Educate Don't Incarcerate: Reversing the School to Prison Pipeline
Speakers
Glenn E. Martin, Vice President of Development and Public Affairs, The Fortune Society
As Vice President of Development and Public Affairs and Director of the David Rothenberg Center for Public Policy at the Fortune Society, Mr. Martin is responsible for developing and advancing Fortune’s criminal justice policy advocacy agenda and providing leadership over the agency’s Development and Communication Units. After exiting prison in 2000, Martin began working at the Legal Action Center (LAC), eventually serving as the Co-Director of LAC’s National H.I.R.E. Network (HIRE), a national project dedicated to eliminating barriers to employment for jobseekers with criminal records. In addition to testifying in from of Congress, the US Commission on Civil Rights and the US Senate, Martin has drafted and advanced major legislation to remove barriers to employment in 10 states, co-authored the Independent Committee on Reentry and Employment transition document for former NYS Governor Spitzer, and served as project manager on the largest audit study ever conducted in the US on race and criminal record based discrimination in low-wage labor markets. Additionally, Martin has written and advanced legislation and policy reform proposals in a number of states to remove barriers to housing, education and voting for formerly incarcerated people. Specifically, Martin advocated to the US EEOC for the recently adopted US EEOC Title 7 Guidance on Jobseekers with Arrests and Conviction records.
Mr. Martin is the co-leader of the Education Inside Out Coalition (EIO Coalition) and a former 2011-2012 Americas Leaders of Change National Urban Fellow and a member of the Board of the NY Foundation. He also currently serves on NYC Community Board #10, the NYC Council Task Force to End Gun Violence, NYC Mayor Bloomberg’s Ban the Box Advisory Board, Governor Cuomo’s Executive Work for Success Committee, NYS Executive Reentry Housing Committee, NYS Reentry Task Force, National Network for Safe Communities, the DCJS Service Provider Advisory Committee (SPAC), the Steering Committee of Reentry.net, the Correction Committee of the NYC Bar Association (adjunct), the Policy Committee of Interfaith Coalition of Advocates for Reentry and Employment (ICARE), the Employment Working Group of the NYC Discharge Planning Initiative, the Board of Directors of the College and Community Fellowship and a number of other boards and working groups addressing issues related to the reintegration of people with criminal records. Mr. Martin was born and raised in Bedford Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, NY, and is the son of a retired police officer and brother of a federal correction officer.
Vivian Nixon, Executive Director, College and Community Fellowship
Vivian Nixon is Executive Director of College and Community Fellowship (CCF), an organization committed to removing individual and structural barriers to higher education for women with criminal record histories and their families. She identifies her most valued and life-changing experience as the time she spent as a peer educator in the adult basic education program at Albion State Correctional Facility in New York. Rev. Nixon is ordained by the African Methodist Episcopal Church (AMEC) and currently serves as an associate minister at Mt. Zion AMEC in New York City. She has received multiple honors and awards including the John Jay Medal for Justice, the Ascend Fellowship at the Aspen Institute, the Soros Justice Fellowship, the Petra Foundation Fellowship. Her leadership activities include co-founding the Education Inside Out Coalition (EIO), a collaborative effort to increase access to higher education for justice involved students. Rev. Nixon holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the State University of New York Empire College.
John Gordon, Associate Vice President of Programs, The Fortune Society
John has over twenty-five years of experience in adult education and workforce development. He came to Fortune in 2001 after sixteen years as director of the Open Book, an adult literacy program in Brooklyn, N.Y. He is also the author of More Than a Job: A Curriculum on Work and Society, as well as various articles on literacy and adult education. He currently oversees Fortune’s Education program and its Admissions department.
