Fort Dodge resident Jim Kersten has been named to the panel that provides oversight and input on the operations of Iowa’s prison system.

He has been appointed to the Iowa Board of Corrections by Gov. Kim Reynolds.

His appointment requires confirmation by the state Senate. He will serve a four-year term, beginning May 1.

According to Kersten, the board’s mission is to give the Department of Corrections an outside perspective on the prison system.

“We provide them with some insight they might not have on their own,” he said.

Kersten, who is the vice president of external affairs and government relations, at Iowa Central Community College, already has experience working with the Department of Corrections.

He has worked to develop programs to teach inmates at the Fort Dodge Correctional Facility and the North Central Correctional Facility in Rockwell City skills they can use to get a job upon their release from prison. To help make that training possible, Kersten worked to bring a federal financial aid program called Second Chance Pell to Iowa Central and the prisons. In 2016, Iowa Central became one of 67 colleges in the country using the program.

He is also a member of Right On Crime, a non-profit group that advocates for sentencing reform. The group played a role in the passage and signing of the federal First Step Act, which is intended to reduce the size of the federal prison population while maintaining public safety. It was signed into law by former President Donald Trump on Dec. 21, 2018.

Kersten also has lots of experience in state government. He was an aide to former Gov. Terry Branstad during his first term and was later a state senator.

His appointment to the state Board of Corrections came in a roundabout way. He recalled that he was talking to an aide to Reynolds who mentioned a vacancy on the board.

“I said, well, if you want, I’d be willing to consider it,” Kersten said.

“I think I can give a perspective that hopefully can help,” he added.