Dr. Kenneth Walker Community Service Award
Dr. Kenneth Walker served as a “hands on” Chair and Member of the Rhode Island Parole Board for over 35 years, having been consistently reappointed by all Rhode Island Governors irrespective of their political affiliation. He was also an educator, basketball referee, and devoted his career to serving his home state of Rhode Island. Dr. Walker’s commitment to public service was unprecedented. Though retired, he continued to participate and advocate for his community particularly as it relates to young people, the incarcerated, senior citizens, the physically and mentally challenged, as well as issues related to the minority communities and their access to health care. He has been recognized and honored by many groups, including the Association of Paroling Authorities International, where he was awarded the Vincent O’Leary Award for his many contributions to the field of parole and the Ben Bear Award for his efforts to defend the parole supervision process as a necessary link in providing successful transition and reentry. Dr. Walker received the Neil J. Houston, Junior Award from Justice Assistance for his dedicated service and citizen contribution toward the Criminal Justice Profession and the Public Interest. This award, which is given in his name, is to recognize and reward an individual or an organization, which has contributed significantly to the furthering of the rehabilitative efforts of parole.

Renee Collette International Excellence Award
The Awards Committee also unanimously agreed that an award honoring our international colleagues be created to honor the incredible efforts and works of Renee Collette.

Renee Collette served as a member of the Quebec Parole Board for three years and as Chairman for ten years before being appointed as a full-time Board Member and Executive Vice-Chairperson for the Parole Board of Canada. Renee also served as the Acting Executive Director and Acting Chairperson for the Board during her tenure. Her commitment to International Criminal Justice existed throughout her career and reached far beyond the borders of North America. Renee served APAI from its earliest days, in every elected and appointed position that the Association of Paroling Authorities International Constitution embodies. Renee’s leadership fostered international growth and advancement throughout the years. Her representation and promotion of the international criminal justice community successfully helped form APAI into the strong international association that it is today. Renee holds numerous awards and recognitions, including the Vincent O’Leary Award, Ben Bear Award, and the President’s Award with the Association of Paroling Authorities International, the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Commemorative Medal, and the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal of recognition.

This award, which is given in her name, is to recognize and reward an international individual or an organization, which has contributed significantly to the advancement of international criminal justice.

CARE Award
The CARE (Communication Award Recognizing Excellence in Education and Collaboration) Award encourages the use of best practices in the area of public and stakeholder education by yearly bestowing an award to recognize excellence in this area. The award process shall be used to create a resource for the sharing of examples of such practices within the membership. All nominations and the program or event descriptions contained in them shall be maintained and made available to APAI members through whatever means practical as a resource for other members.

The Public Relations/Communications Committee shall make the awards selection. Any committee member who is employed by an agency receiving a nomination shall recuse himself from the process. In the event that one-half or more of the committee members recuse themselves under this provision, the Regional Vice President representing the region(s) of the recused member(s) shall be asked to designate a proxy for the sole purpose of selecting the award recipient.

Vincent O' Leary Award
This award is to recognize and reward an individual who has made significant contributions to APAI and has demonstrated vision, leadership and commitment to the field of parole. From 1951 to 1957, Vincent O‘Leary was Chief of Parole and Probation for the State of Washington. He then served in Texas as Director of Parole Supervision from 1957 until 1962. He became Director of the National Parole Institute in 1963, at which time he assumed responsibility for the first parole board member training, helped develop the first national statistic report on parole, and influenced the development of parole guidelines. He stayed in this position until 1968 and was also Director of Research and Policy for the National Council on Crime and Delinquency. During this time, he was instrumental in developing policy for parole boards in the early days of APAI. In 1968 he was employed as Dean of the School of Criminal Justice for the State University of New York at Albany. He was involved in developing standards for parole boards as a consultant to the National Advisory Commission on Criminal Justice Standards and Goals in 1973. In 1977 he was named President of the New York University at Albany and stayed until he retired in 1990. The hallmark of his career was his tireless fight against the abolishment of parole.

Ben Baer Award
This award recognizes and rewards an individual who has demonstrated significant service in the field of parole or community corrections. Benjamin F. Baer was an appointed public official who dedicated his 48-year career to the criminal justice system, fighting for fair and equitable treatment of offenders and protection of the public. He was appointed to the U.S. Parole Commission by President Ronald Reagan in January 1982, was designated Acting Chairman in February and appointed as Chairman on March 24, 1982. He served in that position until his death in April 9, 1991. Chairman Baer was known best for his determination and struggle to defend just punishment for offenders. He was a dedicated advocate for truth and fairness in sentencing, and he fought tireless battles to defend the supervision process as a necessary link in providing safety, accountability, and protection to the public.

President's Award
This award is given to an individual or organization that has made at least a single significant contribution either to the field of parole or to the Association.