“She has a department that we know we’re going to be proud of, and there’s not any question about that. That’s how good she is.”

Warden Brian Collins of the Lindsey State Jail in Jacksboro, Texas, speaks of staff member Monique Mallard who is the risk manager. Relatively new at the facility, Monique still remembers how the staff received her.

“They have been absolutely wonderful here for me, not knowing anyone here, moving to a new place, they have all been welcoming.”

Monique’s job requires her to interact with many staff and supervisors, and every department throughout the facility.

“I would say it’s a very supportive culture,” she explains. “If I have any questions for the supervisors here, they’re always willing to stop what they are doing (and they are busy) to help. And that means a lot.”

“She handles a lot of different things,” Warden Collins states. “I mean, she takes care of our emergency plans for us. We just had a company audit where one of the auditors

looked at the emergency plan and said they were the best he’d ever seen. And so, for a guy who’s been around 30 years or so, that’s a pretty big compliment, right? And Ms. Mallard is directly responsible for that. I made her responsible for that because I understand who she is and what she’s capable of. And just whatever she does, she knocks it out of the park.”

Over the span of her career in corrections and other state services, Monique has been impressed with the opportunities for advancement available within MTC.

“You might start off as an officer,” she says. “Later on down the road, you might end up a unit risk manager. So, this career in corrections can take you anywhere you want it to go. And with MTC, of course, there’s so many different opportunities.”