Pathways of Possibility Conference Bios
Speakers
Dr. Brenda Dann-Messier, Assistant Secretary, US Department of Education, Office of Vocational and Adult Education
Dr. Brenda Dann-Messier leads the Department’s efforts in adult education and career and technical education, as well as efforts supporting community colleges and correctional education. She oversees the administration of 11 grant programs in these areas, totaling approximately $1.6 billion annually. Dann-Messier is committed to collaboration, both within the Department and across federal agencies, including working with the U.S. Departments of Labor, Agriculture, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security and Commerce. From 1993 to 1996, Dann-Messier worked for the Clinton administration under Secretary Richard Riley, serving as the Secretary’s Regional Representative for Region I, which includes Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont. Prior to returning to the Department, Dann-Messier served for a decade as President of the Dorcas Place Adult and Family Learning Center, a community-based adult education agency based in Providence, Rhode Island. Under her leadership, Dorcas Place expanded to serve more than 1,000 adults statewide through a range of programs, including day and evening adult basic education, adult secondary education, English for speakers of other languages, GED classes, financial literacy education and sector-based workforce education and job training programs linked with employers and industry, including sector-based career academies. Dann-Messier also established and chaired the Advisory Council of Dorcas Place which opened the Rhode Island Welcome Back Center, one of only seven programs in the nation to help foreign-trained health professionals enter the health care workforce. Dann-Messier currently serves as Secretary Duncan’s representative for the Skills for America’s Future taskforce.
Dr. Brenda Dann-Messier leads the Department’s efforts in adult education and career and technical education, as well as efforts supporting community colleges and correctional education. She oversees the administration of 11 grant programs in these areas, totaling approximately $1.6 billion annually. Dann-Messier is committed to collaboration, both within the Department and across federal agencies, including working with the U.S. Departments of Labor, Agriculture, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security and Commerce. From 1993 to 1996, Dann-Messier worked for the Clinton administration under Secretary Richard Riley, serving as the Secretary’s Regional Representative for Region I, which includes Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont. Prior to returning to the Department, Dann-Messier served for a decade as President of the Dorcas Place Adult and Family Learning Center, a community-based adult education agency based in Providence, Rhode Island. Under her leadership, Dorcas Place expanded to serve more than 1,000 adults statewide through a range of programs, including day and evening adult basic education, adult secondary education, English for speakers of other languages, GED classes, financial literacy education and sector-based workforce education and job training programs linked with employers and industry, including sector-based career academies. Dann-Messier also established and chaired the Advisory Council of Dorcas Place which opened the Rhode Island Welcome Back Center, one of only seven programs in the nation to help foreign-trained health professionals enter the health care workforce. Dann-Messier currently serves as Secretary Duncan’s representative for the Skills for America’s Future taskforce.
Brian Fischer, Commissioner, New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision
Brian Fischer was appointed Acting Commissioner of the New York State Department of Correctional Services effective January 1, 2007, was confirmed as Commissioner by the NY State Senate on March 12, 2007, and with the passage of the 2011-12 State Budget, is now Commissioner of the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision. Commissioner Fischer leads the nation’s fourth-largest state correctional system with approximately 56,000 individuals incarcerated in 60 facilities and is responsible for the community supervision of approximately 38,000 parolees. Mr. Fischer began his career with the New York State Narcotic Addiction Control Commission in 1968, working as an Aftercare (Parole) Officer. In 1975, he transferred into the Department of Correctional Services with the title of Assistant Director, Drug Treatment Center. In 1991 he was appointed Superintendent of the Queensboro Correctional Facility and Supervising Superintendent for the New York City region. He coordinated the development of the agency’s work release program and the conversion of Queensboro into a pre-release, re-entry facility. Mr. Fischer was appointed Superintendent of the Sing Sing Correctional Facility in 2000 and continued to serve as the New York City region's Supervising Superintendent. While at Sing Sing he implemented, along with the Office of Mental Health, a comprehensive transitional pre-release program for inmates with serious mental health needs. In addition, he championed several non-traditional programs, some of which have become models for other prisons: college, theater, and domestic violence and parenting skills for men. Commissioner Fischer has received recognition by a number of organizations, most recently: the Public Service Award from the Community College Fellowship, City University of New York, 2009; Warden of the Year Award from the North American Association of Wardens and Superintendents for his work at Sing Sing in 2006; and the New York State Bar Association Award for Outstanding Contribution in the Field of Corrections, 2011. Mr. Fischer has been an adjunct professor at both Pace University and John Jay College of Criminal Justice. He is also a member of the American Correctional Association, the North American Association of Wardens and Superintendents, the New York Corrections and Youth Services Association and, until his appointment as Commissioner, the New York State Association of Correctional Facility Superintendents. Commissioner Fischer sits on the board of two non-profit organizations: Hudson Link for Higher Education, a program that provides college education degrees to individuals incarcerated in prison, and Puppies Behind Bars, a program that allows inmates to raise puppies that are then trained to be Seeing Eye dogs and, most recently, as special service dogs for disabled veterans. Commissioner Fischer also sits on the Standards Committee of the American Correctional Association, a national accreditation body that sets performance standards for US prisons and jails. He is on the Executive Board of the Association of State Correctional Administrators, which is made up of individuals who run state and local prison and jail systems across the country, and a member of the Criminal Justice Advisory Board of St. Thomas Aquinas College. As Commissioner, Mr. Fischer was appointed by Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman as a member of the NYS Permanent Commission on Sentencing. Mr. Fischer holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology, a Master’s Degree in Guidance and Counseling, and a Master’s Degree in Professional Studies.
