George Lombardi, Director

Missouri Governor Jeremiah W. (Jay) Nixon nominated George A. Lombardi to the Director of the Department of Corrections on December 18, 2008. The nomination was confirmed on January 29, 2009. Lombardi became the 6th Director to lead the Department since Corrections became its own cabinet-level state agency in 1981.

Mr. Lombardi is a 35 year veteran of the Missouri Department of Corrections having served previously as the Director of the Division of Adult Institutions for 18 years, Assistant Director of that division for three years and a Warden for seven years. As Director of Corrections he is responsible for the 20 adult correctional facilities, seven community supervision centers, two community release centers and 54 parole offices across the State of Missouri. This includes approximately 11,500 staff, 75,000 probation and parolees and 30,000 inmates.

During his retirement from the Missouri Department of Corrections in 2005, he was Senior Consultant of the Missouri Youth Services Institute and for two years worked closely with the Washington, D.C. Youth Services Division at the facility for committed youth. He served on the Board of Directors and as Chairman of the Criminal Justice Task Force for the Missouri Association of Social Welfare. He is a past President of the Missouri Corrections Association and has served as an auditor for the Commission of Accreditation for Corrections. He has lectured on criminal justice matters at the American Corrections Association, Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences, colleges and universities and civic organizations. He has also co-authored two articles:

• “Mainstreaming Death-Sentenced Inmates”
• “Peer Interaction Training for Correctional Administrators”

Mr. Lombardi organized the first annual National Conference on Prisoner Reentry with Central Missouri State University. He was recognized at the December, 2002 Commencement at the Central Missouri State University with a Distinguished Alumnus Award. Mr. Lombardi has a B.S. and M.S. in psychology from the Central Missouri State University.