Brandon Twp.- Tekla Dennison Miller hopes to hold a captive audience as she shares her experiences as the first female prison warden in Michigan during her presentation ‘The Warden Wore Pink? One Woman’s Journey from Warden to Author,? at 6:30 p.m., March 8, at the library, 304 South St.
Miller, now a 63-year-old Colorado resident and author, was working in Europe as an Army recreation director in 1969 when she moved to Michigan with her first husband, a General Motors employee. Two years later, Miller applied for a job with the Department of Corrections and became the first woman they ever interviewed for a probation officer position in Oakland County. After the interview, however, she was convinced they would never hire her.
‘I’m rather mouthy and don’t hold back what I think, and during the interview I didn’t (hold back),? she says.
She recounts the male interviewer asking her if she was on birth control pills, to which she responded by asking him if he’d had a vasectomy. He also asked if he could talk to her husband about the position, to which she replied that she believed he was happy with his current job. They also asked if she’d ever been catcalled before.
‘I told them I was outnumbered by men 3,000 to one in the Army and that I couldn’t imagine there was anything I hadn’t heard,? Miller said.
Still, the UCLA sociology graduate with a minor in English and teaching credentials was hired.
‘I realized they were hoping I would fail,? Miller said. ‘I was the first in the country to handle a male caseload for probation. I told (the interviewer) I knew they were forced to hire a woman and he hoped I would fail, and I told him he hired the wrong woman.?
The male officers Miller worked with were unsure how to handle her. She says they were afraid to swear around her, and she believes they thought she was going to burn her bra on the courtroom floor.
Miller was a probation officer for six years in Oakland County before becoming first a caseworker for the Eastside Correction Center, and then a supervisor. In 1983, she became deputy warden at the Huron Valley Women’s Prison, was named warden in 1985, and in 1989 was appointed warden of both the Huron Valley men’s and women’s facilities. After nine months of doing both, she was assigned to just the maximum security men’s facility, which had been without a warden for four months.
‘There was a great deal of work to be done,? Miller said. ‘Many of the men thought they had been demoted because they had to work for a woman. Most got over it and we did well, and the ones who didn’t transferred out and that was fine.?
Miller likens being a prison warden to running a small town. The prison had a large healthcare facility because at that time, the entire men’s population was mentally ill. She also oversaw the heads of food service, maintenance, and education and disciplinary programs.
As warden, she was required to be on the grounds everyday and interacted with both staff and prisoners. Miller met with prisoners elected from each cell block to go over concerns and grievances to prevent uprisings or problems. She was also responsible for making sure the staff was trained, implementing new policies, and having monthly drills for any emergency that could arise, including hostage situations, so the staff would know exactly what to do. Miller says she and most of her staff worked well together and the prisoners were also accepting of her.
Miller, who retired in 1991, believes the biggest thing that can be done in the criminal justice system is to identify and work with at-risk families and at-risk youths, getting to them before they go down the wrong road.
‘If they’re educated, they can get a good job, be taxpayers, and not go to prison,? she said. ‘We also need to treat drug and alcohol addiction as health issues, not a criminal issue. We will never get rid of crime or people trying drugs and alcohol, but we can certainly put a dent in these behaviors. It starts with families at risk.?
Details (248) 627-1460.