Luis S. Spencer

Luis S. Spencer began his corrections career in the Massachusetts Department of Corrections in 1980 as a Correction Officer. In 1982 he enlisted in the United States Air Force where he received an honorable discharge in 1985 as Sergeant. He returned to the Massachusetts Department of Correction as a correction officer and quickly advanced through the ranks of  Sergeant, Captain, Director of Security, and Deputy Superintendent. He served as a superintendent at four different correctional facilities, Assistant Deputy Commissioner of the southern sector and Deputy Commissioner of Prisons.

 

In 1995, he was appointed Superintendent of MCI-Lancaster, a Co-Ed minimum/pre-release facility.  Following this assignment he was assigned to MCI Plymouth, Old Colony Correctional Center and MCI Norfolk, the state's largest facility. In 2008, he was promoted to Assistant Deputy Commissioner of the Southern Sector overseeing nine correctional facilities and their Superintendents.  He was later appointed Acting Deputy Commissioner of The Prisons Division and in May 2011 he was appointed to lead the Massachusetts Department of Correction as the Commissioner.  He served in the position for three and half years.

  

In 2022 Luis was a Wainwright Award winner for ASCA/CLA. As a member of the Association of State Correctional Administrators since 2011, he has chaired the information Sharing Committee, and  served as a member of the following committees: Substance Abuse/Mental Health, Administrative Segregation/Restrictive Housing, PREA, Re-entry and Community Corrections, and Performance Measures. As an ASCA Executive member he served as the ASCA Northern Directors President. He has also been a member and Chair of ACA’s Commission on Accreditation for Corrections, and a member of the Standards Committee.

 

In addition to his corrections career, he has also worked as a police officer for 10 years, and has experience coaching and mentoring young student athletes, teaching leadership and life skills through youth and high school athletics.