Refugia Carreon, affectionately known as "Cooky," is one of the most knowledgeable in the transportation field at the Karnes County Dentition Facility. Cooky has demonstrated her leadership ability in a variety of areas during her sixteen-year tenure with GEO. Cooky is not just a transporter of detainees. Because of her expertise with the entire process from start to finish, she has demonstrated diverse experiences in areas that include training, scheduling, vehicle maintenance, and driver licensing. These abilities are all assets when it comes to working with the U.S. Marshals Service. 

Cooky can manage complete missions on her own without assistance because of her inept ability with time management skills. Cooky has developed a trusted relationship with the Client and changed how airlifts are done, assuring there are little or no delays in transfers. For ground transportation Cooky uses her initiative to make signs and labels for vehicles to help identify who was where at any given time. Other jails were able to follow Cooky 's lead and created their own unique signage and colors. 

Cooky genuinely looks out for the wellbeing of the staff and others by using her own personal time and resources to assist in times of need. During illness, sudden family losses, or unfortunate life events, Cooky leads the charge to help. Because Cooky initiated a call to action by sending out an email with concerns for an officer who experienced a tragic loss from a fire, responses came not just from GEO but from within the local community and beyond. Cooky also encouraged a group of staff to visit a seriously ill officer, reminding him that his GEO family is cheering him on. Beyond GEO, Cooky's leadership can be seen in the San Antonio community, where she uses her own time with local agencies such as Children's Miracle Network and Feeding the Homeless. 

Cooky's charismatic energy gets people on board. She's not in the spotlight on a daily basis, but she never fails to use every day to shine. Her good energy and solid work ethic make her an all-around beautiful person. 

Armstrong Brunache has proven his commitment to excellence and dedication to the mission and goals of the GEO group over the more than twenty-four years he has been employed. Armstrong started his career as a correctional officer and was promoted throughout his tenure to several positions, including his current position as program manager at Broward Transitional Center (BTC), which he has held for the past sixteen years. In his current role, Armstrong mentors and directs staff to remain audit and inspection-ready, resulting in repeated "clean audits." Because the BTC detainee population has a less than 60-day average length of stay, there are challenges to maintenance and compliance with room sanitation requirements. Armstrong has spearheaded a unit-to-unit competition to encourage and recognize detainees who consistently meet the requirements. Needless to say, the program is popular and has resulted in significant improvements to sanitation within the rooms. 

Armstrong is a selfless leader who embodies the notion of being a team player first. He models the behavior he expects of others by immersing himself in all new processes and procedures to test their efficacy. Ultimately, while training his staff, his goal is that one day they will be prepared enough to replace him. The energy and effort Armstrong commits to helping others reach their highest potential garners him much respect from all staff 

Armstrong lost several close family members during the heartbreaking earthquake in Haiti that claimed countless Haitian lives. The losses inspired Armstrong and motivated him to give back to his former community. With the numerous requests for clothing and vehicles, he put his passion for mechanical tinkering to work and was able to find venues for buying used cars that he reconditioned, repaired, and shipped to more than 50 families, allowing them to rebuild their lives. 

Armstrong's varied experiences enabled him to provide sound counsel and introduce efficient and innovative ideas that immediately addressed the issues and mitigated liability concerns for GEO. He demonstrates his love through his work ethic by training staff to reach their highest potential. He is an asset to BTC and the GEO Group. 

The judges for the Diversity in Leadership Awards were Dr. Derrick Schofield, Dr. Juan Castillo, Tom Arntz, Johanny Handel, Louise Williams, Ellen Williams, Jada Preston-Hill (Lockton Companies). 

The GEO family congratulates both Refugia and Armstrong. Being selected for this prestigious recognition award provides the Company an opportunity to showcase them as two of the top distinguished and diverse individuals we employ. As winners, you will receive a check for $5,000 sponsored by our insurance consultants, Lockton Companies. We would also like to thank all the other remarkable nominees and recognize each of you for your contributions to GEO's success. 

Morris, affectionately known as “Mo” started his career at GEO as a Detention Officer 16 years ago. Prior to GEO, Mo retired from the United States Army after achieving the highest enlisted rank of Sergeant Major (E-9), a decorated and distinguished service of 30 years to our country. Mo embodies the true meaning of leadership by influencing others to achieve the common goal. Mo performs with a sense of purpose and direction. Ever vigilant to the goals, visions, and direction of the Company.  Mo has a go-getter attitude that is infectious to other staff and residents.     

With great personal conviction, Mo continues his path outside of work by being a community pillar. Mo is a critical contributor and manager of the Community Food Bank for his local church.  Through his guiding support and dedication, the food bank serves approximately 450 families during Thanksgiving and 350 people during Christmas. Mo also focuses time on the Vision Center, a faith-based community agency which partners with the Tacoma Department of Social and Human Services to transport and supervise court ordered parent/child visitations.  As a senior leader with his local church, Mo serves as the financial manager for the partnership program. Mo also sponsors a youth summer program with the Vision Center for teens that teams up with local volunteers who teach and mentor youth preparing them as tomorrow’s adults.  

During his time with GEO, Mo continued his personal growth earning a Bachelor’s Degree in Leadership graduating Cum Laude and a Master Degree in Christian Ministry graduating Summa Cum Laude. Morris LaGrands's legacy has expanded, by touching all he interacts with. His unique style of supporting, advising, teaching, mentoring, and leading by example is just phenomenal.   