Brian Fischer was appointed Acting Commissioner of the New York State Department of Correctional Services effective January 1, 2007, was confirmed as Commissioner by the NY State Senate on March 12, 2007, and with the passage of the 2011-12 State Budget, is now Commissioner of the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision. Commissioner Fischer leads the nation’s fourth-largest state correctional system with approximately 56,000 individuals incarcerated in 60 facilities and is responsible for the community supervision of approximately 38,000 parolees. Mr. Fischer began his career with the New York State Narcotic Addiction Control Commission in 1968, working as an Aftercare (Parole) Officer. In 1975, he transferred into the Department of Correctional Services with the title of Assistant Director, Drug Treatment Center. In 1991 he was appointed Superintendent of the Queensboro Correctional Facility and Supervising Superintendent for the New York City region. He coordinated the development of the agency’s work release program and the conversion of Queensboro into a pre-release, re-entry facility. Mr. Fischer was appointed Superintendent of the Sing Sing Correctional Facility in 2000 and continued to serve as the New York City region's Supervising Superintendent. While at Sing Sing he implemented, along with the Office of Mental Health, a comprehensive transitional pre-release program for inmates with serious mental health needs. In addition, he championed several non-traditional programs, some of which have become models for other prisons: college, theater, and domestic violence and parenting skills for men. Commissioner Fischer has received recognition by a number of organizations, most recently: the Public Service Award from the Community College Fellowship, City University of New York, 2009; Warden of the Year Award from the North American Association of Wardens and Superintendents for his work at Sing Sing in 2006; and the New York State Bar Association Award for Outstanding Contribution in the Field of Corrections, 2011. Mr. Fischer has been an adjunct professor at both Pace University and John Jay College of Criminal Justice. He is also a member of the American Correctional Association, the North American Association of Wardens and Superintendents, the New York Corrections and Youth Services Association and, until his appointment as Commissioner, the New York State Association of Correctional Facility Superintendents. Commissioner Fischer sits on the board of two non-profit organizations: Hudson Link for Higher Education, a program that provides college education degrees to individuals incarcerated in prison, and Puppies Behind Bars, a program that allows inmates to raise puppies that are then trained to be Seeing Eye dogs and, most recently, as special service dogs for disabled veterans. Commissioner Fischer also sits on the Standards Committee of the American Correctional Association, a national accreditation body that sets performance standards for US prisons and jails. He is on the Executive Board of the Association of State Correctional Administrators, which is made up of individuals who run state and local prison and jail systems across the country, and a member of the Criminal Justice Advisory Board of St. Thomas Aquinas College. As Commissioner, Mr. Fischer was appointed by Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman as a member of the NYS Permanent Commission on Sentencing. Mr. Fischer holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology, a Master’s Degree in Guidance and Counseling, and a Master’s Degree in Professional Studies.
Linda Gibbs, Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services, NYC
Linda I. Gibbs is the Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services. As Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services, Gibbs oversees the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, Human Resources Administration, Administration for Children's Services, Department of Homeless Services, Department for the Aging, Health and Hospitals Corporation, Department of Correction, Department of Probation, Department of Juvenile Justice, Office of Health Insurance Access, and the HIV Health and Human Services Planning Council. Prior to her appointment as Deputy Mayor, Gibbs was the Commissioner of the Department of Homeless Services. During the Giuliani Administration, Gibbs served as the Deputy Commissioner for Management and Planning for the Administration for Children's Services. Since her graduation from SUNY Buffalo School of Law in 1985, Gibbs has served in various positions in New York City's government. She has also served in the New York City Council as Special Advisor to the Director of the Finance Division and at the Mayor's Office of Management and Budget as Deputy Director for Social Services.
Linda I. Gibbs is the Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services. As Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services, Gibbs oversees the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, Human Resources Administration, Administration for Children's Services, Department of Homeless Services, Department for the Aging, Health and Hospitals Corporation, Department of Correction, Department of Probation, Department of Juvenile Justice, Office of Health Insurance Access, and the HIV Health and Human Services Planning Council. Prior to her appointment as Deputy Mayor, Gibbs was the Commissioner of the Department of Homeless Services. During the Giuliani Administration, Gibbs served as the Deputy Commissioner for Management and Planning for the Administration for Children's Services. Since her graduation from SUNY Buffalo School of Law in 1985, Gibbs has served in various positions in New York City's government. She has also served in the New York City Council as Special Advisor to the Director of the Finance Division and at the Mayor's Office of Management and Budget as Deputy Director for Social Services.
Glenn Martin, Vice President of Development and Public Affairs and Director of the David Rothenberg Center for Public Policy at 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, Glenn 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 front 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 six 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. Martin has appeared on several national news outlets, including CNN, MSNBC and CSPAN, and served as an expert on local television and radio, contributing on the controversial issue of Stop and Frisk, as well as a number of other topics such as policing, alternatives to incarceration and reentry issues. In addition to television appearances, Martin hosts a NYC- based cable television show, Both Sides of the Bars, where he engages criminal justice stakeholders and the local community in conversations about criminal justice reform. Mr. Martin is 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. Glenn Martin received his BA in Social Science from Canisius University in 2000.
As Vice President of Development and Public Affairs and Director of the David Rothenberg Center for Public Policy at the Fortune Society, Glenn 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 front 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 six 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. Martin has appeared on several national news outlets, including CNN, MSNBC and CSPAN, and served as an expert on local television and radio, contributing on the controversial issue of Stop and Frisk, as well as a number of other topics such as policing, alternatives to incarceration and reentry issues. In addition to television appearances, Martin hosts a NYC- based cable television show, Both Sides of the Bars, where he engages criminal justice stakeholders and the local community in conversations about criminal justice reform. Mr. Martin is 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. Glenn Martin received his BA in Social Science from Canisius University in 2000.
