Women’s Prison Warden Makes the Cover Of Washingtonian Magazine

Warden Margaret Chippendale has experienced a lot in forty-plus years of work in the Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services. Now, she can add “magazine cover lady” to the list.

Washingtonian has named the veteran warden of the Maryland Correctional Institution for Women in Jessup as one of the “most powerful” women in the DC area. Ms. Chippendale shares the cover with such notables as the press secretary to President Trump, an NBA coach, a World Cup soccer star, and the owner of a famous restaurant, among others.

The October issue story touches on the firmness with empathy that is Warden Chippendale’s hallmark, and the effort she puts into prison programming. The story cuts to the heart of Warden Chippendale’s mission: to change those who truly want to be better people when they get out.

“I’ll have people says to me,” she says in the article, “‘How do you go into that place with all of those bad people?’ They’re not bad people; they just made bad choices.”

“Warden Chippendale embodies what DPSCS stands for,” says Secretary Robert Green. “She’s all about public safety, but with boundless energy to keep adding programs and services to make her inmates more likely to succeed when they get out.”

Congratulations, Warden Chippendale.