Bianca Van Heydoorn, Director of Education Initiatives, John Jay's Prisoner Reentery Institute
Bianca joined the Prisoner Reentry Institute as the Director of Educational Initiatives in August 2012. Her primary responsibility is to oversee projects related to increasing engagement, enrollment and retention in higher education for individuals with criminal justice histories. She works closely with institutions of higher education, New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision and other partners on existing projects as well as developing strategies for future initiatives. Bianca comes to PRI with ten years of experience in direct service and program implementation with justice involved populations. Prior to joining PRI, she provided educational and career counseling to young men at Getting Out and Staying Out (GOSO), a reentry program in East Harlem. In addition, Bianca’s previous experience includes employment at the Vera Institute of Justice, Center for Employment Opportunities (CEO) and Girls Educational and Mentoring Services (GEMS) where she worked on juvenile justice reform, youth development, commercial sexual exploitation (CSEC), discharge planning and building government and community partnerships. She was also a 2007-2009 F.A.O. Schwarz Family Foundation Fellow and is published in the Journal of Ethnicity in Criminal Justice. Bianca graduated Magna cum Laude with a Bachelor’s degree in Correctional Sociology from the CUNY Baccalaureate Program for Interdisciplinary Studies and earned a Master’s degree in Criminal Justice from John Jay College of Criminal Justice.
Cheryl Wilkins, Research Scientist and Associate Director, Criminal Justice Initiative: Supporting Children, Families, and Communities (CJI) at the Columbia School of Social Work
Cheryl is the Associate Director of the Criminal Justice Initiative: Supporting Children, Families, and Communities (CJI) at the Columbia School of Social Work, where she works with teens who have an incarcerated parent. As an adjunct lecturer, Cheryl presents on topics that address the needs of families and communities affected by mass incarceration.
Cheryl Wilkins was a Staff Associate at the Center for Institutional and Social Change (CISC). Her work at CISC focused on building the collective impact of the New York Reentry Education Network (NYREN), a collaboration of community-based organizations, city and state government agencies, and institutions of higher education. NYREN's mission is to improve educational access and success for people with criminal justice records and to make education a core component of reentry policy and practice. Cheryl is still an active contributor and member of NYREN as part of her work with CJI.
Stacy Soria, Program Manager, The Doe Fund
Stacy Soria is currently a Program Manager at The Doe Fund; a nonprofit organization that serves homeless Veterans. She has experience working with diverse populations. Her experience ranges from prison re-entry, homeless Veterans, LGBTQ, mentally ill, substance abusers and their families. Stacy has assumed various roles in the field as a Case Manager, Recovery Coach, Group facilitator, Substance Abuse and Academic Counselor. She has also passed the National Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Counselor examination which has qualified her to receive her CASAC credential and has obtained a Masters degree in Public Affairs and Administration this year. Stacy has continued to extend herself to the reentry community as a peer and advocate. She has tirelessly given back as a leader, mentor, role model and trailblazer.
Charzel McGill, Student, Hostos Community College/H.O.L.L.A.
Ronnell Charzel McGill is a certified counselor's aid in social living skills, a gifted orator, performer, advocate for social justice, equal educational opportunities, prison reform, and women's rights. He successfully completed an elective course in Social Change in Black and Latino communities at Vassar College with a 3.75 GPA. That experience fostered a desire for higher education as well as contributing to community development. He then began using his training and personal experiences to provide insight into the various issues that affect today's youth and young adults. Charzel's ultimate goal is to establish and work with a coalition that effectively explores and addresses issues surrounding education, teen violence, re-entry, and criminal justice reform.
Charzel is currently working towards obtaining an AA in Liberal Arts at Hostos Community College with the intent of acquiring a BA and MA in Sociology. He is also associated with H.O.L.L.A (How Our Lives Linked Altogether), a youth mentoring program.
Elizabeth Payamps, Director, Future Now at Bronx Community College
Elizabeth Payamps is the Director of Future Now at Bronx Community College (BCC), a campus-based GED and college enrollment program offering a wide range of classes for students age 16-24. In 2012, Ms. Payamps was recognized by the NY Public Library’s’ prestigious Brooke Russell Astor Award for her significant contribution to New York City. As Director of Future Now (formerly CUNY CATCH), Elizabeth has built a nationally recognized model of a high performing GED and college transition program serving low income and justice involved youth and effective peer mentoring and leadership development programs. In 2011, Future Now’s college focused peer mentoring program, IMPACT, was chosen for replication as part of the NYC Mayor’s Young Men’s Initiative and Ms. Payamps is overseeing the technical assistance to implement the Future Now/IMPACT model at other CUNY campus-based GED programs. She holds a Bachelors Degree in Psychology from Queens College of the City University of New York and a Masters Degree in Administration of Social Work from Hunter College of the City University of New York.