Felix Matos Rodriguez, President, Eugenio María de Hostos Community College of The City University of New York (CUNY)
Félix V. Matos Rodríguez took office as the 6th President of Eugenio María de Hostos Community College of The City University of New York (CUNY) on July 1, 2009. Trained as a social scientist, Dr. Matos Rodríguez previously held leadership positions in foundations, universities, policy centers, and branches of government in which he combined his scholarship with social policy, advocacy, and change. He has also served as director of the Center for Puerto Rican Studies at Hunter, which is one of the largest and most important Latino research centers in the United States. In addition, Dr. Matos Rodríguez is part of the History Department at CUNY’s Graduate Center. While at Hostos, Dr. Matos Rodríguez is on leave from his tenured position as a Professor of Black and Puerto Rican/Latino Studies at Hunter College of CUNY, where he teaches courses on Caribbean, Latin American, and Latino history. Prior to his work at Hunter College, Dr. Matos Rodríguez was a Program Officer at the Social Science Research Council in New York City and a faculty member at Northeastern University in Boston. He has also held visiting and adjunct teaching appointments at Yale University, Boston College, City College (CUNY) and the Universidad Interamericana--Recinto Metro. In 2008, Dr. Matos Rodríguez finished his service as Secretary of the Department of the Family for the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico managing an annual budget of $2.2 billion. Dr. Matos Rodríguez oversaw nearly 11,000 employees. Earlier, he had served as Senior Social Welfare and Health Advisor to the Governor of Puerto Rico. Dr. Matos Rodríguez is currently serving a three-year term as a Board Member of the American Council on Education (ACE). He is also a Board Member of the Bronx Chamber of Commerce, the National Community College Hispanic Council, and FedCap. In the past, he has been a board member of ASPIRA of New York, Inc., and Phipps Community Development Corporation, as well as the community advisory board of El Diario/La Prensa. Dr. Matos Rodríguez has received numerous awards for community service, including recognition for excellence in education from the New York State Senate and Assembly’s Puerto Rican/Latino Caucus in 2002, a special recognition from the New York City Council during Hispanic Heritage Month in 2003, selected as “Man of the Year” by the New York City League of Puerto Rican Women in 2009, received El Diario/La Prensa “EL Award” in 2009, “Educator of the Year” in 2009 by the National Dominican Roundtable, Effective Leadership Award by the Latino Center on Aging in 2011, the Academic Leader of the Year Award by the Association of Hispanic Healthcare Executives (AHHE), and the National Hispanic Chamber of Commerce on Health in 2011. Dr. Matos Rodríguez is a graduate of Colegio San Ignacio High School in San Juan, Puerto Rico. His undergraduate studies were at Yale University, where he graduated cum laude in Latin American Studies. He received his Ph.D. in history from Columbia University.
Félix V. Matos Rodríguez took office as the 6th President of Eugenio María de Hostos Community College of The City University of New York (CUNY) on July 1, 2009. Trained as a social scientist, Dr. Matos Rodríguez previously held leadership positions in foundations, universities, policy centers, and branches of government in which he combined his scholarship with social policy, advocacy, and change. He has also served as director of the Center for Puerto Rican Studies at Hunter, which is one of the largest and most important Latino research centers in the United States. In addition, Dr. Matos Rodríguez is part of the History Department at CUNY’s Graduate Center. While at Hostos, Dr. Matos Rodríguez is on leave from his tenured position as a Professor of Black and Puerto Rican/Latino Studies at Hunter College of CUNY, where he teaches courses on Caribbean, Latin American, and Latino history. Prior to his work at Hunter College, Dr. Matos Rodríguez was a Program Officer at the Social Science Research Council in New York City and a faculty member at Northeastern University in Boston. He has also held visiting and adjunct teaching appointments at Yale University, Boston College, City College (CUNY) and the Universidad Interamericana--Recinto Metro. In 2008, Dr. Matos Rodríguez finished his service as Secretary of the Department of the Family for the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico managing an annual budget of $2.2 billion. Dr. Matos Rodríguez oversaw nearly 11,000 employees. Earlier, he had served as Senior Social Welfare and Health Advisor to the Governor of Puerto Rico. Dr. Matos Rodríguez is currently serving a three-year term as a Board Member of the American Council on Education (ACE). He is also a Board Member of the Bronx Chamber of Commerce, the National Community College Hispanic Council, and FedCap. In the past, he has been a board member of ASPIRA of New York, Inc., and Phipps Community Development Corporation, as well as the community advisory board of El Diario/La Prensa. Dr. Matos Rodríguez has received numerous awards for community service, including recognition for excellence in education from the New York State Senate and Assembly’s Puerto Rican/Latino Caucus in 2002, a special recognition from the New York City Council during Hispanic Heritage Month in 2003, selected as “Man of the Year” by the New York City League of Puerto Rican Women in 2009, received El Diario/La Prensa “EL Award” in 2009, “Educator of the Year” in 2009 by the National Dominican Roundtable, Effective Leadership Award by the Latino Center on Aging in 2011, the Academic Leader of the Year Award by the Association of Hispanic Healthcare Executives (AHHE), and the National Hispanic Chamber of Commerce on Health in 2011. Dr. Matos Rodríguez is a graduate of Colegio San Ignacio High School in San Juan, Puerto Rico. His undergraduate studies were at Yale University, where he graduated cum laude in Latin American Studies. He received his Ph.D. in history from Columbia University.
Vivian D. Nixon, Executive Director, College and Community Fellowship
Rev. Vivian Nixon is the Executive Director of College and Community Fellowship (CCF), an innovative organization that assists formerly incarcerated women in pursuit of higher education, leadership skills, and career paths that lead to economic security. Rev. Nixon came to CCF in 2001 as a student, following a period of incarceration during which, as a peer educator to other incarcerated women, she became painfully aware that lack of education severely impedes the ability to escape the cycle of poverty and recidivism. The number of women to benefit from CCF’s academic support program has grown exponentially under her leadership. More than 200 CCF participants have earned college and graduate degrees. Fewer than 2 percent have had subsequent criminal justice involvement. Rev. Nixon serves on the board of directors of the Fortune Society, has received multiple honors including the John Jay Justice Award, the Ascend Fellowship, the Soros Justice Fellowship, the Petra Foundation Fellowship, the Hudson Link for Higher Education Brian Fischer Award, the Citizens Against Recidivism Mary McLeod Bethune Award, and the Correctional Association of New York Lifting As We Climb Award. Her leadership in educational advocacy includes co-founding “Education from the Inside Out,” a collaborative campaign to increase access to higher education for incarcerated and formerly incarcerated students.
Rev. Vivian Nixon is the Executive Director of College and Community Fellowship (CCF), an innovative organization that assists formerly incarcerated women in pursuit of higher education, leadership skills, and career paths that lead to economic security. Rev. Nixon came to CCF in 2001 as a student, following a period of incarceration during which, as a peer educator to other incarcerated women, she became painfully aware that lack of education severely impedes the ability to escape the cycle of poverty and recidivism. The number of women to benefit from CCF’s academic support program has grown exponentially under her leadership. More than 200 CCF participants have earned college and graduate degrees. Fewer than 2 percent have had subsequent criminal justice involvement. Rev. Nixon serves on the board of directors of the Fortune Society, has received multiple honors including the John Jay Justice Award, the Ascend Fellowship, the Soros Justice Fellowship, the Petra Foundation Fellowship, the Hudson Link for Higher Education Brian Fischer Award, the Citizens Against Recidivism Mary McLeod Bethune Award, and the Correctional Association of New York Lifting As We Climb Award. Her leadership in educational advocacy includes co-founding “Education from the Inside Out,” a collaborative campaign to increase access to higher education for incarcerated and formerly incarcerated students.
