Leadership Profile

Eleanor Vernell Was a Pioneer for Women at DOC without Realizing It

By Chad Lewis, West Team Leader, Communications

Eleanor Vernell, Field Administrator

In 1984 when Eleanor Vernell was among the first female correctional officers to work directly with inmates at Washington State Penitentiary she didn’t think of herself as a pioneer.

At the time she was more concerned about her safety.

“I remember during the training seeing videos of riots and pipe bombs and thinking, ‘Is it too late for me to get my old job back,’” said Vernell, who now is the Field Administrator for community corrections in Pierce County.

Many of the male correctional officers at the time voiced their concerns about working alongside a woman.

“They were worried that a woman wouldn’t be able to watch their back if something happened,” Vernell said. “They thought we would be too emotional, that we would cry if one of the other officers started cursing.”

But there were some correctional officers who helped Vernell during her first days. Gary Hilyard, who has since retired, took Vernell under his wing.

“He took the time to show me around and make me feel more comfortable,” she recalled. “Gary was the reason I stayed in corrections.”

Vernell worked at the Penitentiary until 1988 and then transferred to the Twin Rivers Unit at Monroe Correctional Complex. In 1991 she was promoted to sergeant and was transferred to McNeil Island Corrections Center where she worked for 15 years.

In April 2006 she transitioned to the community corrections division when she became a Field Administrator in King County. At first a lot of her staff members wondered how someone who had only worked in prisons could lead community corrections staff.

“That was something I heard a lot early on,” Vernell said. “But they were also fascinated to learn about what it’s like to work in a prison. I was kind of surprised to see how interested they were in my old prison stories. And my experience gave me a better overall view of the agency, so in some ways it’s been a positive.”

Regional Administrator Armando Mendoza says one of Vernell’s biggest achievements has been improving the agency’s relationships with the local community, including the Pierce County Jail, the Law and Justice Council and city and county leaders.

“She really worked hard to get out there in the community, meeting people, putting a face on DOC so we’re not just this intimidating state agency,” Mendoza said. “We have a much better relationship with the Pierce County community, and Eleanor deserves a lot of the credit.”

Though she enjoyed her 22 years working in prisons, Vernell says she quickly came to appreciate community corrections, primarily because of her staff.

“Sometimes I’ll ask one of my community corrections officers why they want to work here,” she said, “and 99 percent of the time their answer is, ‘Because I think I can make a difference.’”

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