Arkansas Parole Board Chairman

In 2011, John Felts assumed his role as Chairman of the Parole Board, following his time spent as a Commissioner of the Board, dating back to 1998. Felts began his career with the Department of Correction in 1982 as an Institutional Parole Officer and ultimately ended his tenure with the ADC as the Assistant Administrator of Parole Services. Following his reappointment to the Parole Board in 2012, Chairman Felts was appointed to a fourth term by Governor Asa Hutchinson in 2019.

Chairman Felts’ career in Corrections has spanned parts of four decades. Felts earned a bachelor’s of arts degree in Political Science at the University of Arkansas at Monticello. Chairman Felts is an active member of the American Correctional Association, the Association of Paroling Authorities International, and the Arkansas Adult Probation and Parole Association.

Message from the Chairman

The Arkansas Parole Board is an independent, quasi-judicial body whose seven members are appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Senate. The Board is dedicated to the process of promoting public safety by the return of offenders into the community through supervised, conditional release, with the goal of guiding and monitoring the transition from confinement to the successful completion of supervision within the community.