Panelists
Tom Andriola, Director of Policy and Implementation, Office of the Deputy Secretary for Public Safety
Tom Andriola is responsible for facilitating the progress and implementation of the juvenile justice reform initiatives included in the Strategic Planning Action Committee’s (SPAC) strategic plan, and advising the Deputy Secretary on other key public safety and cross systems initiatives. Mr. Andriola also currently serves as Vice President of the Mohonasen Board of Education in Rotterdam, New York. Prior to his position with Deputy Secretary Glazer, Mr. Andriola served as Assistant Chief Budget Examiner for the New York State Division of the Budget, and as Deputy Budget Director for the New York State Assembly Ways and Means Committee. He also spent some time working in the private sector prior to joining public service. Mr. Andriola received an M.A. in Economics from the State University of New York at Albany in 1996 and a B.S. in Economics in 1993 from Siena College, which included a semester abroad at the Institute for American Universities in Aix-en-Provence, France.
Tom Andriola is responsible for facilitating the progress and implementation of the juvenile justice reform initiatives included in the Strategic Planning Action Committee’s (SPAC) strategic plan, and advising the Deputy Secretary on other key public safety and cross systems initiatives. Mr. Andriola also currently serves as Vice President of the Mohonasen Board of Education in Rotterdam, New York. Prior to his position with Deputy Secretary Glazer, Mr. Andriola served as Assistant Chief Budget Examiner for the New York State Division of the Budget, and as Deputy Budget Director for the New York State Assembly Ways and Means Committee. He also spent some time working in the private sector prior to joining public service. Mr. Andriola received an M.A. in Economics from the State University of New York at Albany in 1996 and a B.S. in Economics in 1993 from Siena College, which included a semester abroad at the Institute for American Universities in Aix-en-Provence, France.
Eric Appleton, Senior Director of Education, Fortune Society
Eric has worked in adult education for more than 10 years. He came to the Fortune Society as a literacy volunteer in 1999 and has been here ever since. Over the years, he has taught literacy through GED-level classes in reading, writing and math, as well as technology and ESOL classes. He has a BA in Creative Writing & Literature from the University of Colorado. In 2012, Eric was certified as a trainer of the Advancing Youth Development curriculum. Eric has run Fortune’s education program since 2007.
Eric has worked in adult education for more than 10 years. He came to the Fortune Society as a literacy volunteer in 1999 and has been here ever since. Over the years, he has taught literacy through GED-level classes in reading, writing and math, as well as technology and ESOL classes. He has a BA in Creative Writing & Literature from the University of Colorado. In 2012, Eric was certified as a trainer of the Advancing Youth Development curriculum. Eric has run Fortune’s education program since 2007.
Mark Bodrick, Coordinator of Rikers Outreach, Future Now at Bronx Community College
Mark earned his GED at the Rikers Island Educational Facility (RIEF) in 1998. While at Rikers he met Elizabeth Payamps, Director of Future Now. Upon his release, Mark followed up on that connection and, with the help of Future Now ((then CUNY CATCH), enrolled at Bronx Community College where he earned his Associate's Degree in Computer Information System. He is currently attending Lehman College, working toward his BA in Social Work and plans on “continuing my education until I achieve my Ph.D.” Mark has been working with justice involved populations since 2000 and currently serves as the Coordinator in charge of Rikers Outreach and supervises peer mentors involved in corrections-based outreach, training and support for incarcerated and reentry students in Future Now’s nationally recognized GED and College Prep programs at Bronx Community College.
Mark earned his GED at the Rikers Island Educational Facility (RIEF) in 1998. While at Rikers he met Elizabeth Payamps, Director of Future Now. Upon his release, Mark followed up on that connection and, with the help of Future Now ((then CUNY CATCH), enrolled at Bronx Community College where he earned his Associate's Degree in Computer Information System. He is currently attending Lehman College, working toward his BA in Social Work and plans on “continuing my education until I achieve my Ph.D.” Mark has been working with justice involved populations since 2000 and currently serves as the Coordinator in charge of Rikers Outreach and supervises peer mentors involved in corrections-based outreach, training and support for incarcerated and reentry students in Future Now’s nationally recognized GED and College Prep programs at Bronx Community College.
Leslie Campbell, Intake/Recruitment/Support Coordinator, College and Community Fellowship
Leslie Campbell is a formerly incarcerated woman who has reclaimed her life through education. After being released from prison, Leslie joined the College and Community Fellowship as a fellow and found hope for the future in higher education. She earned an A.A. degree at Borough of Manhattan Community College and a B.A. in Forensic Psychology from John Jay College of Criminal Justice. She is now back in school to obtain a Masters Degree in Forensic Mental Health Counseling. While she pursues her long term goals, Leslie works full time at CCF as the Intake/Recruitment/Support Coordinator doing outreach, counseling, and mentoring her peers. Her experience includes working at other wonderful organizations such as the Doe Fund, Inc., Minority Task Force on AIDS, and The Women’s Prison Association as an Administrative Assistant, Case Manager Technician, and Peer Educator. She is an active public speaker who encourages and motivates other adult learners to move beyond their criminal record. She is also an active participant in the College and Community Fellowship’s Theater for Social Change. Leslie has received numerous awards such as the Calvin Miles Award for Student Leadership in Adult Education from the NYC Mayor’s Office of Adult Education and has been inducted into two academic honor societies: Phi Theta Kappa International Honor Society and Chi Alpha Epsilon National Honor Society. Leslie’s story is proof of what CCF has always known: Education works. Not just for individuals, but for families, and communities as well.
