When you hear her tell the story of how she learned not to be afraid to step up to a leadership position, you understand why Evelyn Bush, Correctional Program Specialist for the National Institute of Corrections (NIC), is the 2016 recipient of the Susan M. Hunter award from the Association of Women Executives in Corrections. The award is given to celebrate the work of women correctional leaders and to those who themselves empower and celebrate women in corrections.

Bush has been led by the work ethic that her parents instilled in her, the strong connections she has with her family, and her relationship with God. Her experiences with leadership started early in life through her involvement in athletics and academics.

Soon after graduating with a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Connecticut, Bush accepted a position in the Connecticut Department of Corrections under the Comprehensive Employment and Training Act of 1973, which was created to provide job training and employment opportunities for American workers. “I had never planned to work in corrections,” says Bush, “but the department was hiring.”

In June 1975, Bush began her correctional career as a temporary then full-time employee in the department’s personnel office, learning the business of affirmative action, labor relations, employee discipline, and correctional officer hiring and orientation. In the fall of 1979 her career took an unexpected turn.  In an effort to integrate women officers into the male facilities, she was asked to help “break the glass ceiling” and move four ranks beyond the normal supervisory positions. This move would make Bush Deputy Warden of Treatment and the state’s first highest ranking woman in a male facility. She would also be among the youngest staff, leading managers and other upper-level staff at the age of 26.

At the time she accepted the new job offer, women were not eligible to work in direct contact with male inmates due to privacy issues, which meant that women would have no access to promotion into supervisory ranks. “Women were correctional aides, working in the lobby, visiting, handling mail, but you needed to work in the blocks in order to take the test to get promoted,” Bush says.

As Bush was moved up four ranks in a single “provisional appointment,” she experienced a barrage of backlash and resentment from her colleagues. Yet, the warden she worked for was supportive and, as Bush explains, “He showed confidence in my abilities and refused to fight my battles.”

One time, Bush had been locked in a sallyport, waiting for one of her colleagues to let her through. He had access to a functioning camera in the control center where he was stationed, but as time continued to pass, he neglected to open the gate. As Bush recalls her warden said to her, “And what do you want me to do about it? If you let him get away with this, he’ll do something else. If you let me handle it, I’ll be handling your problems forever. So, what would you like me to do?”

 At the time, Bush was stunned by his response but later recalls that his guidance was helpful. It was the response she needed to find the answer that would help her get through years of discrimination. She immediately confronted her colleague in the control center. The situation never happened again.

In 1981, Bush was selected to be the co-chair on a statewide agency committee overseeing the further integration of women into the correctional workforce. The committee’s mission was to help facilities see the cultural and physical changes that would need to be made to add women to their staff.

By 1984, Bush became the first African-American woman in Connecticut to be appointed warden of a correctional facility. Later, she would serve as a Regional Director, Acting Medical Health Services Director and Deputy Commissioner of Administration.  

“I’ve done a lot of things out of my comfort zone,” Bush says. Although she interviewed for each of the career positions she held with the Connecticut DOC, she applied only once for her first position. For all the others, she was approached to apply. It’s a testament to the trust she was able to build among her superiors and peers.

Before retiring from Connecticut in 2001, she served multiple times as a technical resource provider for the National Institute of Corrections and was in the inaugural class of NIC’s Executive Leadership Training for Women. Bush joined NIC as a correctional program specialist in 2002, working with several NIC initiatives that challenged correctional culture, mission change and a multidisciplinary approach to systems issues.

Now, her work focuses correctional leadership skills for senior leaders working in women’s prisons, newly appointed Wardens and women’s leadership. However, the Leadership Training for Women program is her favorite. “I enjoy it the most because I’ve lived it,” Bush says. “I’ve seen what it’s like not to be valued for who you really are and the diversity of your thought process. This program rescued me and helped me believe in myself, become more authentic and more comfortable with my intelligence, even if someone else was not.”

“Earlier in my career, when I would walk into a room,” Bush says, “I became aware that the first things people would notice about me are my race and my gender. And sometimes, how I was treated was a direct reflection of race or gender. These have nothing to do with my competence.”

That’s why she tells the women who attend her training programs today that “they must get past the obvious (gender) and not take it personal.” It would have been easier for some people to allow others’ biases to control the trajectory of their career, but not Bush. She says, “It takes time and validation in leadership to be okay with who you are and to trust the value you bring to the organization. Own the things that make your life experiences unique and then get on with the work. You’re really okay. You are not an imposter.”  

As recipient of the Susan M. Hunter award, Evelyn Bush embodies all the qualities of a leader worth celebrating. She also takes great pride in being a mother, a grandmother, and a volunteer able to complete community service projects through her sorority Zeta Phi Beta, Inc. Bush is a trailblazer and, most importantly, an inspiration for the thousands of women and men who make corrections their career. But, as she will point out,” I stand on the shoulders of the women who came before me.”

Bush’s newest projects involve raising awareness in corrections regarding the human trafficking of women offenders and addressing racial disparity from diversion to desistance within the criminal justice system.