ABOUT US
GreenPrisons.org was created to provide a forum between providers of sustainable products and services and correctional administrators. The website promotes dialogue, provides news on sustainable projects in corrections and provides training and technical assistance networking services.
We are committed to helping corrections find sustainable solutions to save/generate dollars, provide meaningful work and training opportunities for offenders, and to assist institutions in becoming good neighbors to their community by reducing their footprint on local environmental services. GreenPrisons services are provided without charge to correctional agencies and practitioners.
GP STAFF
Tommy Norris
President / CEO
Tommy Norris is an experienced correctional practitioner with over 45 years experience in the field. He began his career at what is now the Federal Medical Center in Lexington, KY, as a correctional officer in 1971. Progressing steadily through the ranks of the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) he has worked as a correctional supervisor, investigator, case manager and institution training manager.
In 1985 Tommy was transferred to the National Institute of Corrections Academy (NIC) in Boulder (now Aurora), Colorado, where he assumed responsibility for all prison related training programs as well as several courses in the general management series.
Following his stint at NIC he was detailed to the Indiana Department of Correction as the Deputy Commissioner of Programs and Staff Development
He concluded his Bureau career in 1999 as the BOP’s Accreditation Manager which included the oversight and management of the implementation of agency-wide accreditation.
After his retirement Tommy taught in the Corrections and Juvenile Justice Department at Eastern Kentucky University, from 1999 until that program was eliminated in 2009.
He was named as Chair of the new Sustainability Committee for the American Correctional Association (ACA) in January 2010, and continues to hold that position. In August of 2011 he formed GreenPrisons.org to promote sustainability in corrections. Mr. Norris speaks nationally on the topic of sustainability at correctional conferences and for government agencies. He has published numerous articles on the topic in Corrections Today, American Jail and the Journal of the National Correctional Industries Association and similar publications.
Mr. Norris holds a Bachelor’s degree in Social Work from the University of Kentucky (1976) and a Master’s degree in Criminal Justice from Eastern Kentucky University (1980).
Contact Information:
(859) 582-1900
Tommy@GreenPrisons.org
Jamee Peyton
Operations Manager
Jamee Peyton joined the GreenPrisons.org team as Operations Manager in January 2016. She has three years of experience working in private security through the Federal Medical Center (FMC) in Lexington, Kentucky; along with independent practice during an internship in case management through FMC in a correctional setting. Jamee has initiated and implemented not-for-profit fundraising work, managed business administration, and promotional advertising for the past five years. Through additional volunteer efforts as a Court Appointed Special advocate, she has become well-versed in programming and resources available for victims as well as offenders of domestic crimes. Jamee has a passion for the rehabilitation efforts associated with both juvenile and adult offenders, along with an appreciation for the thriving efforts to value and modestly expend environmental resources. Reducing unnecessary environmental impacts while enhancing the functionality of correctional institutions has brought Jamee to GreenPrisons.org with emphasis on green technologies, sustainable practice, and enhancement of inmate skill and post-incarceration opportunities. Jamee is a Bachelors level Eastern Kentucky University graduate of the Criminal Justice program (2010), and currently completing her Masters in Forensic Clinical Counseling.
Contact Information:
GP Senior Advisers
George H. Berghorn
ADVISOR
George H. Berghorn, LEED AP BD+C has worked in various aspects of sustainability for the past 16 years. He specializes in sustainability planning and implementation; energy efficient new construction and retrofit; green building rating systems; greening correctional facilities; construction management; environmental remediation; resource policy; grant writing and management; and non-profit management.
In private practice, he has consulted for the University of Alaska Fairbanks, the South Central Connecticut Regional Water Authority, the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection, a WK Kellogg Foundation-funded consortium, and the Allen Neighborhood Center in Lansing, Michigan. He has worked as an HVAC installer, field technician, owner’s representative, site superintendent, and construction project manager on residential, commercial, and environmental construction; brownfield redevelopment; and hazardous site assessment projects in over 17 states. George was a policy director for a statewide association where he managed a state and federal legislative agenda, technical assistance, and a sustainable product certification committee. His career in higher education started as an adjunct faculty member and later a Department Chairman and Dean of community college career and technical programs, to include building design and construction, energy management, information technology, and corrections.
George currently serves as a Senior Advisor with GreenPrisons, where he works on energy, mechanical system, lighting, fuels, and retrofit programs. He brings extensive construction, energy, and sustainability experience to GreenPrisons, along with a background in non-profit management and grants. George has served in executive leadership for organizations focused on resource protection and youth development. He has been an invited speaker at national and regional events by the National Wildlife Federation and Jobs for the Future, the National Science Foundation, the Pew Foundation, the Community Economic Development Association of Michigan, and the Forest Products Society, and he has been a guest lecturer at Michigan State University and Yale University. George has brought over $2.2 million in research, education, and natural resources project grants over 8 years. He has published in Corrections Today, the Remediation Journal, and the Journal of Architectural Engineering, where one of his papers has been among the top ten most read papers since it was published in 2011.
George has a BS degree in Earth Science (water resources focus) and Political Science from the SUNY College at Brockport and a Master of Environmental Studies degree in Coastal and Watershed Systems from the Yale University School of Forestry and Environmental Studies. He is currently a PhD Candidate in Construction Management at Michigan State University where his research is focused on risks in the energy performance contracting process in correctional facilities. He is a member of the American Council for Construction Education, the U.S. Green Building Council, and the American Correctional Association, where he has been active with the Clean and Green Committee. He is also active in his community, serving on the Board of Directors for the Potter Park Zoo, the Housing Caucus of the Allen Neighborhood Center, and the leadership team of Restoration Works in Lansing. A native of New York City, George currently resides in Lansing, Michigan.
