Dr. Laura DePierre

• Company Overview: Federal Bureau of Prisons, Department of Justice
• 40 hours / wk and on call duties
• Supervisor: Dr. Luis Velazquez, Chief Psychologist | lvelazquez@bop.gov 814.362.8900 x3441
• I blend psychological expertise with federal law enforcement duties.
• I manage a Residential Drug Abuse Program providing administrative oversight and direction over the program and supervising staff including law enforcement officers and drug treatment specialists in both residential and non-residential treatment for men and transwomen in federal custody
• My work regularly involves using research studies, collecting data, and analytical methodologies and techniques to improve the existing program and make suggestions for future policies and practices
• I regularly must assign responsibility and delegate authority
• I routinely provide briefings and advice to senior officials, including Regional management, the Warden, other executive staff, and Department Heads, on mental health, substance abuse, employee welfare, population management concerns, risk assessment, and all matters concerning institution and custodial safety and security
• I participate in labor management relations and threat assessments involving employees
• I manage several cost centers and oversee all phases of the department budget cycle, giving consideration to custodial requirements, customer care, and administrative needs, and allocating resources and accounting for their effective use
• I participate in institution- and agency-wide budget presentation meetings with senior officials
• I train law enforcement officers, supervisors, and medical professionals in mental health, emergency response, suicide prevention, and self-care, in order to foster a humane and secure environment and ensure public safety
• I am a skilled communicator and an expert in giving effective presentations, such as to introduce new policies and procedures, conducting training seminars, such as annual training and initial training for law enforcement officers, and writing comprehensive but approachable materials to make complex legal or clinical matters accessible for different audiences, including the public
• I provide direct clinical care, including initial intake and classification, treatment of seriously mentally ill adults in custody, medication assisted treatment, medication management, case management, and sexual abuse interventions
• I initiate, perform interviews, and provide researched information for criminal investigations and work with criminal investigators, including issues of mental health, drug enforcement, and on sensitive and controversial investigations
• I perform risk assessments for housing assignments, suicidality, sexual abuse, and sexual victimization
• I work with ICE detainees and those convicted of illegal entry or reentry charges, including those who require immigration hearings
• I serve as a correctional officer first and am a first responder to critical incidents. I have served as incident commander
• I serve as institution liaison regarding formulating and implementing correctional policy as relates to the First Step Act
• I write and edit a variety of materials and give verbal presentations for a range of audiences on complex and sensitive issues, including briefings for senior officials, the public, law enforcement, non-technical and technical audiences, internal and external stakeholders, and responding to Congressional Inquiries and FOIA requests
• Helped implement processes for Medication Assisted Treatment, including screening, diagnosis, referral, medical assessment, medication administration, patient observation, and group and individual psychological treatment
• As part of the Community Relations Board, I facilitate relationships with local borough council, small businesses, and other internal and external stakeholders
• I serve as the LGBTQIA+ Affirmative Employment Program Coordinator, organizing yearly awareness events during Pride month (and throughout the year) and participating in the recruitment of diverse staff
• I frequently act in different capacities through temporary duty assignments across the agency
• I maintain firearms proficiency at an exceptional level
• I received a recruitment incentive award of $15,000 in order to relocate to a hard to fill location
• My work contributes to the mission by meaningfully preparing adults in custody for successful reentry into our communities while maintaining the safety and security of the public, our officers, and the inmates in our care

