Board Members
Chairman Charles Traughber
Mr. Traughber started his criminal justice career as an Institutional Counselor in the Department of Correction in 1969. In 1972, he was appointed Chairman of the Board of Paroles and served until June 1976. He served as a member of the Board from 1976 until July 1977, when he was re-appointed Chairman. He served in that capacity through June of 1979. He again served as a member until December 1985. From that date until December 1987, he worked as a consultant with a private correctional company. He was reappointed Chairman in January of 1988 and has served as Chairman since that date. He was reappointed to six-year terms on the Board in 2000 and again in 2006. A native of Chattanooga, Mr. Traughber is a graduate of Tennessee State University in Nashville. He is a member of the Tennessee Correctional Association, the American Correctional Association and serves as president of the Association of Paroling Authorities International. He has served on the Tennessee Sentencing Commission and on various other committees addressing prison capacity issues and the criminal justice system.
Patsy Bruce
Patsy Bruce, a native of Nashville, was appointed to the Board of Probation and Parole on March 26, 2004. Before that, she operated a number of entertainment and event management and marketing companies, including Patsy Bruce Productions, Inc., a film and television production company, and Events Unlimited, an award-winning event management company. In addition to her business endeavors, Ms. Bruce is heavily involved in neighborhood advocacy work, where she organized the West Nashville Presidents Council, a Nashville consortium of neighborhood presidents.
Ronnie Cole
Ronnie Cole was appointed to the Board of Probation and Parole on January 22, 2004. He was born in Milan, but has lived in Dyersburg for more than 30 years. He is a retired Vice President of the Ford Construction Company, a Dyersburg paving and bridge building contractor, where he worked for 34 years. He also served in the Tennessee House of Representatives in the 98th through 102nd General Assemblies. Mr. Cole earned a bachelor's degree in business administration from Memphis State University. He is a past President of both the Tennessee Road Builders Association and the Contractor's Division of the American Road and Transportation Builders Association. He is also a former member of the Tennessee Board for Licensing Contractors.
Yusuf Hakeem
Yusuf Hakeem was appointed to the Board of Probation and Parole on January 23, 2006. He is a graduate of Howard High School and Chattanooga State Technical Community College, and is currently working toward a bachelor's degree from the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga. He served on the City Council of Chattanooga for 15 years as a representative of District 9 and was elected Council Chair in 1996, 2000 and 2001.
Joe Hill
Union City's Joe Hill was appointed to the Board of Probation and Parole in April of 2008. Mr. Hill came to BOPP following his retirement from the staff of Eighth District Congressman John Tanner. He is a native of Henry County, Tennessee. Mr. Hill is a 1964 graduate of Henry High School and earned his bachelor's degree from Bethel College in McKenzie in 1968. He served four years as Project Director of the Northwest Tennessee Development District. He was twice elected to the Henry County Commission. In 1973, Mr. Hill joined the staff of the late U.S. Representative Ed Jones as Field Assistant, and later served as District Director until Jones' retirement. In 1988, Mr. Hill managed Congressman Tanner's campaign for Congress and in 1989, joined Tanner's staff as District Director, where he served for almost two decades. When he retired in 2008, Mr. Hill was the longest-serving Congressional district aide in Tennessee history. He is an avid outdoorsman, a member of the Free and Accepted Masons, the Goodwill Shrine Club, the Elks Club, the Tennessee Wildlife Federation and the United Methodist Church.
Lisa Jones
Lisa Jones was appointed to the Board of Probation and Parole in March 2008. An educator, Ms. Jones' previous professional experience includes 12 years of teaching at Savannah High School. She also taught for two years at Jackson State University's Savannah campus and served a term as a member of the Unemployment Security Board of Review. Ms. Jones is a graduate of the University of North Alabama, where she earned a Bachelor of Science degree in education.