Kevin Cordero, GED Student, Future Now
Kevin is a 17 year-old Bronx native who is working on his GED at Future Now. He recently passed the predictor examination and will be taking his GED exam this month.
Terrance Coffie, Student, Bronx Community College/Computer Lab Manager, The Doe Fund
Terrence Coffie is in his last semester of school at Bronx Community College, majoring in Human Services. Originally from Belle Glade, Florida, a small town outside of Miami, he relocated to New York four years ago in an effort to start his life over. Having came from a very challenging background that involved drugs, prisons and even homelessness, when he had the opportunity to come to New York arose, he took it. After coming to New York, he became involved with The Doe Fund, which gave him an opportunity to re-establish his life. Drawing on the values he learned as a youth, he began to apply those principles of hard work and determination to his endeavors. These efforts paid off in December of 2010, when he not only graduated from the Doe Fund, but was also offered and accepted a position as a staff member in our Community Improvement Project as a dispatcher. Terrance was recently promoted to the Computer Lab Manager, a position that has given him the opportunity to reach out to others who face the same trials and tribulations that he had once faced myself. He shares with students his experiences of life and the importance of education and knowledge as a tool that can change their lives.
Marlon Peterson, Director of Community Relations, David Rothenberg Center for Public Policy, The Fortune Society
Marlon, a Brooklynite by way of Trinidad, WI, is the Director of Community Relations in the David Rothenberg Center for Public Policy at The Fortune Society where he is, among other things, spearheading the project, iLIVE, an anti-gun violence/mental health advocacy initiative. Marlon was the former Associate Director of the Crown Heights Community Mediation Center, and the Center's founding program coordinator for Youth Organizing to Save Our Streets. He also serves as a board member of Families For Freedom, multi-ethnic defense network by and for immigrants facing and fighting deportation. Marlon also co-founded H.O.L.L.A, Inc. a youth development organization geared towards working with young boys and men of color. Lastly, Marlon earned and Associates Degree in Criminal Justice from Ashworth University and is currently a full-time student at New York University, completing a Bachelor's Degree in Organizational Behavior.
Damion Samuels, Director of the Employment Works Program, Fedcap
Damion Samuels has extensive experience helping people overcome significant barriers to education and employment. He was the Director of Community Prep High School, a school for adolescents who have been involved in the justice system. In addition, Mr. Samuels was selected to participate in the Georgetown University Center for Juvenile Justice Reform’s Juvenile Justice and Child Welfare: Multi-System Integration Certificate Program for Private Sector Leaders. He previously served as the Director of the Wildcat Service Corporation’s Back to Work program, and is currently the Director of the Employment Works Program operated by Fedcap.
Mr. Samuels is a skilled facilitator and trainer, having spoken to diverse groups including churches, public, elementary and high schools, community-based organizations and universities. He has served on the Transitional Board of the Connecticut Assets Network and on the Advisory Board of Do Something for The Kids, a Community Based Organization in Brooklyn, NY. Mr. Samuels was profiled in Newsweek columnist Ellis Cose’s Book, The Envy of the World: On Being a Black Man in America.
Mr. Samuels is the proud father of Chike and Kali Samuels.
Yolanda Johnson-Peterkin, Director of Operations for Re-Entry Services, Women's Prison Association
Mrs. Yolanda Johnson-Peterkin is the Director of Operations for Re-Entry Services at the Women's Prison Association, a service and advocacy organization committed to helping women with criminal justice histories realize new possibilities for themselves and their families. Ms. Johnson-Peterkin joined WPA in January 2005 with over 20 years of experience in the Human Service field. Prior to that at the Episcopal Social Services, she was the Director of Network in the Community for New York State Department of Corrections, parole, probation and work release programs. She is active in prison and post-prison reform movements including Community Leadership and Education After Re-Entry (CLEAR) with the Study of Women and Society located at the CUNY Graduate Center. Through the work of CLEAR Mrs. Johnson Peterkin and her peers have published an article in the Race/Ethnicity Journal (2008) titled Life Capacity Beyond Reentry: A Critical Examination of Racism and Prisoner Reentry Reform in the US.
