New warden named at Richland Correctional Institution

The new warden at Richland Correctional Institution knows about the inner workings of a prison.

Angela Stuff was raised in the Bellville area and has lived in the Richland County area her entire life. She is a 1991 graduate of Clear Fork High School and has nearly 24 years of experience with the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections starting her career at Mansfield Correctional Institution.

"I got started in corrections when I attended Ashland University and did an internship at Mansfield Correctional Institution my senior year learning the role of case manager," she said. "I enjoyed the job and began applying upon graduation, was hired in November of 1999 as a case manager or correctional program specialist at Mansfield Correctional Institution."

Stuff celebrated her first day on the job Monday at the grand opening of the NECIC/RiCI Urban Agricultural Site. The prison farmland is leased to North End Community Improvement Collaborative and Central State University. Incarcerated individuals are growing produce which ends up in food banks throughout Ohio.

On Monday, Stuff, formerly Angela Hunsinger, said community events are among her favorite.

"It's Day one, but I really like that (RiCI) it's a Level 2/Level 1 (minimum/medium security). That's something I'm not used to working at Mansfield Correctional Institution because we were a Level 3 (close security)," she said. "I really like to do the community involvement, holistic events, bringing hope to the incarcerated people, the programming, the vocational skills."

She said one of her goals is to get prisoners successfully out into the community when they've served their time - without finding their way back to a cell.

"That's what my focus is. I think I'm very lucky to have an institution that has like what we've seen today (the urban agricultural farm). And if you look at our vocational programs, we have awesome vocational programs here. There's just so many for them to choose from, the barber school. There is a body shop. There is a carpentry shop, there is a horticulture program. There is just a multitude of things they can do."

Ashland University classes are offered to incarcerated individuals inside the prison on Olivesburg Road, next to the prison-turned-museum the Ohio State Reformatory.

"I think it's about making sure we introduce them to positive things so we can help them become successfully reintegrated into society," Stuff said.

Warden Stuff ready to lay foundation

The union that represents staff at Richland Correctional Institution says repeated drug use by inmates is putting staff and inmates at risk, the News Journal reported in early July.

“We have continued concerns about repeated drug use by inmates at the Richland Correctional Institution," Chris Mabe, the president of the Ohio Civil Service Employees Association, said in a prepared statement. "This is a serious issue because it puts staff at risk and affects the safety of other inmates in the facility. That’s why we have requested documents from (the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections) to determine the extent of the problem not only at Richland but also at other facilities across the state. We are demanding to know what’s being done to address this problem to ensure the safety of our staff."

Stuff said former RiCI warden Kenneth Black, who just retired, has done a very good job. She plans to carry on the work.

"If you go to any prison you're going to have struggles nowadays. I think he's laid a really good foundation," she said. "We have really good staff in there that are security minded. I think that it's really good to come in with a fresh set of eyes. I'm going to see things that other people don't see.

"Just like if I brought someone new in, they're going to see things that I don't see," Stuff said. "I'm going to look forward to seeing things that make positive changes to further enhance the security and reduction of drugs and contraband in the prison," Stuff said.

Before coming to RiCI, she served as warden of Allen-Oakwood Correctional Institution in Lima. In 2022 she served as a deputy warden at Mansfield Correctional Institution, and had overseen the MANCI cell dog program for nine years. Inmates work with homeless dogs, training them to get them ready for adoption.

'Tip of the iceberg'

"I'm very passionate about community service, and any way that I can expand community service. It's about helping the community," Stuff said. "It think it shows our incarcerated people that they can make a difference out on the street while they are incarcerated. To make an impact on our community is very important."

The dog training program inside RiCI is a win-win for the community, the dogs and for the people who are incarcerated, she said.

"It teaches them a skill. It teaches them responsibility. It does teach them something they can do when they get out. They can be a trainer. They can be a dog groomer. They can work in a shelter or a 501(3)C or a rescue," the warden said.

"I am passionate about any rehabilitative or community service program that provides hope, inspires men and gives them the skills to becomes successful," she said. The dog training program is just the “tip of the iceberg” in what RiCI offers to help aid in the rehabilitative process.

"When I talk to new employees I stress the word and importance of 'rehabilitation' in our title to new employees and explain to them how their professionalism is a form of rehabilitation as those that are incarcerated watch us and see what professional interactions, performance and dress attire, are, just to quickly name a few examples, and learn from us whether we realize it or not," she said.

lwhitmir@gannett.com

419-521-7223

X: @LWhitmir

This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: New warden named at Richland Correctional Institution