On Saturday, Gov. Albert Bryan Jr. named Virgin Islander and longtime corrections expert Wynnie Testamark to be the next director of the V.I. Bureau of Corrections.
Testamark, a native of St. Thomas, is a 29-year veteran with the Miami-Dade Corrections and Rehabilitation Department, where she retired as an executive lieutenant. She is also the CEO of WTS Consultant Services LLC, a criminal justice consulting firm, specializing in policy development, ethics training, jail operations, accreditation, technical assistance, auditing and staffing analysis.
During her service career, Testamark served as an accreditation manager and Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) coordinator; she was a safety officer for the Miami-Dade Corrections and Rehabilitation Department. She currently travels throughout the United States and abroad to audit jails and prisons to ensure national/international compliance with accreditation and conditions of confinement.
“Wynnie Testamark is the right person, with the right knowledge and experience to guide the bureau out of its long-standing federal consent decree, and I am excited to announce her as our new director,” the governor said.
“She understands the unique issues and has twice visited the territory during her career to provide consulting and guidance on the existing consent decree, accreditation and other federal compliance matters. We are lucky to have her return home, and I am grateful for her service and look forward to working with her,” said Bryan.
Testamark, a graduate from the National Jail Leadership Command Academy (NJLCA), also served as a mentor for the NJLCA. She acquired certification as a certified jail manager from the American Jail Association. She is a certified Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) auditor, certified by the U.S. Department of Justice and is an auditor chairperson for the American Correctional Association as well as a certified crisis intervention trainer.
Testamark holds a Master of Science in Management with a specialization in human resources from St. Thomas University. She also holds a Bachelor of Arts in Organizational Leadership from the same university.