Dan Pacholke

Project Co-Director and Deputy Director of Prisons
Washington State Department of Corrections

A long-time officer and administrator of the Washington State Department of Corrections, Dan Pacholke cofounded the Sustainable Prisons Project with Dr. Nalini Nadkarni of The Evergreen State College. In 2003, while serving as the superintendent of the Cedar Creek Corrections Center, Dan implemented many cost-saving conservation initiatives involving both offenders and correctional staff. Activities ranged from recycling, worm composting and rainwater catchment systems to beekeeping, horticulture and an organic garden that supports the prison’s food services. Later, as the superintendent of the Stafford Creek Corrections Center, he initiated large-scale sustainable operations to lessen the financial and environmental impacts of the facility’s 2000 inmates, 600 staff and expansive 210-acre site. As the agency’s deputy director of prisons, Dan formalized the Sustainable Prisons Project through an unprecedented cooperative agreement with Dr. Nadkarni at Evergreen. Today, he spearheads sustainable operations  system-wide and advances rehabilitative educational programs such as K-9 Rescue in which inmates train troubled dogs for adoption. Dan is a graduate of The Evergreen State College.