Governor Kay Ivey on Wednesday appointed Jennifer Rudden Conway, a 25-year veteran of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, to the Alabama Board of Pardons and Paroles. The appointment takes effect immediately and is subject to confirmation by the Alabama State Senate.
Conway fills the associate seat left open by Darryl Littleton, who stepped down from the three-member board to become deputy director of the Bureau of Pardons and Paroles. She joins Chairman Hal Nash and associate member Gabrelle Simmons on the board, which holds sole authority to grant or deny parole in Alabama.
“Jennifer Conway possesses a deep knowledge of criminal law matched with decades of first-hand experience investigating and bringing the most hardened offenders to justice,” Ivey said in a statement announcing the pick. “I cannot think of a more qualified person to sit on the Alabama Board of Pardons and Paroles ensuring each case is carefully reviewed and the public’s interest is protected.”
Conway built her federal career largely in the Middle District of Alabama. She joined ATF in 2001 as a special agent in Greensboro, North Carolina, transferred to Alabama in 2003, and spent 13 years investigating gang-affiliated firearms trafficking as she rose to senior special agent.
In 2016 she was named resident agent in charge for the district, overseeing agents and task force officers on federal firearm, arson and explosive cases, according to the governor’s office. Her work also included the Metro Area Crime Suppression Unit, a state initiative established under Ivey.
Conway’s law enforcement résumé fits the mold of a board that state lawmakers deliberately reshaped around public safety. Under a 2019 overhaul, the governor selects parole board members from a list of five candidates submitted by three legislative leaders — the lieutenant governor, House speaker and Senate president pro tempore — and, as the nonprofit outlet Bolts has reported, the law requires at least one member to have a decade or more of experience investigating violent crime. The same measure expanded the governor’s authority over the board and its director.
“I appreciate Governor Kay Ivey’s trust in me and am committed to fulfilling my duties on the board for the people of Alabama,” Conway said. “I take the responsibility of the board very seriously and ensure my decisions will always prioritize public safety.”
The timeline for confirmation is uncertain. Nash, whom Ivey appointed in July 2025, was not confirmed by the Senate until this January.