Leslie Campbell is a formerly incarcerated woman who has reclaimed her life through education. After being released from prison, Leslie joined the College and Community Fellowship as a fellow and found hope for the future in higher education. She earned an A.A. degree at Borough of Manhattan Community College and a B.A. in Forensic Psychology from John Jay College of Criminal Justice. She is now back in school to obtain a Masters Degree in Forensic Mental Health Counseling. While she pursues her long term goals, Leslie works full time at CCF as the Intake/Recruitment/Support Coordinator doing outreach, counseling, and mentoring her peers. Her experience includes working at other wonderful organizations such as the Doe Fund, Inc., Minority Task Force on AIDS, and The Women’s Prison Association as an Administrative Assistant, Case Manager Technician, and Peer Educator. She is an active public speaker who encourages and motivates other adult learners to move beyond their criminal record. She is also an active participant in the College and Community Fellowship’s Theater for Social Change. Leslie has received numerous awards such as the Calvin Miles Award for Student Leadership in Adult Education from the NYC Mayor’s Office of Adult Education and has been inducted into two academic honor societies: Phi Theta Kappa International Honor Society and Chi Alpha Epsilon National Honor Society. Leslie’s story is proof of what CCF has always known: Education works. Not just for individuals, but for families, and communities as well.
Michael Carey, Executive Director, College Initiative
Michael Carey has been working with the program since its founding. He facilitated the design of a pilot peer mentoring program for CI. He also helped to design and implement the college preparation program, including providing direct instruction in reading and establishing the volunteer tutor component. He is responsible for the development and management of all CI programs. He holds a BA with a dual major in Philosophy and Fine Arts from the University of Sydney in Australia and a MA in Philosophy from the New School for Social Research. Prior to joining CI, Michael worked in publishing in Australia and in New York City.
Michael Carey has been working with the program since its founding. He facilitated the design of a pilot peer mentoring program for CI. He also helped to design and implement the college preparation program, including providing direct instruction in reading and establishing the volunteer tutor component. He is responsible for the development and management of all CI programs. He holds a BA with a dual major in Philosophy and Fine Arts from the University of Sydney in Australia and a MA in Philosophy from the New School for Social Research. Prior to joining CI, Michael worked in publishing in Australia and in New York City.
Bruce Carmel, Senior Director of Postsecondary Planning, FEGS
Bruce Carmel has been an educator for over twenty-five years. He has worked in public schools, colleges and universities, libraries, summer camps and community-based organizations. In addition, Dr. Carmel is a leading literacy advocate at the city, state, and national level. He is a founding member of the New York Coalition for Adult Literacy and currently serves on that group’s Steering Committee. He also sits on the Board of Directors of the New York Association for Continuing/Community Education. Working with New York City Councilwoman Sara Gonzalez, Dr. Carmel was instrumental in creating the Council’s first Adult Literacy Initiative, resulting in additional literacy services for thousands of New Yorkers throughout the city. Before coming to FEGS, Dr. Carmel served as Deputy Executive Director of Educational Services at Turning Point, a community-based organization in southwest Brooklyn, where he was successful at increasing funding levels for education. Under his leadership, adult basic education, GED instruction, English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL), youth leadership, and college preparation programs were greatly expanded. Other projects have included creating lesson plan units for PBS’s Channel Thirteen’s Adult Ed Online; helping develop www.firstfind.org, an online library for low-literate adults; and writing a pre-vocational training guide for heating, ventilation, and air conditioning technicians. Bruce earned his Bachelor of General Studies degree at the University of Cincinnati, and his Master’s Degree and Ph. D. from New York University. His dissertation was an ethnographic study of the causes of illiteracy among adults.
Bruce Carmel has been an educator for over twenty-five years. He has worked in public schools, colleges and universities, libraries, summer camps and community-based organizations. In addition, Dr. Carmel is a leading literacy advocate at the city, state, and national level. He is a founding member of the New York Coalition for Adult Literacy and currently serves on that group’s Steering Committee. He also sits on the Board of Directors of the New York Association for Continuing/Community Education. Working with New York City Councilwoman Sara Gonzalez, Dr. Carmel was instrumental in creating the Council’s first Adult Literacy Initiative, resulting in additional literacy services for thousands of New Yorkers throughout the city. Before coming to FEGS, Dr. Carmel served as Deputy Executive Director of Educational Services at Turning Point, a community-based organization in southwest Brooklyn, where he was successful at increasing funding levels for education. Under his leadership, adult basic education, GED instruction, English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL), youth leadership, and college preparation programs were greatly expanded. Other projects have included creating lesson plan units for PBS’s Channel Thirteen’s Adult Ed Online; helping develop www.firstfind.org, an online library for low-literate adults; and writing a pre-vocational training guide for heating, ventilation, and air conditioning technicians. Bruce earned his Bachelor of General Studies degree at the University of Cincinnati, and his Master’s Degree and Ph. D. from New York University. His dissertation was an ethnographic study of the causes of illiteracy among adults.
Ronald Day, Program Coordinator, Workforce Development
Ronald F. Day is employed as a Program Coordinator in Workforce Development for the Osborne Association, where he works diligently to help formerly incarcerated people secure employment and have long-term stability. He has a wealth of knowledge about the criminal justice system, and is familiar with the litany of issues that people face in prison and as they transition back into society. He is passionate about reentry, reducing recidivism, and seeing people that have been in conflict with the law lead productive lives.Ronald has a Bachelor of Science degree in Business, Management and Economics from Empire State College (SUNY), and a Master’s in Public Administration degree, with a concentration in Nonprofit Administration, from Baruch College (CUNY). He is currently a Ph.D. student in Criminal Justice at the CUNY Graduate Center / John Jay College of Criminal Justice.
Ronald F. Day is employed as a Program Coordinator in Workforce Development for the Osborne Association, where he works diligently to help formerly incarcerated people secure employment and have long-term stability. He has a wealth of knowledge about the criminal justice system, and is familiar with the litany of issues that people face in prison and as they transition back into society. He is passionate about reentry, reducing recidivism, and seeing people that have been in conflict with the law lead productive lives.Ronald has a Bachelor of Science degree in Business, Management and Economics from Empire State College (SUNY), and a Master’s in Public Administration degree, with a concentration in Nonprofit Administration, from Baruch College (CUNY). He is currently a Ph.D. student in Criminal Justice at the CUNY Graduate Center / John Jay College of Criminal Justice.
