SALT LAKE CITY — It’s never happened before in Utah, both state prisons have female wardens. Trailblazers and role models, both wardens worked their way up through the ranks of the Utah Department of Corrections and in observation of Women’s History Month FOX 13 News is committed to showcasing their stories.

Ironically, Utah’s first-ever female warden, Kristen Kiesel, wasn’t sure the corrections department would be her career. “But as I got into the field and seen all the opportunities within the department, I found the direction I wanted to go.”

In 2023, Kiesel was named warden of the Utah State Prison in Gunnison.

Utah’s second female warden, Sharon D’amico, began her career in corrections as a challenge to herself after seeing a help-wanted ad. “And I remember seeing the advertisement and going; I wonder if I can do that? Apparently, I guess I can do it because it’s now 29 years later,” D’amico remembered.

D’amico was named warden of the Utah State Prison in Salt Lake City last year. Now, both women are linked, not only through work but also historically. For the first time, both state prisons have female wardens.

Warden D’amico says her focus is on the job of running Utah’s largest correctional facility. “I honestly never even really thought about it until we both became wardens.
And we work really well together, we collaborate a lot so that our prisons are similar.”

Warden Kiesel agrees, “I like to go out and visit with my staff, be with them, see the challenges that they’re facing, and make those decisions with that in mind.”

Warden D’amico now hopes they can be role models to other young women.

“So I think it’s needed, and I really hope that women, more women come to this career and believe in themselves that they can do it because they can.”

Both Wardens say they work together to keep their facilities safe, engage their staff, and ensure that the inmates have every opportunity to rehabilitate and successfully reintegrate into society.