Margaret Thompson, Deputy Compact Administrator and Director of the Interstate Probation Services Division, was presented with the Executive Director's Award at the 2018 ICAOS Annual Business Meeting in Orlando, FL.
The recipient of the Executive Director's Award exhibits outstanding leadership skills and dedication to the Interstate Commission through extraordinary service. This individual is a Compact Administrator, Deputy Compact Administrator or Compact Coordinator who:
- Promotes the Spirit of the Compact;
- Advocates the values and mission of the Commission;
- Demonstrates achievements in the successful movement of offenders and their reintegration into society;
- Employs strategies for ensuring public safety;
- Effectively communicates with other Compact professionals.
Reason for nomination:
Ms. Thompson deserves the Executive Director's Award because of her commitment to promote the mission and values of the Commission at all levels of government - both within PA and around the nation. Ms. Thompson is a consummate professional and has spent most of her career educating; corrections officials, probation and parole staff, judges, prosecutors, public defenders, private attorneys, victim advocates, offenders and their families, government officials, and the public on the importance of the Compact and how its' work contributes to the safety of our communities.
Ms. Thompson has served as Pennsylvania's Deputy Compact Administrator for the past sixteen years. She is without question one of the foremost national experts on interstate compact rules, policies and procedures. I'm confident that her colleagues would agree, no one works harder or smarter to ensure that the Compact's rules are implemented fairly and consistently for all participants.
During this tenure, Ms. Thompson worked tirelessly with other leaders involved in interstate probation and parole to steer and expand the role and responsibilities of the Compact while also ensuring it was able to keep pace with these on-going changes. As such, Ms. Thompson has always been a very active participant of the Commission's Rules committee. Most recently, she participated in efforts to review, assess and integrate evidence-based practices into the Compact's rules in order to improve an offender's likelihood of successfully reintegrating into society.
Finally, Ms. Thompson is a very kind and generous person. She treats all Compact members and their staff with the utmost dignity and respect. Additionally, she regularly volunteers (on her own time) to mentor and/or educate justice practitioners from around the nation.
Ms. Thompson is a true gem and well deserving of the Executive Directors Award.