Year Honored: 1993
Biography
Elizabeth Neal is a “highly regarded authority in the correctional system in areas of treatment, security, classification, and the therapeutic community model.” In 1989, she was appointed the Warden of the Multi-Purpose Criminal Justice Facility (now the Howard R. Young Correctional Institution). At the time of her appointment, she was the first woman in Delaware History and the 22nd woman nationally to hold a position as head of an all-male facility for adult offenders.
She later served as the statewide Director of Correctional Treatment services for the Delaware Department of Corrections. In 2004 she was selected to serve as Administrator of the New Castle County Women’s Work Release Treatment Center. It was the first facility of its type in Delaware and is “dedicated solely to the treatment of female offenders in recovery from substance abuse,” and is based on therapeutic community concept as a “gender-specific program that addresses issues such as abuse, skill-development, self-esteem, and the ability to thrive.”
Neal has been awarded the Outstanding Service Award from the Delaware Division of Parks, Honorary Membership in the U.S Jaycees, and was honored by the Chesapeake Bay Girl Scout Council for “showing outstanding leadership and serving as an exceptional role model for the youth in our community” (1991).
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Sources and Additional Readings
Delaware Commission for Women. (2006). Twenty-Fifth Anniversary: Hall of Fame of Delaware Women: The Legacy Endures.
