Vice Presidents

At CoreCivic, leadership is a way of being rooted in the values that define our company. Guided by professionalism, respect, integrity, duty and excellence, within our organization there is an immense level of pride in being given the responsibility to lead. Our leaders enact CoreCivic's companywide strategy, guiding their respective areas with the spirit of innovation, continuous improvement and distinction.

Shannon Carst, Vice President, Community Corrections
Shannon Carst was named vice president of Community Corrections in January 2021. Carst began her career in corrections more than 25 years ago as a deputy probation officer at the Boulder County Adult Probation. She later joined a correctional management company in Denver, Colorado, as a case manager, before promoted to director, and then to deputy regional director. She became president at a correctional management company in 2009, where she led the company to implementing specialized treatment programs for residents. Carst joined CoreCivic in 2016 as managing director of Community. She currently serves on committees for the Colorado Community Corrections Coalition, the American Corrections Association, and the Department of Public Safety (Colorado). Carst holds a bachelor's degree in criminal justice and a master's of business administration from the University of Phoenix.

Ron Charpentier, Vice President, Health Services
Ron Charpentier was named vice president of Health Services in May 2019. Prior to joining CoreCivic, Charpentier served as vice president of Optum Advisory Services, a leading provider of health care consulting services. In his nearly 30-year career in health services, Charpentier has served in multiple senior-level roles at The Advisory Board Company, BreatheAmerica, Inc., Center for Diagnostic Imaging, Inc., and PhyCor, Inc. Additionally, he has provided consulting for large health systems and health care delivery companies, including Einstein Healthcare, Ascension Wisconsin, Cigna-HealthSpring and OptumHealth. Charpentier has also consulted for private equity firms, including BlueMountain Capital and FFL Partners. Charpentier holds a bachelor's degree in behavioral science from California State Polytechnic University and a master's of business administration from the University of Maryland.

Scott Craddock, Vice President, Chief Ethics and Compliance Officer
Scott Craddock was named vice president, chief ethics and compliance officer in July 2018, having served as the leader of Ethics and Compliance since 2014. Craddock joined CoreCivic in 2003 as assistant general counsel, and was later promoted to associate general counsel. As assistant and associate general counsel, he was responsible for corporate and securities law compliance, corporate governance, and the development of CoreCivic's Ethics and Compliance program. Prior to joining CoreCivic, Craddock served as a corporate and securities attorney at Gibson, Dunn and Crutcher LLP in Washington D.C. and H3GM, PC in Nashville, Tennessee. Craddock holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Kentucky and a Juris Doctor from Columbia Law School in New York.

Libby Craver, Vice President, Human Resources
Libby Craver was named vice president of Human Resources in February 2023. Previously, she served as managing director of Human Resources Governance and Strategy. Craver joined CoreCivic in 2020 as managing director of Human Resources Operations. In her roles at CoreCivic, Craver has led multiple HR transformation initiatives, including the launch of human resources business partner model, human resources operating model, human resources technology strategy, and human resources project management and governance. Prior to joining CoreCivic, Craver spent seven years at Nissan leading global human resources technology and organizational change management initiatives. Craver's early career focused on communications, training and development, and change management in a variety of industries, including healthcare, commercial construction equipment, casino gaming, internet start-ups, and entrepreneurship. She holds a bachelor's degree in English from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