Mrs. Johnson-Peterkin received her Masters degree in Social Work from Hunter College in 2004. The Correctional Association of New York's Women in Prison Project honored her for her exemplary work as an advocate and her dedication to improving the lives of incarcerated and formerly incarcerated women in 2005. In 2008 she also received the Citizens Against Recidivism Vivian Nixon Award for her work to achieve the restoration of all the rights and attributes of citizenship among people in prison or jail and those who have been released.
Yolanda Johnson-Peterkin is a certified Women Offender Case Management trainer with Orbis Partners, Inc. (Ottawa, Ontario) and the National Institute of Corrections providing training in Connecticut, Utah and Maine on gender-responsive approaches to women. The WOCMM projects philosophy and core practices are to engage, assess, enhance motivation, and implement the case plans. The model’s goal is to change the way we work with women in prison starting from the day they enter the system. Mrs. Johnson-Peterkin is an active alumna of the College and Community Fellowship where the mission is to help formerly incarcerated people achieve their goals through higher education.
Johnny Perez, Crime Prevention Consultant
Johnny Perez is a crime prevention consultant and motivational speaker who inspires greatness in others. After being sent to prison for thirteen years, he decided to use the time to educate himself and transform his life into a testament of personal change through the power of education. During his stay he learned and taught classes on personal development, conflict resolution, emotional intelligence, and community reintegration.
Mr. Perez attended Siena College where he has accumulated credits toward a B.S. in Psychology. He currently volunteers at the Police Athletic League where he inspires at-risk youth with his message of the importance of education, and the consequences of a criminal lifestyle.
Recently, Mr. Perez shared his personal story with NYREN and Talking Transition where policy recommendations, for New York’s new mayor-elect Mr. DeBlasio, were presented. He currently resides in New York where he plans on gaining employment in the field of reentry while he completes his education.
Ray Tebout, Director of Counseling and Mentoring, College Initiative
Ray Tebout is interested in creating opportunities for economic and social justice for the underprivileged, particularly those facing the consequences of criminal justice and addiction involvement. Ray is currently the Director of Counseling and Mentoring at The College Initiative, an organization that facilitates pathways from the criminal justice involvement to higher education and beyond. Ray holds a BA in Transitional Counseling Psychology and Economic Empowerment from the City University of New York. He is a Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) and a Credentialed Alcohol and Substance Abuse Counselor (CASAC
As Vice President of Development and Public Affairs and Director of the David Rothenberg Center for Public Policy at the Fortune Society, Mr. Martin is responsible for developing and advancing Fortune’s criminal justice policy advocacy agenda and providing leadership over the agency’s Development and Communication Units. After exiting prison in 2000, Martin began working at the Legal Action Center (LAC), eventually serving as the Co-Director of LAC’s National H.I.R.E. Network (HIRE), a national project dedicated to eliminating barriers to employment for jobseekers with criminal records. In addition to testifying in from of Congress, the US Commission on Civil Rights and the US Senate, Martin has drafted and advanced major legislation to remove barriers to employment in 10 states, co-authored the Independent Committee on Reentry and Employment transition document for former NYS Governor Spitzer, and served as project manager on the largest audit study ever conducted in the US on race and criminal record based discrimination in low-wage labor markets. Additionally, Martin has written and advanced legislation and policy reform proposals in a number of states to remove barriers to housing, education and voting for formerly incarcerated people. Specifically, Martin advocated to the US EEOC for the recently adopted US EEOC Title 7 Guidance on Jobseekers with Arrests and Conviction records.
Mr. Martin is the co-leader of the Education Inside Out Coalition (EIO Coalition) and a former 2011-2012 Americas Leaders of Change National Urban Fellow and a member of the Board of the NY Foundation. He also currently serves on NYC Community Board #10, the NYC Council Task Force to End Gun Violence, NYC Mayor Bloomberg’s Ban the Box Advisory Board, Governor Cuomo’s Executive Work for Success Committee, NYS Executive Reentry Housing Committee, NYS Reentry Task Force, National Network for Safe Communities, the DCJS Service Provider Advisory Committee (SPAC), the Steering Committee of Reentry.net, the Correction Committee of the NYC Bar Association (adjunct), the Policy Committee of Interfaith Coalition of Advocates for Reentry and Employment (ICARE), the Employment Working Group of the NYC Discharge Planning Initiative, the Board of Directors of the College and Community Fellowship and a number of other boards and working groups addressing issues related to the reintegration of people with criminal records. Mr. Martin was born and raised in Bedford Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, NY, and is the son of a retired police officer and brother of a federal correction officer.
