Anne Precythe was named director of the Missouri Department of Corrections on Dec. 23, 2016. Precythe became the seventh director to lead the department since the Department of Corrections became its own cabinet-level state agency in 1981. She brings nearly 30 years of service as a corrections professional into her role as director. Before becoming the second woman director for the Missouri Department of Corrections, Precythe served as the director of community corrections in the North Carolina Department of Public Safety. In 2015, United States Attorney General Eric Holder appointed her to the National Institute of Corrections Advisory Board representing all of community corrections across the country. As director of corrections, Precythe is responsible for the 21 adult correctional facilities, six community supervision centers, a community release center, and more than 40 probation and parole offices across Missouri. This includes more than 11,000 staff, 59,000 probationers and parolees, and more than 30,000 inmates.