Max Williams, Oregon's departing prison chief, won over skeptics | OregonLive.com Max Williams, Oregon's departing prison chief, won over skeptics View full sizeThomas Boyd/The OregonianMax Williams on Friday stepped down as director of the Oregon Corrections Department to take on a new challenge: leading the Oregon Community Foundation. Doubters rolled their eyes eight years ago with the announcement that Max Williams would be the next director of the state prison system.

"We were a little concerned that he was an outsider with no corrections background," said Tim Woolery, corrections representative for the prison system's largest union.

While walking away from prison cells and chow halls, Williams isn't giving up on the issues that sparked his interest in criminal justice in the first place. Employment: Miller Nash law firm, 1991-2003; Oregon Department of Corrections, 2004-11

Neil Bryant, a Bend lawyer and former state senator, said he advised Williams that taking the prison job would probably end his political aspirations.

Walking the prison halls

Days after the announcement, Mitch Morrow drove to Williams' Portland office to brief his new boss. Morrow was a prison system veteran, working his way up from corrections officer to deputy director. He rode with officers who move inmates from prison to prison. To better cope with that prison population, Williams opened a mental hospital inside the Oregon State Penitentiary, providing seriously ill inmates with more professional help.

Williams recognizes that he is at odds with state prosecutors over changes to sentencing laws but said they are needed to slow the growth of Oregon prisons.

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