Vivian Nixon, Executive Director, College and Community Fellowship
Vivian Nixon is Executive Director of College and Community Fellowship (CCF), an organization committed to removing individual and structural barriers to higher education for women with criminal record histories and their families. She identifies her most valued and life-changing experience as the time she spent as a peer educator in the adult basic education program at Albion State Correctional Facility in New York. Rev. Nixon is ordained by the African Methodist Episcopal Church (AMEC) and currently serves as an associate minister at Mt. Zion AMEC in New York City. She has received multiple honors and awards including the John Jay Medal for Justice, the Ascend Fellowship at the Aspen Institute, the Soros Justice Fellowship, the Petra Foundation Fellowship. Her leadership activities include co-founding the Education Inside Out Coalition (EIO), a collaborative effort to increase access to higher education for justice involved students. Rev. Nixon holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the State University of New York Empire College.
John Gordon, Associate Vice President of Programs, The Fortune Society
John has over twenty-five years of experience in adult education and workforce development. He came to Fortune in 2001 after sixteen years as director of the Open Book, an adult literacy program in Brooklyn, N.Y. He is also the author of More Than a Job: A Curriculum on Work and Society, as well as various articles on literacy and adult education. He currently oversees Fortune’s Education program and its Admissions department.
Bianca Van Heydoorn, Director of Education Initiatives, John Jay's Prisoner Reentery Institute
Bianca joined the Prisoner Reentry Institute as the Director of Educational Initiatives in August 2012. Her primary responsibility is to oversee projects related to increasing engagement, enrollment and retention in higher education for individuals with criminal justice histories. She works closely with institutions of higher education, New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision and other partners on existing projects as well as developing strategies for future initiatives. Bianca comes to PRI with ten years of experience in direct service and program implementation with justice involved populations. Prior to joining PRI, she provided educational and career counseling to young men at Getting Out and Staying Out (GOSO), a reentry program in East Harlem. In addition, Bianca’s previous experience includes employment at the Vera Institute of Justice, Center for Employment Opportunities (CEO) and Girls Educational and Mentoring Services (GEMS) where she worked on juvenile justice reform, youth development, commercial sexual exploitation (CSEC), discharge planning and building government and community partnerships. She was also a 2007-2009 F.A.O. Schwarz Family Foundation Fellow and is published in the Journal of Ethnicity in Criminal Justice. Bianca graduated Magna cum Laude with a Bachelor’s degree in Correctional Sociology from the CUNY Baccalaureate Program for Interdisciplinary Studies and earned a Master’s degree in Criminal Justice from John Jay College of Criminal Justice.
Cheryl Wilkins, Research Scientist and Associate Director, Criminal Justice Initiative: Supporting Children, Families, and Communities (CJI) at the Columbia School of Social Work
Cheryl is the Associate Director of the Criminal Justice Initiative: Supporting Children, Families, and Communities (CJI) at the Columbia School of Social Work, where she works with teens who have an incarcerated parent. As an adjunct lecturer, Cheryl presents on topics that address the needs of families and communities affected by mass incarceration.
Cheryl Wilkins was a Staff Associate at the Center for Institutional and Social Change (CISC). Her work at CISC focused on building the collective impact of the New York Reentry Education Network (NYREN), a collaboration of community-based organizations, city and state government agencies, and institutions of higher education. NYREN's mission is to improve educational access and success for people with criminal justice records and to make education a core component of reentry policy and practice. Cheryl is still an active contributor and member of NYREN as part of her work with CJI.
Stacy Soria, Program Manager, The Doe Fund
Stacy Soria is currently a Program Manager at The Doe Fund; a nonprofit organization that serves homeless Veterans. She has experience working with diverse populations. Her experience ranges from prison re-entry, homeless Veterans, LGBTQ, mentally ill, substance abusers and their families. Stacy has assumed various roles in the field as a Case Manager, Recovery Coach, Group facilitator, Substance Abuse and Academic Counselor. She has also passed the National Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Counselor examination which has qualified her to receive her CASAC credential and has obtained a Masters degree in Public Affairs and Administration this year. Stacy has continued to extend herself to the reentry community as a peer and advocate. She has tirelessly given back as a leader, mentor, role model and trailblazer.