Contact Information:
Information coming soon.
Joseph J. Marchese
ADVISOR
In December of 2006, Joseph J. Marchese retired as Deputy Director of Criminal Justice for the NYS Division of Criminal Justice Services. Prior to his work with the NYSDCJS Mr. Marchese served as interagency liaison for the Executive Director of the NYS Division of Parole and was responsible for collaborative projects, grant solicitation and project management as well as ACA Accreditation. Throughout his 40 plus year career in criminal justice (35 in the field of Corrections) he has served in various positions from line officer to Executive levels. In addition to his consultant work, Mr. Marchese serves as a Senior Advisor to Green Prisons.org on jail matters.
Mr. Marchese is an internationally recognized implementation strategist specializing in areas of jail administration and management, sustainability programs, reentry programs, emergency planning, management of security threat groups, and staff training and program management. He has worked with jails and prisons in over 45 US States and several foreign nations. In October of 2015, Mr. Marchese received the Correctional Excellence Award from the International Corrections and Prisons Association for his work in staff training and emergency management.
From 1987-1989, Mr. Marchese, while on loan from New York State, served as a Program Specialist with the National Institute of Corrections (NIC), National Academy of Corrections (Colorado) He served as the Academy’s training Liaison to the NIC Jails Division’s including the PONI (Planning and Opening of New Institutions) Program.
Mr. Marchese is a member of the American Jail Association, American Correctional Association and American Probation and Parole Association and is Past –President of the International Association of Correctional Training Personnel.
Mr. Marchese has a BS Degree in Criminal Justice from John Jay College of Criminal Justice and an MA Degree in Public Affairs from SUNY Stony Brook.
Contact Information:
Leah Morgan
ADVISOR
Leah Morgan is a Project Manager for Milepost Consulting, a management consulting firm focused on helping customers adapt to changing environmental and social issues. Prior to joining Milepost, Leah served as the Energy Conservation and Sustainability Administrator for the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction, where she directed and monitored the state agency’s Energy Conservation and Waste Management Policy and Strategic Sustainability Plan compliance—including recycling, composting, utilities, and sustainability-programming—for 27 state prisons. Leah established and expanded offender-facilitated environmental literacy program to 22 facilities, and coordinated with vendors to incorporate offender training into energy- and water-conservation initiatives with capital improvement projects. She managed the agency’s Demand Response program ($950,000 annual revenue) and electric procurement ($1.2 million in annual savings), and implemented utility tracking software with real-time monitoring capabilities. Prior to this, Leah worked as the Director of Community Engagement for the Ohio chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council, and as a Planning Analyst on the Ohio Green Prison Project for the Vera Institute of Justice.
Leah has a B.A. in human and organizational development and an M.Ed. in organizational leadership from Vanderbilt University, and a Lean Six Sigma black belt from the Ohio Department of Administrative Services. She is a member of the U.S. Green Building Council, and the American Correctional Association, where she has been active on the Sustainability Committee.
Contact Information:
Paul Sheldon
ADVISOR
Paul Sheldon is a senior development consultant that has provided development assistance to numerous agencies, for-profit, non-profit, public benefit, social change, social justice, and community development organizations. He specializes in green re-entry planning; green jobs development; greening correctional institutions; organization development; neighborhood, organizational, regional, and national sustainability; sustainable agriculture; resource efficiency planning; implementing sustainability; fund raising; board development; and staff training. He consults widely for correctional institutions, businesses, governments, non-profit groups, entrepreneurs, and philanthropists.
Paul served as primary author for reports on Economic and Energy Alternatives to proposed coal mining on the Navajo Nation, solar potential on Black Mesa, the REEL in Alaska Roadmap to energy efficiency in the Railbelt Region around Anchorage, and the Fairbanks First Fuel Analysis, documenting opportunities for efficiency improvements in electricity use in Fairbanks, Alaska. He has also authored scholarly articles on the Helix of Sustainable Management and the Integrated Bottom Line. As part of his commitment to greening America’s prisons and jails, Paul served as primary author for the Greening Corrections Technology Guidebook published by the National Institute of Justice National Law Enforcement and Corrections Technology Center of Excellence as well as the American Correctional Association’s Policy and Standard on Environmentally Responsible and Sustainability-Oriented Practices, and publishes a monthly article on greening corrections on the Green Prisons website and on www.CorrectionsOne.com.
Contact Information:
Informationcoming soon
Stephen C. Tussey
ADVISOR
Stephen Tussey is retired from the Dept. of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons after a distinguished career in many challenging positions and assignment locations. Steve began his career as a correctional officer and advanced through the system holding positions of increasing responsibility until retiring as the Federal Bureau of Prisons, National Safety Administrator, the agency’s top safety and health professional. He has nearly 40 years of experience in Corrections, Occupational Safety, Environmental Health and Fire Protection.
Steve worked closely with numerous federal, state and local agencies developing inter-agency agreements and emergency response plans for bio-chemical, weapons of mass destruction, fire and natural disasters. He developed the first training agreement with OSHA, allowing the entire Bureau of Prisons safety staff to become certified OSHA instructors, therefore having a tremendous residual effect at the institutional level training hundreds of staff and inmates.
Steve continues to work in the correctional field as a consultant performing inspections of correctional facilities throughout the United States and providing advice and assistance in all aspects of correctional management.
Steve also provides expertise to Eastern Kentucky University assisting with curriculum development and instruction in correctional and safety related fields.
Steve is the Senior Safety Advisor for GreenPrisons.org, an organization devoted to sustainability and recycling in correctional facilities. This organization has helped numerous prisons and jails achieve lower operating costs while reducing their environmental footprint.