Rick Raemisch was appointed as Executive Director of the Colorado Department of Corrections by Governor John Hickenlooper in July 2013. Rick is a recognized leader in prison reform and is highly sought after as a subject matter expert both nationally and internationally. He has testified on corrections matters before a U.S. Senate Sub-Committee involving the overuse of segregation. Instrumental in assisting the Justice Department in reforming solitary confinement for President Obama, Rick has also assisted the U.S. Delegation to the U.N. meetings in Cape Town and Vienna to re-write prisoner standards, now known as the Mandela Rules.

Rick was honored as one of the Public Officials of the Year for 2018 by Governing and he also received the 2018 International Corrections and Prisons Association Head of Service Award, both in recognition of the numerous prison reforms implemented in Colorado. He received the nationally distinguished Tom Clements Award by the Correctional Leadership Association in 2017, and the 2016 Sam Cochran Award by the National Alliance on Mental Illness for his work in implementing widespread reforms in the use of solitary confinement.

Rick joined the Wisconsin Department of Corrections in 2003 as the division administrator of community corrections, overseeing 68,000 probation and parolees. Prior to taking over as the head of the Wisconsin DOC in 2007, he served as Deputy Secretary for two years.  In 1990, Rick was also elected Sheriff of Dane County in Wisconsin and was re-elected four times.