Charzel McGill, Student, Hostos Community College/H.O.L.L.A.
Ronnell Charzel McGill is a certified counselor's aid in social living skills, a gifted orator, performer, advocate for social justice, equal educational opportunities, prison reform, and women's rights. He successfully completed an elective course in Social Change in Black and Latino communities at Vassar College with a 3.75 GPA. That experience fostered a desire for higher education as well as contributing to community development. He then began using his training and personal experiences to provide insight into the various issues that affect today's youth and young adults. Charzel's ultimate goal is to establish and work with a coalition that effectively explores and addresses issues surrounding education, teen violence, re-entry, and criminal justice reform.
Charzel is currently working towards obtaining an AA in Liberal Arts at Hostos Community College with the intent of acquiring a BA and MA in Sociology. He is also associated with H.O.L.L.A (How Our Lives Linked Altogether), a youth mentoring program.
Elizabeth Payamps, Director, Future Now at Bronx Community College
Elizabeth Payamps is the Director of Future Now at Bronx Community College (BCC), a campus-based GED and college enrollment program offering a wide range of classes for students age 16-24. In 2012, Ms. Payamps was recognized by the NY Public Library’s’ prestigious Brooke Russell Astor Award for her significant contribution to New York City. As Director of Future Now (formerly CUNY CATCH), Elizabeth has built a nationally recognized model of a high performing GED and college transition program serving low income and justice involved youth and effective peer mentoring and leadership development programs. In 2011, Future Now’s college focused peer mentoring program, IMPACT, was chosen for replication as part of the NYC Mayor’s Young Men’s Initiative and Ms. Payamps is overseeing the technical assistance to implement the Future Now/IMPACT model at other CUNY campus-based GED programs. She holds a Bachelors Degree in Psychology from Queens College of the City University of New York and a Masters Degree in Administration of Social Work from Hunter College of the City University of New York.
Kevin Cordero, GED Student, Future Now
Kevin is a 17 year-old Bronx native who is working on his GED at Future Now. He recently passed the predictor examination and will be taking his GED exam this month.
Terrance Coffie, Student, Bronx Community College/Computer Lab Manager, The Doe Fund
Terrence Coffie is in his last semester of school at Bronx Community College, majoring in Human Services. Originally from Belle Glade, Florida, a small town outside of Miami, he relocated to New York four years ago in an effort to start his life over. Having came from a very challenging background that involved drugs, prisons and even homelessness, when he had the opportunity to come to New York arose, he took it. After coming to New York, he became involved with The Doe Fund, which gave him an opportunity to re-establish his life. Drawing on the values he learned as a youth, he began to apply those principles of hard work and determination to his endeavors. These efforts paid off in December of 2010, when he not only graduated from the Doe Fund, but was also offered and accepted a position as a staff member in our Community Improvement Project as a dispatcher. Terrance was recently promoted to the Computer Lab Manager, a position that has given him the opportunity to reach out to others who face the same trials and tribulations that he had once faced myself. He shares with students his experiences of life and the importance of education and knowledge as a tool that can change their lives.
Marlon Peterson, Director of Community Relations, David Rothenberg Center for Public Policy, The Fortune Society
Marlon, a Brooklynite by way of Trinidad, WI, is the Director of Community Relations in the David Rothenberg Center for Public Policy at The Fortune Society where he is, among other things, spearheading the project, iLIVE, an anti-gun violence/mental health advocacy initiative. Marlon was the former Associate Director of the Crown Heights Community Mediation Center, and the Center's founding program coordinator for Youth Organizing to Save Our Streets. He also serves as a board member of Families For Freedom, multi-ethnic defense network by and for immigrants facing and fighting deportation. Marlon also co-founded H.O.L.L.A, Inc. a youth development organization geared towards working with young boys and men of color. Lastly, Marlon earned and Associates Degree in Criminal Justice from Ashworth University and is currently a full-time student at New York University, completing a Bachelor's Degree in Organizational Behavior.
