Johnny Frambo
Rev. Johnny Frambo is a respected leader in correctional chaplaincy, a military veteran, a pastoral minister, and an advocate for moral rehabilitation through prison seminary education. Originally from Fort Myers, Florida, he has lived in Apollo Beach, Florida, since 2024. His life and ministry reflect a distinguished record of public service, spiritual leadership, and a commitment to transforming individuals, institutions, and communities.
Rev. Frambo served honorably in the United States Army for over 20 years, holding leadership roles such as Tank Commander and Army Medical Recruiter. His military service helped shape his disciplined leadership style, commitment to service, and deep concern for veterans and their families. Following his military career, he dedicated approximately 10 years to the Veterans Services Division and the Veterans Benefits Administration, where he continued serving those who had sacrificed for the nation.
Alongside his public service, Rev. Frambo served as a bi-vocational Co-Pastor and Minister, demonstrating a consistent commitment to pastoral care, preaching, discipleship, and spiritual formation. Before his appointment as Chief of Chaplaincy Services for the Florida Department of Corrections, he served as Senior Chaplain at both Suwannee Correctional Institution and Charlotte Correctional Institution. These roles provided him with extensive experience in institutional ministry, crisis response, religious programming, volunteer coordination, and pastoral care within correctional environments.
As Chief of Chaplaincy Services for the Florida Department of Corrections, Rev. Frambo led and directed statewide chaplaincy operations while supporting the agency’s vision and mission. In this executive role, he worked closely with the Secretary of the FDOC, the Office of the General Counsel, Security Operations, Regional Directors, Wardens, Chaplains, Volunteers, and Community Corrections. His leadership helped ensure that the constitutional, spiritual, religious, and rehabilitative needs of inmates and offenders were addressed with professionalism, integrity, and excellence. He also assisted in training more than 140 chaplains each year within an agency responsible for approximately 25,000 employees and more than 56 major correctional institutions.
Rev. Frambo has also contributed significantly to advancing the prison seminary model. He has assisted in training chaplains in the effective deployment of prison seminary graduates and has helped manage, supervise, and deploy graduates of prison seminary programs using best practices and research-informed strategies. He has introduced and promoted the prison seminary model in prisons, chaplain training, the Correctional Ministries and Chaplains Association, and the American Correctional Association.
Academically, Rev. Frambo graduated from the Baptist University of Florida in Graceville, Florida, with a degree in Divinity and Ministry Studies. He is currently pursuing a master’s degree in Pastoral Counseling at Liberty University, further strengthening his scholarly and practical foundation for ministry, counseling, and correctional rehabilitation.
Currently, Rev. Frambo serves with the Prison Seminaries Foundation, where he supports and collaborates with Directors of Prison Seminaries throughout the Southeastern United States. His ongoing work reflects a deep commitment to equipping incarcerated men and women for moral transformation, spiritual leadership, and meaningful service within correctional communities.
Rev. Frambo has been faithfully married to his wife, Nina, for 48 years.