Dr. Kristen Dauss, Vice President, Health Services
Dr. Kristen Dauss was named CoreCivic's vice president of Health Services and Chief Medical Officer in April 2024. In this role, Dr. Dauss assumes enterprise-level responsibility for providing strategic and operational leadership in the development and execution of all health care delivery programs and strategies for CoreCivic. Dr. Dauss has a unique combination of experience in health care finance, innovation, business acumen, and frontline experience as a physician. Dr. Dauss joined CoreCivic in 2023 as the Chief Medical Officer and has made contributions well beyond her primary responsibilities, becoming a key member of the broader Operations leadership team at CoreCivic. In her career, she has worked with CoreCivic at the formerly CoreCivic-operated Marion County Jail II in Indiana. Following this role, she led Adolescent Medicine for the Division of Youth Services with Indiana Department of Correction. She then became the Statewide Psychiatry Director and ultimately served as the Chief Medical Officer for Indiana Department of Correction. Dr. Dauss holds a Doctor of Medicine from Morehouse School of Medicine, a Master of Business Administration from Western Governor’s University, and an Bachelor of Science from Indiana University. She completed her training at Indiana University’s Triple Board Program in General Pediatrics/Adult Psychiatry/Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and is board-certified.

Brian K. Ferrell, Vice President, Proposal Development
Brian K. Ferrell joined CoreCivic in 2002 as vice president, Government Relations and he later served as vice president, State Customer Relations; senior advisor for state governmental relations; and managing director of Partnership Relations. Before joining CoreCivic, Ferrell served in the Office of the Governor and the Department of Finance & Administration of the State of Tennessee. He started as legislative and policy assistant and later became the governor's chief legislative liaison and top advisor on corrections. He holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, and a doctor of jurisprudence from the UT College of Law.

Brian Hammonds, Vice President, Finance and Controller
Brian Hammonds was named vice president of Finance and Controller in April 2014, having joined the company as director of Financial Planning and Analysis in 2003. He was promoted to director of Financial Reporting in the Accounting department in 2004 and again was promoted to Assistant Controller in 2005. Hammonds later became vice president of Treasury in 2013. Prior to his career with CoreCivic, Hammonds was with two Nashville accounting firms, serving as an audit senior with Arthur Andersen and an Audit Manager at Ernst & Young where he worked primarily on healthcare companies and publicly traded REITs. Hammonds earned both his bachelor's degree and master's degree in accountancy at the University of Tennessee and is a Certified Public Accountant.

Jason Medlin, Vice President, Facility Operations 
Jason Medlin joined CoreCivic in 1997 as a correctional officer at Northeast Ohio Correctional Center in Youngstown, Ohio, where he also served as sergeant, lieutenant, captain, assistant chief of security and assistant warden. Medlin later transferred to other CoreCivic facilities, where he was named chief of security, assistant warden and warden. In December 2014, Medlin was promoted to managing director of Facility Operations (Division III) at CoreCivic's Facility Support Center, where he oversaw multiple facilities with diverse government partner contracts. In April 2018, he assumed his current role as vice president. He also serves as president of CoreCivic's military business resource group. Medlin holds a bachelor's degree in Criminal Justice Administration from the University of Phoenix and a master's degree in Administration of Criminal Justice from the University of Cincinnati. He served in the U.S. Army for five years.

Natasha Metcalf, J.D., Vice President, Partner Contracts Counsel
Natasha Metcalf joined CoreCivic in January 2003 as vice president of Local Partnership Relations. She most recently served as vice president and associate general counsel of Contract Management before being named vice president of Partner Contracts in August 2008. Currently, she serves as a leader of the company's Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Council. Prior to joining CoreCivic, Metcalf served, since December 1998, as the Commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Human Services. As head of this agency with a $1.4 billion budget, Metcalf was responsible for more than 130 office locations and 4,000 employees statewide. Metcalf served from 1997 until 1998 as general counsel for the Tennessee Department of Finance and Administration. In 1996, she was deputy legal counsel to Tennessee Governor Don Sundquist. She began her career as an associate with the law firm of Kennerly, Montgomery and Finley in Knoxville. She earned her law degree from the University of Tennessee College of Law and a bachelor's degree from Hampton University.

