If you’re in Texas, you already know Cathy, Eileen and Kelli. If you’ve been to PROJECT 2000, you know these ladies. For those that don’t, we would like to introduce you to Cathy Stokes, Eileen Kennedy and Kelli Forrester. All field representatives in the great state of Texas and some of the hardest workers you’ll ever come across.

Cathy Stokes live in the Huntsville area and primarily assists Region 1 and Region 2, including the Parole Officers in each of these Regions. Region 1 includes the Headquarters for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.

Cathy has been a part of the TDCJ family basically her whole life. She grew up on a prison farm, her dad worked his way up from a Correctional Officer to a Warden and retiring over the  Mechanical Department overseeing all vehicles within TDCJ. Her grandfather also worked for the department as a truck driver.

After graduating High School, Cathy became a third generation employee with TDCJ. She worked in Classification and Records, Budget, Travel, Human Resources and as a Wardens secretary. After 32 years, Cathy retired from the department.  Her husband of 32 years, Gene, also worked for TDCJ as a Kennel Sergeant for 32 years.

Cathy’s son James (Dusty), became a fourth generation employee for the deparment and works as an Assistant Plant Manager for the Tag Plant. He oversees the making of license plates for Texas and several other states. She has 2 stepsons and between all three boys, they have six grandchildren!

This past June, Cathy marked her fourteenth year with CPOF. She has been a passionate supporter of spreading the mission of “Taking Care of Our Own” from day one and eagerly shares CPOF with her Correctional Family. She works hard to ensure TDCJ employees know about CPOF and the ways they can assist when there is a catastrophic event. Cathy is a vital part of the “family room” at PROJECT 2000 each year. She is consistently there for the families of fallen Correctional Staff.

Eileen Kennedy lives in San Antonio and retired from TDCJ ten years ago.  Eileen covers Region IV and conducts CPOF presentations at the Training academy in Beeville, The Domingues Unit in San Antonio, Torres/Ney Units in Hondo and Travis State Jail in Austin.

Eileen’s career began in 1984 (the same year CPOF was founded) as a Corrections Officer. She worked in a variety of positions and ranks before retiring as the Region IV Director with 30 years of service to TDCJ.  In that time span, she worked in four of the six regions in Texas.

In 2012, Eileen began volunteering with CPOF. She began hosting the “Women in Corrections” Seminars at PROJECT 2000. This seminar is one of the most anticipated and attended seminars at PROJECT 2000. Eileen is also very active in the KIDS room. She makes connections and bonds with the children of fallen families in a way that can only be described as a true gift.

Following her retirement in 2013, she officially came to work with CPOF as a Texas Field Representative. Her passion for CPOF is evident in the way she presents our organization and the pride she takes in being a part of something bigger than herself.

Eileen has many hobbies outside of sharing CPOF, including traveling and fishing on the Coast.

Kelli Forrester has been a part of the Texas Prison System since birth. Like Cathy, she is a third generation employee of TDCJ who came to work as a Corrections Officer in 1989 and the age of nineteen.  Over the course of thirty years, she progressed thru the ranks of Corrections Officer, Sergeant of Correctional Officers, Casemanager, Chief of Classification, Assistant Warden and Senior Warden.  As a field representative in the state of Texas, Kelli serves Region VI and Region III.

During her long career she was assigned to nine different facilities in her tenure, working with both male and female prison offenders, state jail convictions, substance abuse facilities, MROP, psych facility and death row offenders. Through her integrity and leadership, she became the first Female Senior Warden at one of the facilities she was assigned to. Kelli was instrumental in setting up a Veterans dorm for offenders and has earned numerous letters of commendation for various situations.  Her last post, the Crain Unit was one of the largest Female facilities in the United States; at that time with over 2100 offenders and 700 staff.

While in supervisory roles, Kelli became aware of the existence and mission of The Correctional Peace Officer’s Foundation. In 2016, she attended her first PROJECT 2000 in Pennsylvania as a Senior Warden.

“Most tellingly I received and appreciated the outpouring of concern and helpful advise given to me during the aftermath of the on-duty death of Correctional Officer Shanna Tedder on June 9 th , 2017 at the Crain Unit.  At that time I was the Senior Warden of the facility and was navigating my first (and thankfully only) loss of this magnitude. The CPOF reps (Eileen and Cathy) were instrumental in ensuring I knew that this death could be considered a Line of Duty death. Further they calmed my concerns and answered questions when it was apparent that it would be considered a Line of Duty Death and helped me to steer the family thru the 2018 Houston PROJECT 2000.” – Kelli Forrester

Following her retirment from TDCJ in the fall of 2018, Kelli began working as a representative for CPOF in Texas. Kelli and her husband Brad, who retired in 2021, make their home on Lake Limestone with their two spoiled puppies.  In addition to informing those in TDCJ about CPOF, Kelli has joined Eileen in presenting the “Women in Corrections” Seminar at PROJECT 2000.

Together, Cathy, Eileen and Kelli are instrumental in ensuring that their correctional family in Texas are taken care of when they are going through tough times.

These women are passionate about getting to know those they are helping. They make a geniune effort to make a connection and get to know the members in their state.  We’d like to share some photos of Cathy, Eileen and Kelli through the last couple of years.