Patrick has held several leaderships roles during his 10 year career with GEO and has exceeded expectations in each of them. Patrick has willingly taken on difficult projects like facility sanitation and facility searches and seizures for contraband. Because of his knowledge and familiarity of the facility’s physical plant layout he has brought continual insight and awareness to the areas used by residents to conceal and/or solicit contraband that would have otherwise gone unknown to staff.  

Patrick is a visible presence in his community as an active member of the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity. He is involved in service projects which include feeding the homeless, big brother programs, voter registration, and college enrollment drives to name a few. Patrick coaches a youth football organization where he spends time weekly serving as a role model to under privileged youth. He also serves his church as a Deacon and ministry leader where he provides spiritual guidance to several men and youth under his leadership. Through his church he speaks to local men’s shelters, aids nursing homes, feeds and provides clothing to the homeless and helps elder members complete small tasks in their homes.  

Patrick’s presence brings positive energy when he walks around the facility. He engages with everyone, including residents, staff, and visitors. As such, his professional demeanor has gained him respect on all levels. He always provides suggestions to build morale and engage staff and residents alike. Patrick takes pride in what he does and encourages others to not settle for the minimum, but to give 100% and be a leader even when that person is not in a leadership role. 

TaCara’s noteworthy achievements include the implementation of a company-wide facility license database (LicenseLogix), her work with the CEC acquisition, and her continued leadership in maintaining the Federal System for Award Management (SAM) registration for all 14 GEO legal contracting entities. TaCara has a strong commitment to her Palm Beach County community where she served as member of the West Palm Beach Historic Preservation Board from 2017-2020. She attended televised board meetings and made a permanent and lasting impression on the historic neighborhoods through her involvement. TaCara was also a member and former Vice Chairperson on the Greenacres Planning Commission from 2012-2017, during which she reviewed requests from petitioners for annexation, re-zoning, code compliance, and other high-level requests to ensure that city zoning standards were met. TaCara recently joined the Arts in Public Places (ArtLife) Committee of the City of West Palm Beach. The board makes recommendations to the City Commission regarding public art and artists. Even in her everyday life, TaCara understands the need for work-life balance. She is a loyal wife and mother of two who shows the same level of caring and understanding in her professional life. She has been known to take Tri-Rail to and from work, so she can maximize her family time and get her work accomplished during her commute. TaCara is often consulted by her co-workers and is excited to turn her direct reports into her protégés to empower them to attain higher standards.

Dr. Cheralee Morgan displays many outstanding leadership qualities such as inspiration, vision, dedication, stewardship, and work ethic. Cheralee has shown that she possesses the ability to motivate the people she works with. For example, she has built relationships with the City of South Bay, the Facility’s contractors, the Florida Department of Corrections, GEO’s Corporate Office, and several accreditation institutions. These relationships have an impact on the successful performance of the departments she oversees. Recently, Cheralee has effectively fostered staff collaboration on educational projects to ensure participant success. Within the first year of joining the organization and without any correctional experience, she mobilized the staff to work together to achieve accreditation from the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF), and the American Correctional Association (ACA). Cheralee’s vision for the departments she manages is evident to her team and includes diligent efforts to incorporate more college courses into the academic programs, and to gain The National Center for Construction Education and Research (NCCER) accreditation for the vocational programs. Dr. Morgan serves on several community boards. Most notably, she is a member of the City of Lauderhill Arts, Culture, and Tourism Board. In this capacity, she works with other board members to promote local business and community relations for the City of Lauderhill. She also serves on the Jamaica Diaspora Taskforce Action Network. This is where professional Jamaicans living in the United States participate in designing programs that help in the growth and development of Jamaicans. Cheralee also sits on the executive boards of all her past educational institutions, from elementary through college. Through these associations, she partners with local organizations like Food for the Poor, Habitat for Humanity, and Feeding South Florida. These organizations provide aid and service to underserved communities.

To balance her work and community service, in her personal time, Cheralee also serves her church community at Christian Life Center as a member the Red-Carpet Ministry and Online Moderator Ministries.The GEO family congratulates TaCara and Cheralee, as well as all the nominees in this great recognition program that provides an opportunity to showcase the distinguished and diverse individuals we employ in all areas of the company.  Each winner received a check for $5,000 sponsored by our insurance consultants, Lockton Companies.

The judges for this year's Diversity in Leadership Awards were Dr. Derrick Schoffield, Alex Londono, Susan Napolitano, Johanny Handel, Louise Williams, Jada Preston-Hill

(Lockton Companies), JoAnne Steed (Lockton Companies), along with 2020 winners Jamie Flores and Thatiana Tavarez.  Both new recipients will join the judges’ panel to assist with the selection process for 2022.

In 2018, 2020 Women on Boards recognized The GEO Group as a Winning Company for its commitment to Board Diversity. Winning Companies champion board diversity by having 20% or more of their board seats held by women. 2020 Women on Boards is a non-profit campaign dedicated to increasing the percentage of women on corporate boards to 20% by 2020.

The GEO Group currently has 9 Board Members, two of whom are women. These two experienced and talented women are Board members Anne N. Foreman and Julie Myers Wood.