Don Murray, Vice President, Quality Assurance
Don Murray was named vice president of Quality Assurance in July 2019. Murray joined CoreCivic in 2004 as director of Addictions Treatment and Behavioral Programs. He was promoted to managing director of Quality Assurance in 2005, when CoreCivic established the Quality Assurance program. In that role, Murray's leadership helped develop and implement companywide internal audit and compliance strategies that reflect numerous audit industry best practices. In addition, he has assisted multiple CoreCivic facilities in attaining accreditation by the American Correctional Association (ACA), a professional organization for all individuals and groups both public and private that share a common goal of improving the justice system. Accreditation by the ACA is an award bestowed upon correctional facilities that have met or exceeded the correctional industry's highest quality operational standards. Prior to joining CoreCivic, Murray served over 22 years with the Federal Bureau of Prisons, where he served in multiple positions of progressively increasing responsibility at the facility, regional and national levels. He received numerous awards for his bureau service, including the prestigious Director's Special Recognition Award. Murray is a member of several professional associations including the Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA) and the ACA, where he has served on numerous industry‑wide committees. He holds a doctorate in psychology from West Virginia University, a master's degree in psychology from Radford College, and a bachelor's degree in psychology, cum laude, from West Virginia Wesleyan College.

Steve Owen, Vice President, Communications
Steve Owen was named vice president of Communications in June 2020. He most recently served as managing director of Communications at CoreCivic. Owen began his career with CoreCivic in 1995 as a principal at Mineral Wells Pre-Parole Transfer Facility in Texas, and was later promoted to program manager at the formerly CoreCivic-operated Bartlett State Jail in Texas. In March 1999, he was promoted to director of Public Affairs at CoreCivic's Facility Support Center, and again in March 2011, to senior director of Public Affairs. Prior to joining CoreCivic, Owen served as a case manager, unit manager and education coordinator at the Mineral Wells facility, which was managed by another correctional service provider at that time. Owen earned a master's of business administration from Lipscomb University and a bachelor's degree in criminal justice from Tarleton State University.

Erik Rasmussen, Vice President, Strategic Development
Erik Rasmussen was named vice president of Strategic Development in July 2019, after having served as managing director of Strategic Development for five years. Rasmussen joined CoreCivic in 2008 as director of Financial Planning and Analysis. He was promoted to senior director of Continuous Improvement in 2012. Prior to joining CoreCivic, Rasmussen was the associate director of Finance at Millenium Challenge Corporation in Washington D.C. Rasmussen earned a master's of business administration from the Kogod School of Business at American University and a bachelor's degree in philosophy from Wheaton College.

Brad Regens, Vice President, Partnership Relations
Brad Regens joined CoreCivic in 2007 as senior director and now serves as vice president of State Partnership Relations. Prior to joining CoreCivic, Regens worked 11 years for the Arizona Legislature, including the last two years as the director of Fiscal Policy for the Arizona House of Representatives. Regens earned a master's degree in public policy from Duke University and a bachelor's degree in economics from the University of Colorado at Boulder.

Harold Shannon, Vice President, Technology and Chief Information Officer
Harold Shannon was named vice president of Technology and chief information officer in April 2021. Previously, he served as managing director of Program Management at CoreCivic. Shannon joined CoreCivic in 2003 as a project manager in Technology. Since joining CoreCivic, Shannon has continued to serve in various leadership roles, including senior project manager, senior director of Program Management, and senior director of Enterprise, Resource, and Planning (ERP) Applications. Currently, he serves as president of the company's multicultural business resource group. Prior to joining CoreCivic, Shannon was a team lead and developer at Accenture, an international consulting firm. Shannon earned his bachelor's degree in computer information systems from Middle Tennessee State University and a master's of business administration from Belmont University. In 2015, Harold completed the Executive Leadership program at Belmont University.