• Company Overview: Federal Bureau of Prisons, Department of Justice
• 40 hours / wk and on call duties
• Supervisor: Dr. M’liss Doman | mdoman@bop.gov 760.246.2400
• I worked on multi-disciplinary teams with health services medical professionals, as well as unit team, education, recreation, and correctional staff
• For six years, I served as the Union Steward for the Psychology Department of more than 20 employees, including negotiating on the Labor Management Relations Board. I served as a point of contact regarding human resources actions, including hiring, discipline, termination, and equal opportunity employment. I communicated with the Federal Labor Relations Board. I served as an Alternative Dispute Resolution counselor. I served as an Employee Assistance Program Counselor.
• I provided direct clinical care for seriously mentally ill adults in custody, including individual and group treatment, diagnostic and care level formulations (including mental health and substance use disorders), treatment plans, and medication evaluations
• I performed on-call duties for a complex with over 5,000 adults in custody, including responding to critical incidents, suicide attempts and suicide risk assessments, crisis intervention, acute intoxication, substance withdrawal, and sexual abuse interventions
• I helped to manage and coordinate crisis situations, including serving on many calculated use of force teams performing confrontation avoidance
• I facilitated groups, including Anger Management, Domestic Violence, and many more
• I helped implement and support an ICE detention center and worked with inmates taken from the streets directly to our facility
• I helped facilitate translation services, immigration hearings, and provided clinical services to meet immigration policy requirements, including mental health evaluations and treatment
• I performed assessments as needed (including interviews and research for criminal investigations, cognitive assessment for education services and dementia screening for health services)
• I assessed and referred individuals for specialty mental health treatment programs
• I served on the Environmental Protection Committee, in particular referring to solar power, lead abatement, and water related issues
• I served as a correctional officer in direct supervision of the inmates as a unit officer and in SHU
• I communicated with Bureau of Prisons Director’s office regarding staff shortages during the COVID-19 crisis. As a result of my input, an emphasis was placed on staff across the bureau being granted age waivers instead of forced retirement so that the agency could continue to benefit from their expertise, leadership, and skills during this unprecedented time
• I created a Mother’s Day program about inmate sexual misconduct for inmates at US Penitentiary Victorville that was attended by four wardens. Both adults in custody and staff members shared experiences relating to sexual misconduct. Adults in custody from various religious groups (in conjunction with religious services) performed ceremony and blessings. Adults in custody performed carefully screened musical numbers (in conjunction with the recreation department). Refreshments were served (in conjunction with food services). Institutional security controls and emergency response preparedness were coordinated with correctional leaders and executive staff. This was an unprecedented program which required creative leadership and decision-making; it directly contributed to addressing the rampant inmate sexual misconduct that had previous resulted in legal settlements by the agency.
• I represented my agency as a Terrorism Liaison Officer between the Bureau of Prisons and the Joint Regional Intelligence Center for Southern California, which involved multiple jurisdictions. This involved specialized training in a range of intelligence research and collection methods, techniques, and practices to use multi-source intelligence information. It regularly involved collecting, deciphering, and disseminating data to assist with drug investigations and gang related activities, and to make recommendations in complex information/situations attained from multiple sources. It also involved maintaining effective working relationships with law enforcement, intelligence agencies, and community organizations; I participated in routine and emergent meetings with officers and criminal investigators from a variety of law enforcement agencies, including drug enforcement, as well as first responders such as firefighters and medical professionals, to share information and intelligence.
• I served on the Inmate Sexual Misconduct Committee, helping to develop a program to assess risk of sexual abusiveness, risk of sexual victimization, manage inappropriate sexual behaviors, offer appropriate treatment for abuse victims, and advise executive staff and other personnel. I monitored progress regarding number and severity of instances of sexual misconduct, and consequences / responses
• I responded to instances of alleged sexual abuse, with both alleged perpetrators and alleged victims, gathering information and conducting interviews, as well as providing clinical intervention and treatment
• I served as acting Prison Rape Elimination Act Coordinator
• I served as a victim advocate
• I designed and developed a victim impact program as well as outcome measures for effectiveness of the program
• I regularly coordinated institution-wide mock crisis drills, including staff from all departments, contributing to staff developing knowledge of the policy, directives and regulations of the agency

40 hours / wk and on call duties

Worked with polygraphers and licensed sex offender treatment specialists to provide direct clinical work to juvenile offenders. I worked with all departments, including education, recreation, and food services, to ensure that programs and policies were followed regard the care of these children. I developed and implemented both individual and group treatments, programs, and activities in order to promote the social, cognitive, emotional and physical growth and development of the children, taking into account individual needs. I particularly facilitated treatment groups to develop social skills and encourage healthy coping skills with the children. I worked with the education department, including performing intellectual and learning assessments (WAIS, WISC, WIAT and other achievement and intelligence tests) to include interventions for children with unique learning and neurocognitive needs. I then created monthly progress reports regarding development, mental health, physical health, social functioning, and occupational training success, for judges, court proceedings, and probation officers. Crisis intervention, including suicide risk assessment. I worked extensively with probation officers and families in order to create transition plans to return children from the secure facility to the community safely.

Principles and Techniques of Counseling | 2012
Adjunct professor to the Masters of Counseling Program at George Fox University. Gave students an overview of client-centered approach to therapy, including role play and case presentations.

Tests and Assessments | 2011
Adjunct professor to the masters program. Primarily focused on school and occupational tests; gave students an understanding of how to use testing materials properly and give appropriate feedback to clients.

Research Methods and Statistics | 2011
Adjunct professor to the masters program. Oversaw student research projects, including administering surveys to the community and using basic statistical principles to interpret results.

Projective Assessment | 2011
Teaching assistant to the PsyD program at George Fox University. Focused primarily on Rorschach, including administration and interpretation.

4 hours per week

Worked with couples and families for weekly mental health clinical treatment. Created behavioral management plans, engaged families in problem solving, and addressed social and cognitive needs of children. Developed effective interventions for individual families, including environmental supports and cooperation with school programs.

24 hours / wk

Worked with adults found guilty except for insanity and remanded to secure facility. Trained and worked with staff from all departments, including health services, education, recreation, food service, and occupational rehabilitation. Created comprehensive treatment plans to address safety and security concerns, as well as physical and mental health. Engaged in the therapeutic milieu regularly. Supervised a unit of 18 adults.

• Optimized data management systems to ensure accurate storage, retrieval, and reporting of statistical information.
• Performed data cleaning and data preparation to support high-quality data and catch errors before processing.
• Utilized SPSS, quantitative analysis, and qualitative analytical techniques to design and implement research projects in a variety of areas and scopes
• Contributed to peer-reviewed articles, posters and presentations at professional conferences, dissertations, and other research
• Wrote and supervised writing of technical documents for both technical and non-technical audiences

16 hours / wk

Worked with teenagers with unique cognitive needs housed in secure halfway houses. Developed and implemented/facilitated interventions, activities, and programs, including individual and group interventions. Trained staff in effective ways to interact with children with unique cognitive needs.