‘PEOPLE PERSON’
ROEHRICH BELIES
PRISON STEREOTYPE

When the public talks about prison wardens, they describe a stereotypically tough, cold and hard individual. They certainly don’t think about Connie Roehrich, a 1974 BSU grad who was the first female warden of an all-male prison in Minnesota and finished her 36-year correctional career managing the state’s largest lockup.

“They are surprised,” Roehrich said. “I’m a good people person, and that served me well in corrections. Wardens in Minnesota are down to earth and think about what is best for offenders.”

She carries that people-to-people attitude in retirement to her volunteer work. A member and former chair of the Affinity Plus Federal Credit Union board, Roehrich serves because she believes in the philosophy of the member-driven cooperative. She actively participates on the 108 Degrees board as it turns lives around to support safer communities with programs for youth, adults and families.

But her people focus moves beyond state boundaries through Partners of the Americas, a nonprofit promoting economic and social development throughout the Western Hemisphere. Minnesota connected with Uruguay through the program. Roehrich has visited the country three times and locally hosted 15 correction professionals over eight years.

During the first trip in 2006, the Minnesota team encountered overcrowded, disorganized prisons run by local police with no probation or rehabilitation options. In subsequent years, Uruguay started the first national probation office in South America and centralized all prisons under one command.

“This really is a people-to-people environment,” Roehrich said. “We are able to do good things and help people improve a system.”