Brigham Sloan, Vice President, Compensation, Benefits, and Human Resources
Brigham Sloan was named vice president of Compensation, Benefits, and Human Resources Operations in April 2021. Previously, he served as managing director of Operations Finance at CoreCivic. Sloan began his career in corrections in 1996 as a human resources manager at formerly CoreCivic-operated Bay Correctional Facility. He was promoted to learning and development manager at Bay, before taking on the role of facility start-up coordinator at CoreCivic's Facility Support Center (FSC) in 1998. He resumed his role of learning and development manager in 1999 at Bay, where he was promoted again to business manager in 2000. In 2001, Sloan was promoted to assistant warden at formerly CoreCivic-operated Kit Carson Correctional Center. He was promoted to warden at Bent County Correctional Facility in 2007, then transferred as warden to Lake Erie Correctional Institution in 2013. Sloan was promoted to senior director of Operations Analysis at CoreCivic's FSC in 2018. Sloan holds a bachelor's degree in business management from the University of West Alabama and a master's of business administration from Youngstown State University. 

Daren Swenson, Vice President, Core Services
A 30-year veteran in the field of corrections, Daren Swenson was named CoreCivic's vice president of Core Services in April 2024. Prior to this role, Daren served as vice president, Reentry Partnerships and Innovation since January 2021. In this role, Daren utilizes his diverse background in facility operations and community corrections to develop cutting edge reentry partnerships that help returning citizens get back on track. In 2017, Swenson participated in the Convergence Reentry Ready Project, a multi-stakeholder effort to help formerly incarcerated people succeed by focusing on what happens during incarceration and immediately after release.

Prior to accepting his role in reentry partnerships and innovation, Swenson served for five years as vice president of Community Corrections where he led the company's efforts to expand residential and non-residential alternatives to traditional incarceration.

Swenson joined CoreCivic in August 1992 as a sergeant at Prairie Correctional Facility in Minnesota, and has continued to hold positions of increasing responsibility with 20+ years spent in executive correctional leadership. In 2007, he was promoted to managing director of Facility Operations, and in June 2010, he was promoted again to vice president of Facility Operations overseeing 22 facilities. Swenson holds bachelor’s degrees in psychology and sociology from North Dakota State University.

Bart VerHulst, Vice President, Partnership Relations
Bart VerHulst joined CoreCivic in 2007 and has served in a variety of federal and local partnership relations roles. Prior to joining the company, he spent more than a decade on the staff of U.S. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, ultimately serving as Frist's chief of staff. In addition to his partnership relations work, VerHulst coordinates CoreCivic’s annual Chairman’s Charity Golf Tournament, which has supported organizations providing opportunities for former offenders, victims of crime and underprivileged youth for more than 20 years. VerHulst holds a bachelor's degree in business administration from Hope College.

Jennifer Williams, Deputy General Counsel and Vice President, Litigation
Jennifer Williams was named deputy general counsel and vice president, Litigation, at CoreCivic in July 2024. Williams joined CoreCivic in 2018 as associate general counsel, a role in which she oversaw the office of Investigations, providing legal support and oversight for employee misconduct investigations. Prior to joining CoreCivic, Williams served as litigation counsel at Tennessee-based HCA Healthcare, where she managed commercial litigation, investigations, and electronic discovery. She also served in roles with increasing responsibility during her tenure at WellPath, including the role of vice president, Litigation and Clinical Focus. In her early legal career, Williams served as associate attorney at Leitner, Williams, Dooley & Napolitan, PLLC; Allen, Kopet & Associates, PLLC; and George Wyth High School. Williams holds a bachelor's degree from Radford University and a Juris Doctor from the University of Tennessee School of Law.

John Paul Wooden, Vice President, Treasury & Tax
John Paul Wooden joined CoreCivic in 2004 as manager of Corporate Accounting. He was promoted to director of Treasury in 2005, and became senior director of Accounting & Tax in 2007. Wooden was promoted again to assistant controller in 2013. He assumed his current role in 2016. Prior to joining CoreCivic, Wooden worked at Arthur Andersen and Ernst & Young, where he focused primarily on the healthcare industry. Wooden is a Certified Public Accountant and earned both his undergraduate and master's degree in accounting from the University of Tennessee.