The Division of Adult Correction and Juvenile Justice has named Caroline Riddick-Taylor as the warden of the Caledonia Correctional Institution in Tillery.
She has served as the interim warden there since January.
“Warden Riddick-Taylor is a terrific leader with exceptional organizational skills gained through many years of experience,” said Todd Ishee, Commissioner of Prisons. “She has a deep commitment to providing safety and security at her facilities and programs for offenders.”
In her new role, she is responsible for all operations at the facility, where around 5,500 acres of farmland are cultivated to produce corn, wheat, collard greens, sweet potatoes, squash, cucumbers and melons, mostly to feed offenders in state prisons. Correction Enterprises manages the farm, which also includes a poultry-laying operation and a cannery.
Halifax Community College works with the prison to provide vocational classes like cooking, block masonry, small engine repair, electrical wiring, commercial cleaning and plumbing. A variety of other programs are offered at Caledonia, including education and high school equivalency preparation classes, and self-help programs on substance abuse, stress, Narcotics Anonymous, Alcoholics Anonymous and DART aftercare.
A veteran employee to state government, Riddick-Taylor began her career in 1995 as a correctional officer at the North Carolina Correctional Institution for Women, in Raleigh.
Over the years, she also served as a sergeant and case manager at Pasquotank Correctional, a facility classification coordinator and associate warden for programs at Bertie Correctional and as the warden at Tyrrell Prison Work Farm from June 2018 until January 2020, when she was named interim warden at Caledonia.
Riddick-Taylor holds bachelor’s degrees in criminal justice and behavioral science from Shaw University. She is a graduate of the Correctional Leadership Development Program and holds an Advanced Corrections Certificate from the North Carolina Criminal Justice Education and Training Standards Commission.
She also is a member of the North American Association of Wardens and Superintendents, the North Carolina Society of Certified Public Managers and the American Correctional Association.
In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with her family.