Department of Public Safety appoints new Deputy Director for Corrections

The Department of Public Safety today announced the appointment of Sanna Muñoz to serve as the Deputy Director for Corrections, effective Aug. 1, 2023.

“Sanna comes to PSD from the Hawaiʻi State Judiciary, Third Circuit (Hawaiʻi Island), and has more than 26 years of experience with the Judiciary in various roles, including supervisory, programming, and community outreach. She also sits on several criminal justice and domestic violence committees representing the Judiciary. I am confident she will provide valuable insight and experience in her new leadership role,” said Public Safety Director Tommy Johnson. 

Up until her appointment as Deputy Director for Corrections, Muñoz has served as the domestic violence unit probation supervisor for the Hawaiʻi State Judiciary Adult Client Services Branch in the Third Circuit, for the East Hawaiʻi section of Hawaiʻi Island.

Muñoz began her Judiciary career in 1997 as a clerk III with the Juvenile Client Services Branch of the Judiciary. She worked her way up through the ranks to a social services assistant in 2010 where she monitored low-level felony defendants’ compliance with court-ordered conditions and provided assistance to probation officers and other judicial staff. In 2011 she became a probation officer and was promoted to senior probation officer in 2013. In 2018, she was promoted to probation supervisor. 

Muñoz earned an Associate of Science Degree in Administration of Justice from Hawaiʻi Community College, a Bachelor of Arts in Social and Criminal Justice from Iowa Ashford University, and a Master of Science in Criminal Justice from the University of Central Missouri.

While her appointment is to the Deputy Director for Corrections position, she will transition into the newly created Deputy Director for Rehabilitation, Programs, and Services position effective Jan. 1, 2024. That is the date on which the separation of the Department of Public Safety and the Department of Law Enforcement is expected to be completed. The Department of Public Safety will, at that time, be renamed the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

The temporary acting Deputy Director for Corrections, Michael “Mick” Hoffman, will return to his position as the Institutions Division Administrator, effective July 31, 2023.

“I would like to personally extend my sincerest thank you to Mick for wearing two hats, stepping in as temporarily Deputy Director for Corrections while simultaneously continuing to do the work of the Institutions Division Administrator. Mick’s decades of experience in corrections, combined with his willingness to take on the enormous duties and responsibilities of the Deputy Director for Corrections position, is a testament to his character, professionalism, and dedication,” said PSD Director Johnson.

The Public Safety Department deputy director appointments are not subject to Senate confirmation.