CCJ Directory

As director of the Missouri Department of Corrections, Precythe was responsible for the 19 adult correctional facilities, six community supervision centers, two transition centers, and more than 40 probation and parole offices across the state, a system whose 10,000 staff members supervise 54,000 probationers and parolees, and 23,000 incarcerated people. Before becoming the second woman director for the Missouri Department of Corrections, Precythe served as director of community corrections in the North Carolina Department of Public Safety. She began her career in 1988 with the Division of Community Corrections in North Carolina, serving as a probation/parole Officer in Duplin County. During her career in North Carolina, she served in many capacities and was appointed the first female director of community corrections in 2013. 

Precythe has served on multiple councils and commissions throughout her career. She was a long-standing member of the North Carolina Probation/Parole Association and continues to support the Correctional Peace Officer Foundation. In 2015, she was appointed by United States Attorney General Eric Holder, and reappointed in 2020 by United States Attorney General William Barr, to the National Institute of Corrections Advisory Board, representing all of community corrections across the country. In 2018, Precythe was elected to the executive committee of the Correctional Leaders Association, and in 2020 she was elected to serve as association’s president. In 2019, Precythe was appointed to the Council of State Governments Justice Center Advisory Board, and in 2020 Precythe was nominated and approved by her peers to serve as an inaugural member of the Council on Criminal Justice. In 2021, she was named Civic Leader of the Year, a Woman of the Year award presented by the Greater Missouri Leadership Foundation. Precythe has a passion for both evidenced-based practices and staff cultural transformation.