A Dowagiac graduate is Ionia County’s new community corrections manager.

Melonie Swisher, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Dave Seifferlein of Twin Lakes Road, graduated from DUHS in 2006.

She began the part-time position Jan. 4.

Swisher earned a master’s degree in criminal justice from Grand Valley State University and a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from Western Michigan University.

Before becoming a liaison between the state and county, she previously worked with Project Rehab, a prisoner re-entry program in Grand Rapids, where she designed and implemented an evaluation tool.

Swisher also interned with 9th Circuit Court and worked in the prosecuting attorney’s office, both in Kalamazoo County, so she knows how to relate to offenders with her broad experience with the system.

Community corrections managers oversee programs and services offered in the jail and in the community aimed at reducing jail overcrowding, so jail beds are reserved for only the most dangerous offenders.

Programs also work to reduce recidivism by offering alternatives to incarceration that reduce crime and improve community safety.