Skip to main content

UNO Alumna and CPACS Graduate Serves as Chief U.S. Probation Officer

Kathleen “Kit” Lemon, an impressive, civic-minded School of Criminology and Criminal Justice graduate student turns into a successful official and leader within the U.S. Probation Office.

image

About this Year’s School of Criminology and Criminal Justice’s Award Recipient

Kathleen “Kit” Lemon graduated from UNO with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and a Master of Arts in Criminal Justice. As a graduate student she worked for the then Department of Criminal Justice as a graduate research assistant studying criminal careers.

In her final semester, at the suggestion of Dr. Bill Wakefield, she completed an internship with the U.S. Probation Office in Omaha. From 1991-2001 she was employed by Nebraska State Probation as a juvenile probation officer in Douglas County, and in 2001 was hired as a federal officer with U.S. Probation in the District of Nebraska. She was promoted to supervisor in 2008, deputy chief in 2010 and has served as Chief U.S. Probation Officer since 2017.

Kit has served on numerous management development and education programming committees with Federal Judicial Center (FJC) in Washington D.C., which is responsible for providing education and training to members of the Federal Judiciary. She is a graduate of the FJC’s Leadership Development Program, Executive Team Seminar, and has served as a faculty member for the New Supervisor’s Program (NSP) since 2015. The NSP provides training to new supervisors in probation, pretrial services, bankruptcy court, district court, and the Federal Public Defenders Office. She is a strong believer in succession planning and creating experts in the field and has served as a mentor to several U.S. probation officers across the country. In 2012, Kit received the Rising Star Award by the UNO School of Criminology and Criminal Justice.

We are proud to call Kit a very successful alumna of the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice, and of the UNO College of Public Affairs and Community Service.

About the CPACS Alumni Award

The university and community leaders established the College of Public Affairs and Community Service (CPACS) to ensure the university was responsive to the critical societal needs and concerns of our community and state. Critical to the mission of the new college was the provision of educational and training programs of the highest caliber that would prepare students for careers and leadership in the public service.

The individuals honored with the alumni award for excellence in public service demonstrate, through both their daily deeds and greatest achievements, the finest attributes of public and community service: integrity, stewardship, volunteerism, leadership, and a commitment to social justice and human dignity. They are a credit to their professions, their families, and our college. We congratulate them for this and all their achievements.