Sacramento, Calif., July 14, 2025 –  Mindi’s story is a profound journey of transformation, healing, and ultimately giving back to her community. As someone who once walked through the system as a probationer, she now has the ability to serve her community as a Deputy Probation Officer, for the El Dorado County Probation Department. Mindi’s life embodies the power of accountability paired with rehabilitation opportunities. 

Throughout her childhood and young adult life, Mindi struggled with many of the issues that bring people into probation supervision. She had issues with substances, she felt stuck in a cycle she didn’t believe she could escape. When she began her supervision under El Dorado County Probation, everything changed. She was assigned a probation officer, Kelly Plunkett, who treated her with dignity, empathy, and respect, all while still holding Mindi accountable. Over time, this relationship fostered trust and the belief that change was possible for Mindi. 

Through accountability, structured support, treatment referrals, wraparound services, and ongoing encouragement, Mindi found the space she needed to rebuild. Her journey of recovery wasn’t linear, but with accountability and resources offered by the probation department, she was able to grow into the person that Kelly knew she could become with the right tools. 

Mindi’s life changed for the better, and years after completing probation, Mindi had the opportunity to return to the justice system, not as a client, but as a Deputy Probation Officer for El Dorado County Probation. She now works alongside individuals on the same path she once walked, and is able to speak into their lives in the same way Kelly once did for her. 

Mindi understands firsthand the fear, the uncertainty, and the issues many justice‑involved individuals face during their probation journey. But now, each day she uses her lived experience to build empathy, trust, and meaningful relationships with the people she supervises.

Her story is a powerful symbol of El Dorado County Probation’s commitment to rehabilitation and second chances, not just through services, but through connection. It illustrates how probation can do more than supervise: it can nurture transformation and inspire leadership from within.

By investing in programs that focus on accountability, rehabilitation, education, and connection, California Probation can reduce the chances of repeat offenses and create new opportunities for people in our communities to contribute in positive ways. Stories like Mindi’s remind us that every California Probation success makes our communities safer and stronger.

California Probation departments across the state are dedicated to this balanced approach — one that holds people accountable, but also builds them up. It is how lives like Mindi’s are transformed, and how all Californians benefit in the end.

Watch Mindi’s story here.