Panelist, Collective Impact Strategy for Reentry Education
Facilitator, The Interdependence of Employment, Workforce Development, and Reentry Education, Afternoon Panel
Daniel Diaz, Assistant Executive Director of Programs, East Side House
Daniel Diaz is the Assistant Executive Director of Programs at East Side House Settlement (ESH), one of the oldest Settlement Houses in the Greater New York area. He is responsible for all school and community based programs, serving in and out of school youth ages 5-24. Daniel focuses on leadership, performance management, program development, advocacy and fundraising to create avenues of success for ESH's participants. A staple of his work is blending social services with academics from kindergarten through the second year of college. He received his BA in Psychology from Baruch College and his MSW in Administration from Fordham University.
Daniel Diaz is the Assistant Executive Director of Programs at East Side House Settlement (ESH), one of the oldest Settlement Houses in the Greater New York area. He is responsible for all school and community based programs, serving in and out of school youth ages 5-24. Daniel focuses on leadership, performance management, program development, advocacy and fundraising to create avenues of success for ESH's participants. A staple of his work is blending social services with academics from kindergarten through the second year of college. He received his BA in Psychology from Baruch College and his MSW in Administration from Fordham University.
Leon Digard, Research Associate, Center on Sentencing and Corrections, Vera Institute of Justice
Léon joined Vera in July 2010. As the lead researcher on CSC’s Los Angeles Jail Overcrowding Reduction study, he linked massive data sets from the courts, the jail, and the prosecutor’s office to develop a picture of the population in the criminal justice system and the time frames in which significant steps in case processing took place. Since then, Léon has led an implementation and impact evaluation of a case management system in Multnomah County, Oregon. He has also evaluated the College Initiative’s mentoring program (a support system for ex-prisoners entering college in New York City), and conducted fieldwork in South Sudan with the International Program. Léon came to Vera from England where he received a Bachelor of Science in psychology from the University of London and a master’s degree and PhD in criminology from the University of Cambridge. For his doctoral thesis, Léon examined perceptions and experiences of community management among a sample of paroled sex offenders and their supervising officers,with a special focus on the working relationships that developed between the two. Prior to that, Léon worked as a research assistant for the Prisons Research Center at the Institute of Criminology, University of Cambridge.
Léon joined Vera in July 2010. As the lead researcher on CSC’s Los Angeles Jail Overcrowding Reduction study, he linked massive data sets from the courts, the jail, and the prosecutor’s office to develop a picture of the population in the criminal justice system and the time frames in which significant steps in case processing took place. Since then, Léon has led an implementation and impact evaluation of a case management system in Multnomah County, Oregon. He has also evaluated the College Initiative’s mentoring program (a support system for ex-prisoners entering college in New York City), and conducted fieldwork in South Sudan with the International Program. Léon came to Vera from England where he received a Bachelor of Science in psychology from the University of London and a master’s degree and PhD in criminology from the University of Cambridge. For his doctoral thesis, Léon examined perceptions and experiences of community management among a sample of paroled sex offenders and their supervising officers,with a special focus on the working relationships that developed between the two. Prior to that, Léon worked as a research assistant for the Prisons Research Center at the Institute of Criminology, University of Cambridge.
Panelist, The Power of Peers, Afternoon Panel
Mark Ferrante, Senior Policy Advisor to the Commissioner, New York City Department of Probation
In his position as Senior Policy Advisor, Mark staffs the New York City Juvenile Justice Advisory Committee, its subcommittees and the Coalition guiding the implementation of a Crossover Youth Practice Model for the City. Mark also is the Commissioner’s liaison to the Alternative to Detention (ATD) and Disproportionate Minority Contact (DMC) citywide workgroups. Prior to coming to New York City, Mark has held various positions in the juvenile justice and children’s services fields for more than twenty (20) years. Most recently, Mark was the Director for Leadership and Training Programs at the Coalition for Juvenile Justice (CJJ), a national non-profit organization based in Washington, DC. Prior to his employment at CJJ, Mark was the Juvenile Justice Specialist for the State of New Jersey from 2000-2007 and a Director for Youth Services in Mercer County, NJ from 1992-2000.Mark has conducted various trainings and presentations in his previous positions, most notably for governor’s appointed state advisory groups on juvenile justice.
In his position as Senior Policy Advisor, Mark staffs the New York City Juvenile Justice Advisory Committee, its subcommittees and the Coalition guiding the implementation of a Crossover Youth Practice Model for the City. Mark also is the Commissioner’s liaison to the Alternative to Detention (ATD) and Disproportionate Minority Contact (DMC) citywide workgroups. Prior to coming to New York City, Mark has held various positions in the juvenile justice and children’s services fields for more than twenty (20) years. Most recently, Mark was the Director for Leadership and Training Programs at the Coalition for Juvenile Justice (CJJ), a national non-profit organization based in Washington, DC. Prior to his employment at CJJ, Mark was the Juvenile Justice Specialist for the State of New Jersey from 2000-2007 and a Director for Youth Services in Mercer County, NJ from 1992-2000.Mark has conducted various trainings and presentations in his previous positions, most notably for governor’s appointed state advisory groups on juvenile justice.
Abrigal Forrester, Associate Director for Advocacy and Public Policy, Youth Build USA
Abrigal Forrester is the Associate Director for Advocacy and Public Policy at YouthBuild USA. He is also managing the National Council of Young Leaders which is comprised of 16 young leaders from across the country nominated as members of the council, from seven nationally recognized youth organizations. Abrigal received his education from the University of Massachusetts Boston, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology. At the age of 21, Abrigal faced his greatest challenge because of the choices he made to engage in unproductive behaviors as a young man. He ended up getting sentenced to a ten year mandatory sentence as a first time offender. He spent his entire twenties incarcerated from 1991 to 2001. During that time Abrigal worked very hard to transform his thinking and his life through education and preparing to enter the workforce upon his release. Since being released from Incarceration Abrigal has worked with court-involved youth, low income populations, and chronically unemployed individuals for over 10 years. His previous work was with the Boston Foundation’s Street Safe Boston initiative, providing services for gang involved youth who have been identified as the drivers of crime and violence within the City of Boston. He also worked for the Urban League of Eastern Massachusetts (ULEM) as the Manager of the Employment Resource Center. In addition, Abrigal worked for STRIVE, Boston Employment Service, Inc., where he played an essential role in developing a re-entry workforce development program for previously incarcerated adults. He then worked closely with the Sheriff of the Suffolk County House of Corrections and her administration in-order design and deliver“behind the walls” job readiness training and transitional assistance to inmates.
