrections Case Manager.
Additionally, he has served as Disciplinary Hearing
Officer/Investigator and Director of Records for the agency.
Elected president of the prestigious American Correctional
Association (ACA) in May 2010,
Commissioner Epps has held various leadership positions
throughout his career in corrections and in the military.
Having served in the armed forces since 1984, Commissioner
Epps received an honorable discharge from the Mississippi
Army National Guard after attaining the rank Lieutenant
Colonel.
Vice-President of the Association of State Correctional
Administrators (ASCA), Commissioner Epps also serves on the
Correctional Industries, Research & Technology, Re-entry &
Community Corrections, Racial Disparity and the Program &
Training ASCA Committees.
He serves as an Auditor with the American
Correctional Association, and in 2008, was elected to a two-year
term as treasurer of the ACA. He was elected in 2006 to
serve on the ACA Nominating Committee, and in June 2004, he
was elected to the Commission on Accreditation for
Corrections of the American Correctional Association for the
term of 2004 – 2008
.
In 2007 he was appointed to the Executive Committee for the
Commission.The Immediate Past-President of the
Southern States Correctional Association (SSCA),
Commissioner Epps was
appointed to serve on the Correctional Peace Officers (CPO)
Foundation National Board of Directors in 2009. Additionally,
he serves on the Board
of Directors for Alcohol
Services, Mississippi Prison Industries, the Mississippi
Drug Court Advisory Committee, the Mississippi Analysis and
Information Center,
and the Mississippi Broadband Connect Coalition.
He is also a former mentor with Big
Brother / Big Sister of Mississippi.
Chairman
of the Mississippi Wireless Communications Commission (WCC),
Commissioner Epps
is a member of the
Council of Advisors for the College of Public Service at
Jackson State University, the State Workforce Investment
Board, and the Interstate Commission for Adult Offender
Supervision (ICAOS) as Mississippi’s representative.
Commissioner Epps’ list of accomplishments and awards
are numerous.
December 3, 2011, the Association of State Correctional
Administrators (ASCA) presented Commissioner Epps with the
Michael Francke Award. Honoring Commissioner Christopher
Epps as the Nation’s Outstanding Corrections Commissioner
for 2011, the award is presented annually to recognize an
outstanding ASCA member for their vision, achievements and
contributions to the field of corrections. The Michael
Francke Award is the highest honor bestowed by ASCA.
Further honors include:
“Humanitarian of the
Year” in 2007 by the Mississippi Association of
Professionals in Corrections (MAPC) as well as “Professional
of the Year” in 2000 and 2004; the 2007 Distinguished Alumni
Award from the National Association for Equal Opportunity in
Higher Education; one of the “50 Most Influential African
Americans in Mississippi” by BlackMississippi.com and 2004
recipient of “The Distinguished Public Service Award” by the
University of Southern Mississippi (USM),
Department of Criminal Justice, for his contributions to the
criminal justice system. Additional honors include: an
Army Commendations Medal; Army Achievement Medal with Oak
Leaf Cluster; Army Reserve Component Achievement Medal with
Oak Leaf Cluster; National Defense Service Medal; NCO
Professional Development Ribbon; Army Service Ribbon;
Mississippi Medal of Efficiency; Mississippi War Medal; and
the Mississippi Longevity Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster.
Commissioner Epps was awarded the honorary title “Kentucky
Colonel” in 2007 by Kentucky Governor Ernie Fletcher.
For his
unfailing dedication and outstanding service to the state of
Mississippi, Commissioner
Epps has received three
separate Mississippi House of
Representatives
and Senate
Commendations:
House
Concurrent Resolution 114 commending dedicated and
outstanding service to the Mississippi Department of
Corrections and recognition for being the longest serving
commissioner in the history of the agency, 2009;
House
Concurrent Resolution 143 upon his national acclaim and
respect of his peers, as evidenced by his election as the
112th President of the American Correctional Association,
2011;
and Senate
Concurrent Resolution 551 recognizing and saluting him on
the occasion of Black History Month as the longest-serving
Mississippi Department of Corrections Commissioner in the
state’s history and the recipient of the Michael Francke
Award as the nation’s outstanding Director of Corrections by
the Association of State Correctional Administrators, 2012.
Commissioner Epps’
correctional/civilian affiliations include the American
Correctional Association (ACA), Association of State
Corrections Administrators (ASCA),
North American Association of Wardens and
Superintendents (NAAWS),
Southern States Correctional Association (SSCA), and
Mississippi Association of Professionals in Corrections
(MAPC), and the Correctional Peace Officers Foundation (CPOF).
A native
of Tchula,
MS,
Commissioner Epps is a graduate of Liberty University in
Lynchburg,
Virginia
with a Master of Arts degree in Guidance and Counseling.
He received his Bachelor
of Science Degree in Elementary Education from Mississippi
Valley State University.
Commissioner Epps is married to Catherlean Sanders Epps and
they have two sons, Chris and Tracey.
