Ward served as the Commissioner of the Georgia Department of Corrections from 2019 to 2023. Ward was appointed Commissioner for the Georgia Department of Corrections in 2019 by Governor Kemp. Ward began his career with the Department of Corrections in 1992 at Scott State Prison as a Correctional Officer and eventually was promoted to Chief of Staff in 2016.

Ward served on the Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training Council and served as one of the Commissioners nationally on the American Correctional Association for the Commission on Accreditation for Corrections. He is an active member of the Southern States Correctional Association, the Georgia Professional Association of Community Supervision, the American Correctional Association, and the Georgia Prison Wardens' Association. He received a bachelor’s in Criminal Justice from Savannah State University and a master’s in Public Administration from Columbus State University.