Damion Samuels, Director of the Employment Works Program, Fedcap
Damion Samuels has extensive experience helping people overcome significant barriers to education and employment. He was the Director of Community Prep High School, a school for adolescents who have been involved in the justice system. In addition, Mr. Samuels was selected to participate in the Georgetown University Center for Juvenile Justice Reform’s Juvenile Justice and Child Welfare: Multi-System Integration Certificate Program for Private Sector Leaders. He previously served as the Director of the Wildcat Service Corporation’s Back to Work program, and is currently the Director of the Employment Works Program operated by Fedcap.
Mr. Samuels is a skilled facilitator and trainer, having spoken to diverse groups including churches, public, elementary and high schools, community-based organizations and universities. He has served on the Transitional Board of the Connecticut Assets Network and on the Advisory Board of Do Something for The Kids, a Community Based Organization in Brooklyn, NY. Mr. Samuels was profiled in Newsweek columnist Ellis Cose’s Book, The Envy of the World: On Being a Black Man in America.
Mr. Samuels is the proud father of Chike and Kali Samuels.
Yolanda Johnson-Peterkin, Director of Operations for Re-Entry Services, Women's Prison Association
Mrs. Yolanda Johnson-Peterkin is the Director of Operations for Re-Entry Services at the Women's Prison Association, a service and advocacy organization committed to helping women with criminal justice histories realize new possibilities for themselves and their families. Ms. Johnson-Peterkin joined WPA in January 2005 with over 20 years of experience in the Human Service field. Prior to that at the Episcopal Social Services, she was the Director of Network in the Community for New York State Department of Corrections, parole, probation and work release programs. She is active in prison and post-prison reform movements including Community Leadership and Education After Re-Entry (CLEAR) with the Study of Women and Society located at the CUNY Graduate Center. Through the work of CLEAR Mrs. Johnson Peterkin and her peers have published an article in the Race/Ethnicity Journal (2008) titled Life Capacity Beyond Reentry: A Critical Examination of Racism and Prisoner Reentry Reform in the US.
Mrs. Johnson-Peterkin received her Masters degree in Social Work from Hunter College in 2004. The Correctional Association of New York's Women in Prison Project honored her for her exemplary work as an advocate and her dedication to improving the lives of incarcerated and formerly incarcerated women in 2005. In 2008 she also received the Citizens Against Recidivism Vivian Nixon Award for her work to achieve the restoration of all the rights and attributes of citizenship among people in prison or jail and those who have been released.
Yolanda Johnson-Peterkin is a certified Women Offender Case Management trainer with Orbis Partners, Inc. (Ottawa, Ontario) and the National Institute of Corrections providing training in Connecticut, Utah and Maine on gender-responsive approaches to women. The WOCMM projects philosophy and core practices are to engage, assess, enhance motivation, and implement the case plans. The model’s goal is to change the way we work with women in prison starting from the day they enter the system. Mrs. Johnson-Peterkin is an active alumna of the College and Community Fellowship where the mission is to help formerly incarcerated people achieve their goals through higher education.
Johnny Perez, Crime Prevention Consultant
Johnny Perez is a crime prevention consultant and motivational speaker who inspires greatness in others. After being sent to prison for thirteen years, he decided to use the time to educate himself and transform his life into a testament of personal change through the power of education. During his stay he learned and taught classes on personal development, conflict resolution, emotional intelligence, and community reintegration.
Mr. Perez attended Siena College where he has accumulated credits toward a B.S. in Psychology. He currently volunteers at the Police Athletic League where he inspires at-risk youth with his message of the importance of education, and the consequences of a criminal lifestyle.
Recently, Mr. Perez shared his personal story with NYREN and Talking Transition where policy recommendations, for New York’s new mayor-elect Mr. DeBlasio, were presented. He currently resides in New York where he plans on gaining employment in the field of reentry while he completes his education.
Ray Tebout, Director of Counseling and Mentoring, College Initiative
Ray Tebout is interested in creating opportunities for economic and social justice for the underprivileged, particularly those facing the consequences of criminal justice and addiction involvement. Ray is currently the Director of Counseling and Mentoring at The College Initiative, an organization that facilitates pathways from the criminal justice involvement to higher education and beyond. Ray holds a BA in Transitional Counseling Psychology and Economic Empowerment from the City University of New York. He is a Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) and a Credentialed Alcohol and Substance Abuse Counselor (CASAC