Abrigal Forrester is the Associate Director for Advocacy and Public Policy at YouthBuild USA. He is also managing the National Council of Young Leaders which is comprised of 16 young leaders from across the country nominated as members of the council, from seven nationally recognized youth organizations. Abrigal received his education from the University of Massachusetts Boston, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology. At the age of 21, Abrigal faced his greatest challenge because of the choices he made to engage in unproductive behaviors as a young man. He ended up getting sentenced to a ten year mandatory sentence as a first time offender. He spent his entire twenties incarcerated from 1991 to 2001. During that time Abrigal worked very hard to transform his thinking and his life through education and preparing to enter the workforce upon his release. Since being released from Incarceration Abrigal has worked with court-involved youth, low income populations, and chronically unemployed individuals for over 10 years. His previous work was with the Boston Foundation’s Street Safe Boston initiative, providing services for gang involved youth who have been identified as the drivers of crime and violence within the City of Boston. He also worked for the Urban League of Eastern Massachusetts (ULEM) as the Manager of the Employment Resource Center. In addition, Abrigal worked for STRIVE, Boston Employment Service, Inc., where he played an essential role in developing a re-entry workforce development program for previously incarcerated adults. He then worked closely with the Sheriff of the Suffolk County House of Corrections and her administration in-order design and deliver“behind the walls” job readiness training and transitional assistance to inmates.
John Garvey, Consultant
John Garvey was dean of the Teacher Academy and Collaborative Programs at the City University of New York (CUNY), Office of Academic Affairs, until October 2008. He oversaw CUNY’s numerous collaborations with the New York City Department of Education (NYCDOE) – including College Now, the Middle Grades Initiative/GEAR UP project, the Early College Initiative, and the CUNY School Support Organization. He also coordinated the development of the Teacher Academy, an undergraduate program intended to prepare math and science teachers for the city’s public middle schools and high schools. In 2003, Mr. Garvey led the effort to establish CUNY Prep – a college preparatory program for young adults who had left school before obtaining a diploma. He worked at CUNY’s central office for twenty years. During that period, he also designed and conducted numerous research and professional development projects on literacy-related issues. Since leaving CUNY, Mr. Garvey has been doing consulting work with the Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University, Jobs for the Future, the Academy for Educational Development, the National League of Cities, the Youth Development Institute and New Settlement Apartments.
John Garvey was dean of the Teacher Academy and Collaborative Programs at the City University of New York (CUNY), Office of Academic Affairs, until October 2008. He oversaw CUNY’s numerous collaborations with the New York City Department of Education (NYCDOE) – including College Now, the Middle Grades Initiative/GEAR UP project, the Early College Initiative, and the CUNY School Support Organization. He also coordinated the development of the Teacher Academy, an undergraduate program intended to prepare math and science teachers for the city’s public middle schools and high schools. In 2003, Mr. Garvey led the effort to establish CUNY Prep – a college preparatory program for young adults who had left school before obtaining a diploma. He worked at CUNY’s central office for twenty years. During that period, he also designed and conducted numerous research and professional development projects on literacy-related issues. Since leaving CUNY, Mr. Garvey has been doing consulting work with the Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University, Jobs for the Future, the Academy for Educational Development, the National League of Cities, the Youth Development Institute and New Settlement Apartments.
Sharun Goodwin-Jones, Assistant Commissioner, Bronx Adult Services, NYC Department of Probation
Sharun Goodwin-Jones has 25 years of progressive responsible experience working for the NYC Department of Probation in various levels of operation. For the past 5 years, she has served as the Assistant Commissioner for Adult Services in the County of the Bronx. She oversees, directs and evaluates the overall operations of the borough; providing services for people on probation. Assistant Commissioner Goodwin-Jones manages approximately 6,000 people on probation; submits close to 2000 Pre-Sentence Investigation Reports to Court per year; and directs as many as 135 staff persons. Her staff includes Branch Chiefs, Supervising Probation Officers, Probation Officers and Support Staff. She has developed and implemented several Federal and State grant funded Programs. These programs include; Promoting Accountability and Criminal Ties Domestic Violence Program, Bronx Integrated Domestic Violence Program, Project Safe Neighborhoods, and she has also implemented programs focused on the utilization of Cognitive Behavioral Approaches. Assistant Commissioner Goodwin-Jones’s superior leadership, knowledge, and strategic planning with regard to employment, education, sobriety and mentoring have been instrumental in improving the lives of our Probation Community, as well as enhancing the broader community at large. She has dedicated her career to providing better and safer streets, one block at a time.
Sharun Goodwin-Jones has 25 years of progressive responsible experience working for the NYC Department of Probation in various levels of operation. For the past 5 years, she has served as the Assistant Commissioner for Adult Services in the County of the Bronx. She oversees, directs and evaluates the overall operations of the borough; providing services for people on probation. Assistant Commissioner Goodwin-Jones manages approximately 6,000 people on probation; submits close to 2000 Pre-Sentence Investigation Reports to Court per year; and directs as many as 135 staff persons. Her staff includes Branch Chiefs, Supervising Probation Officers, Probation Officers and Support Staff. She has developed and implemented several Federal and State grant funded Programs. These programs include; Promoting Accountability and Criminal Ties Domestic Violence Program, Bronx Integrated Domestic Violence Program, Project Safe Neighborhoods, and she has also implemented programs focused on the utilization of Cognitive Behavioral Approaches. Assistant Commissioner Goodwin-Jones’s superior leadership, knowledge, and strategic planning with regard to employment, education, sobriety and mentoring have been instrumental in improving the lives of our Probation Community, as well as enhancing the broader community at large. She has dedicated her career to providing better and safer streets, one block at a time.
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, Employment services, and Transitional Services programs, along with the Admissions unit.
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, Employment services, and Transitional Services programs, along with the Admissions unit.
