Patricia K. Cushwa

Patricia K. Cushwa became Acting Chairman of the United States Parole Commission on August 5, 2018.

Patricia K Cushwa was nominated to the United States Parole Commission and the United States Senate confirmed her nomination in November, 2004. She was sworn in as a member of the Commission on December 12, 2004. In August 2015 she was designated Vice Chairman by Chairman Patricia Smoot.

Prior to her appointment to the U.S. Parole Commission, Patricia Cushwa served for 12 years on the Maryland Parole Commission, seven of those years as Chair. Her prior experience includes an appointment as Maryland State Senator as well as an elected term to the Williamsport Town Council. She served as adjunct faculty at Hagerstown Community College. Appointed Boards include the Maryland State Board of Education and the Maryland Human Relations Commission as well as two terms on the Board of Trustees of Hagerstown Community College.

Commissioner Cushwa co-founded Washington County’s Spouse Abuse Agency, CASA (Citizens’ Assisting and Sheltering the Abused). Governor Martin O’Malley (D-MD.) appointed her as Chair of the Washington County Judicial Nominating Commission for Trial Court Judges and she served as Chair for eight years on that Commission. A twenty-three year member of the Association of Paroling Authorities International, Commissioner Cushwa received the President’s Award in 2002 for “significant contributions as a trainer for the National Institute of Corrections.” Her parole initiatives include development of a risk assessment instrument for the Maryland Parole Commission and evidence-based programs for Washington D.C. and federal parole violators.

Patricia Cushwa earned a B.A. and an M.A. at Hood College in Frederick, Maryland and resides in Williamsport, Washington County, Maryland.