RALEIGH, N.C. — The North Carolina Department of Adult Correction has selected Trevor Wingard as its next Chief Deputy Secretary, overseeing the Division of Institutions and Correction Enterprises.

The appointment follows a nationwide search that included both internal and external candidates.

Wingard brings more than 30 years of corrections experience to the position. He began his career with the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections in 1994 as a corrections officer and later served as a corrections counselor, unit manager, deputy superintendent, superintendent and deputy secretary.

After retiring from the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections, Wingard became warden of the Allegheny County Jail in Pittsburgh, where the department said he reduced staffing vacancies by nine percent over an 18-month period.

A veteran of the U.S. Air Force and the Pennsylvania Air National Guard, Wingard holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in criminology from Indiana University of Pennsylvania.

Wingard is scheduled to join the North Carolina Department of Adult Correction in mid-August. He succeeds Brandeshawn Harris, who left the department to join the team overseeing reform efforts for the New York City Correction Department.