Cam Ward Discusses how Second Chances Create Safer Communities

President Jeff Stone and Rotarian Jim Hughey with Cam Ward

This week the Rotary Club welcomed Cam Ward, Director of the Alabama Bureau of Pardons and Paroles. Ward reflected on his journey from the Alabama legislature to leading the bureau that supervises over 45,000 Alabamians on probation and parole, with a workforce of 830 employees across the state. He explained the agency’s holistic approach, combining accountability with support services like mental health treatment, substance abuse programs, and job training.

Ward highlighted Alabama’s progress in reducing recidivism—from 35% five years ago to a projected 27%—thanks to programs targeting the three root causes of reoffending: untreated mental illness, addiction, and lack of employment. He praised partnerships with private companies and technical colleges, citing zero recidivism among the 430 graduates of the Perry County residential reentry program. Ward shared that Alabama is leading the nation in the Reentry 2030 initiative, which aims to reduce recidivism to less than 15% by decade’s end. He stressed the importance of smart, compassionate policy, urging continued investment in rehabilitation over incarceration.

Bio for Cam Ward

Cam Ward has more than four decades of experience in various leadership capacities as a public servant in the State of Alabama. Most recently, Governor Kay Ivey appointed Ward to her Cabinet to serve as Director of the Alabama Bureau of Pardons and Paroles.

As a member of the Alabama House of Representatives and State Senate for 20 years, Ward sought bipartisan solutions to complex challenges facing the state – from championing economic development initiatives and criminal justice reform to ensuring health coverage for children with autism. He chaired Alabama’s Senate Judiciary Committee and served as President of the Alabama Law Institute. In addition to these roles, he served as President of the National Energy Council, and a member of the National Uniform Law Commission.

As Director of the Alabama Bureau of Pardons & Paroles, Ward continues working to build a stronger state. The Bureau has embraced strategies to reduce recidivism and improve outcomes for justice-involved individuals. He helped launch initiatives like the PREP Center, a 90-day program that provides mental health assistance, substance use disorder treatment, education and workforce readiness services, for those leaving prison or on probation. With well over 350 graduates, the PREP Center boasts a zero percent recidivism rate. Through his role at the Bureau he spearheaded the effort to make Alabama the second state in the nation to adopt the Reentry 2030 program to reduce recidivism in half by the end of the decade.

Ward was born in Milton, Florida, and is a graduate of Troy University. He studied law at Cumberland School of Law in Birmingham. Following graduation, Ward was selected for a Marshall Memorial Fellowship, which afforded him the opportunity to study at several capitals throughout Europe. He is active in various national organizations, including as board president and chairman for the CSG Justice Center and a member of the American Village Advisory Board and the Troy University Board of Trustees, where he was named Alumni of the Year in 2008.

Ward is married to the former Lindsey Clements and has two daughters, Riley and Clements as well as a son, Ro.