In this new series, speakers at Scandinavia House will explore the reasons why Nordic countries lead surveys of societies with high levels of trust, happiness, gender equality, and quality of life. By many measures, these countries are among the most successful societies worldwide. In these lectures, we’ll look at how individual countries have successfully addressed certain issues that confront all societies.

Norway is known for its extremely low incarceration rates; with fewer than 4,000 of Norway’s 5 million people incarcerated, it is drastically lower than the U.S., where 707 of every 100,000 people are currently serving prison time. And Norway’s recidivism rate, at 20 percent, is also the lowest in the world.

Kim Ekhaugen (Director of International Cooperation, Directorate of Norwegian Correctional), Colette S. Peters (Director, Oregon Department of Corrections), and ASF Fellow Jordan M. Hyatt (Assistant Professor of Department of Criminology and Justice Studies, Drexel University) join us for a panel moderated by ASF Chairman Steven B. Peri on Norway’s penal reform. Tonight, Ekhaugen and Hyatt will discuss the Norwegian and American correctional systems, and compare their approaches to criminal justice.

**This panel was recorded. See the video here:**

KIM EKHAUGEN

Kim Ekhaugen is Director of International Cooperation in the Directorate of Norwegian Correctional service. In his current position, he is responsible for managing the EEA / Norway Grants funds in prison and probation service projects in a number of countries, including Romania, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Czech Republic, Croatia, Bulgaria. In addition, he is responsible for cooperation projects between USA, Russia, Ukraine and Norway and international cooperation in general.

From 2010-2013, Ekhaugen worked (Head of Mission) for MoJ in Norway in NORLAM mission (The Norwegian Mission of Rule of Law Advisers to Moldova) and was based in Moldova.

Kim Ekhaugen has more than 30 years of service in Norwegian correctional service and had a number of different roles throughout the years.

JORDAN HYATT

Jordan M. Hyatt is an ASF Fellow and Assistant Professor in the Department of Criminology and Justice Studies, Drexel University. Hyatt’s research in corrections and reentry focuses on the evaluation of innovative criminal justice interventions with an emphasis on randomized experiments. Through the program assessments with strong partnerships with practitioners, Hyatt works to develop effective and actionable criminal justice policies. Hyatt’s work is relevant for agencies with policy agendas focused on improving reintegration, public safety, and implementing evidence-based policies.

COLETTE S. PETERS

Colette S. Peters has served as Director of the Oregon Department of Corrections (DOC) since February 2012. She was named by Oregon’s Governor to lead DOC after serving as the Director of the Oregon Youth Authority (OYA) for several years. As DOC Director, Ms. Peters oversees a corrections agency responsible for managing approximately 14,700 incarcerated adults in 14 prisons across the state. She has ultimate responsibility for the management of an agency with 4,700 employees and a biennial budget of $2.0 billion. Ms. Peters also works closely with Oregon’s state-funded community corrections agencies to coordinate the local supervision of more than 30,000 individuals on probation and parole.

With more than 28 years in public safety, Ms. Peters HAS a wealth of knowledge and experience in adult and juvenile corrections, victims’ rights, and legislative and law enforcement policy and practices. She has gained a national reputation as a champion of using research and data to drive decision-making, improve outcomes for youth and adults in custody, increase agency efficiency and effective­ness, and promote staff wellness. In 2013, Ms. Peters was appointed by Eric Holder as a member of the National Institute of Corrections Advisory Board, of which she chairs its Subcommittee on Wellness. She also chairs the American Correctional Association’s Supporting Healthy Culture Committee and serves as Vice President of the Association of State Correctional Administrators. A native of the Midwest, Ms. Peters earned her master’s degree in criminal justice from the Graduate School of Public Affairs at the University of Colorado in Denver, and a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the College of Saint Benedict in Saint Joseph, Minnesota.