Leadership Profile: Kerry Arlow, Associate Superintendent, Washington Corrections Center

By Maria Peterson, DOC Communications Office

Kerry Arlow

While Kerry Arlow works at the facility where all male offenders enter the prison system, her primary focus is on how they leave.

“We all need to remember that most of these people will be released,” Arlow said. “They could end up living right next door to you or me. We need to prepare them, not only socially, but also by providing them with the tools they need to succeed after release.”

The reentry philosophy was officially adopted by Washington DOC in 2007 and Arlow said she’s enjoyed watching the Department transition toward this comprehensive incarceration and treatment process. But as with any systemic change, Arlow said there are bound to be challenges.

“We expect our staff to hold people accountable but also to be respectful and teach the offenders about boundaries and encourage their success. We expect staff to toe that line and not cross it. It’s a huge undertaking,” Arlow said.

As Associate Superintendent for Operations at Washington Corrections Center, Arlow is able to work closely with staff to ensure that the daily operations of the prison run smoothly. This requires oversight of custody staff,intensive management unit, food service, training, and maintenance operations among other areas of responsibility. One place where the prison plans to use her expertise is in developing family programming. According to Superintendent Doug Waddington, Arlow has always been an advocate for offenders and their families.

“Instead of making reasons why we can't try programming, she has found ways to make it safe and make it work,” Waddington said. “The offenders will benefit from her creative mind and her ability to get things done. One shining example is the ‘Honoring the Significant Women in your Life’ program she created and implemented at Stafford Creek Corrections Center. It was so good, that I stole it when I left and we have been doing it at WCC for the last three years.”

Arlow’s law enforcement career began with the US Air Force and then in Spokane where she worked for the county criminal justice system. She moved to DOC in 1997 as a Correctional Officer at Airway Heights Corrections Center where she spent seven years working her way up through the ranks ending up as Associate Superintendent. In 2003, she moved to Stafford Creek where she worked for Waddington as an Associate Superintendent. Arlow said that Waddington has been a role model for her which has inspired her to provide more mentoring to her staff.

“Mentoring is so vital for the continued growth of our profession, especially for the women in the corrections field,” she said. “Mentoring and being a role model can be very rewarding. It makes you feel like you’re making a difference.”

Arlow left Stafford Creek in 2006 to take the position of Security and Logistics Administrator at DOC headquarters. In 2008, the position was eliminated due to prison department restructuring. She returned to Stafford Creek as Associate Superintendent. Recently, she and Associate Superintendent Dan Van Ogle swapped prison locations in order to place them both closer to their respective homes.

Now that she’s at Washington Corrections Center, Arlow said will be she’ll have more time to spend with her family which includes her husband, Don, two adult children and three grandchildren. She says she’ll also have more time for her “dirt therapy.” The former master gardener plans to get re-certified soon.

“When I’m in the garden, that’s when I’m most fulfilled and happy,” she said. “It’s a great stress relief to work outside and get your hands dirty.”

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