Paul Laird
Department of Justice
Paul Laird was appointed by President George W. Bush to the Committee for Purchase From People Who Are Blind or Severely Disabled (Committee) in June 2007, representing the Department of Justice.
Paul M. Laird began his career with the Federal Bureau of Prisons as a Correctional Officer at the Federal Correctional Institution, Phoenix, Arizona in 1988. Since then he has served in various positions of increasing responsibility at the Metropolitan Detention Center, Los Angeles, California, as Unit Manager; Federal Correctional Institution, Dublin, California, as Executive Assistant to the Warden; Federal Correctional Institution, Tucson, Arizona, as Associate Warden; United States Penitentiary, Florence, Colorado, as Associate Warden; and the Federal Correctional Complex, Coleman, Florida, as Warden.
In February 2004, he was appointed Senior Deputy Assistant Director, Correctional Programs Division, at the Bureau of Prisons headquarters in Washington, D.C. In May 2005, he was appointed Warden of the Metropolitan Detention Center, Brooklyn, New York. He became a member of the Senior Executive Service in July 2005. In April 2007, he was appointed Assistant Director of the Industries, Education, and Vocational Training Division - Federal Bureau of Prisons, and Chief Operating Officer of Federal Prison Industries (UNICOR).
Laird received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and Criminal Justice from Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minnesota in 1988. He received a Certificate in Public Administration from the University of Southern California in 2002. In August 2006, he completed the Senior Managers in Government Program, at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. Laird was the recipient of a Bureau of Prisons National Award for Cost Containment Efforts in 2003, and the Attorney General's Award for Excellence in Information Technology in 2005.