Jacquelyn Greene, Director of Juvenile Justice Policy and Counsel to the Deputy Secretary for Public Safety, New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services
Jacquelyn Greene serves as the Director for Juvenile Justice Policy at the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS) and as Counsel to the Deputy Secretary for Public Safety. In that capacity, she advises the Deputy Secretary for Public Safety on juvenile justice related issues and implements the Governor’s juvenile justice agenda; provides interagency coordination of juvenile justice policy; develops and implements strategic juvenile justice policy with the New York State Juvenile Justice Advisory Group (JJAG); and staffs additional efforts to support the needs of youth transitioning out of the juvenile and criminal justice systems. Before coming to DCJS, Ms. Greene served as Assistant Deputy Counsel at the New York State Office of Children and Family Services and as counsel to the New York State Assembly committees on children and families and social services. Ms. Greene has also spent time representing young people in court proceedings, first running a legal services program for homeless youth at Covenant House and then as an attorney for children. She received her J.D. in June of 1998 from Harvard Law School and a BA in Psychology and Political Science in 1994 from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.
Jacquelyn Greene serves as the Director for Juvenile Justice Policy at the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS) and as Counsel to the Deputy Secretary for Public Safety. In that capacity, she advises the Deputy Secretary for Public Safety on juvenile justice related issues and implements the Governor’s juvenile justice agenda; provides interagency coordination of juvenile justice policy; develops and implements strategic juvenile justice policy with the New York State Juvenile Justice Advisory Group (JJAG); and staffs additional efforts to support the needs of youth transitioning out of the juvenile and criminal justice systems. Before coming to DCJS, Ms. Greene served as Assistant Deputy Counsel at the New York State Office of Children and Family Services and as counsel to the New York State Assembly committees on children and families and social services. Ms. Greene has also spent time representing young people in court proceedings, first running a legal services program for homeless youth at Covenant House and then as an attorney for children. She received her J.D. in June of 1998 from Harvard Law School and a BA in Psychology and Political Science in 1994 from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.
Charlene Griffin, Data Manager and former Academic Counselor, College Initiative
Charlene Griffin has worked with College Initiative since 2002 in a variety of roles. She has experience as an Academic Counselor and a program manager and she has been CI's Data Manager since 2008. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree from SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry. Her duties include: management and refinement of the CI database; producing reports for current contracts; administrative coordination.
Charlene Griffin has worked with College Initiative since 2002 in a variety of roles. She has experience as an Academic Counselor and a program manager and she has been CI's Data Manager since 2008. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree from SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry. Her duties include: management and refinement of the CI database; producing reports for current contracts; administrative coordination.
Panelist, The Power of Peers, Afternoon Panel
Linda Hollmen, Director of Education, NYS Department of Corrections and Community Supervision
Linda Hollmen is the Director of Education for the New York State Department of Correctional Services. Ms. Hollmen has worked for the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision for more than 33 years. She was a Bilingual Teacher, Education Supervisor, Assistant Director and is currently the Director of Education. Ms. Hollmen taught for the prison education programs for Dutchess Community College and Marist College prior to 1994. She was a facilitator for the Compadre Helper Peer Counseling program. She was also an active member of the Correctional Education Association and is a former Region I Teacher of the Year. In 2002, Ms. Hollmen collaborated with Mr. John Nuttall and Ms. Michele Staley on an article entitled “The Effect of Earning a GED on Recidivism Rates” that was published in the September 2003 issue of the Journal of Correctional Education.
Linda Hollmen is the Director of Education for the New York State Department of Correctional Services. Ms. Hollmen has worked for the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision for more than 33 years. She was a Bilingual Teacher, Education Supervisor, Assistant Director and is currently the Director of Education. Ms. Hollmen taught for the prison education programs for Dutchess Community College and Marist College prior to 1994. She was a facilitator for the Compadre Helper Peer Counseling program. She was also an active member of the Correctional Education Association and is a former Region I Teacher of the Year. In 2002, Ms. Hollmen collaborated with Mr. John Nuttall and Ms. Michele Staley on an article entitled “The Effect of Earning a GED on Recidivism Rates” that was published in the September 2003 issue of the Journal of Correctional Education.
Mark Hunter, Director, The Back Office of New York, Inc, The Doe Fund
Mark Hunter is a formerly incarcerated individual who is currently employed by the Doe Fund, Inc. as the Director of one of their Social Entrepreneurial Business Ventures: The Back Office of New York, Inc., which teaches employment skill to homeless and formerly incarcerated individuals. Mark has worked closely with the Mayor's Office of Adult Education as a Transistion to College Fellow and was a founding member of a peer leadership network, the Adult Education Alumni Alliance. Mark is also a Mentor (and co-creator) of the College Initiative Mentoring Program, which assist formerly incarcerated individuals pursue higher education.
Mark Hunter is a formerly incarcerated individual who is currently employed by the Doe Fund, Inc. as the Director of one of their Social Entrepreneurial Business Ventures: The Back Office of New York, Inc., which teaches employment skill to homeless and formerly incarcerated individuals. Mark has worked closely with the Mayor's Office of Adult Education as a Transistion to College Fellow and was a founding member of a peer leadership network, the Adult Education Alumni Alliance. Mark is also a Mentor (and co-creator) of the College Initiative Mentoring Program, which assist formerly incarcerated individuals pursue higher education.
Angela B. Jimenez, Deputy Commissioner of Community Supervision, NYS Department of Corrections and Community Supervision
Deputy Commissioner Jimenez joined the New York State Division of Parole as a Parole Officer in 1983. She was the first woman to supervise the Joint Parole and New York City Police Department Absconder Search Unit. She was named Deputy Commissioner for the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision in 2011. In this capacity, she is responsible for all of the Division’s staff and activities around the State. Along with her staff, Ms. Jimenez has assisted in the development of the Transition from Prison to Community Model along with several other State partners. The model will help ensure a seamless transition from prison to the community for released inmates. Additionally she has been instrumental in establishing practices such as Parole Stat, Sex Offender Containment Strategies, and ACA Accreditation. All three represent forms of accountability that elevate the agency’s public image and professionalism.
Deputy Commissioner Jimenez joined the New York State Division of Parole as a Parole Officer in 1983. She was the first woman to supervise the Joint Parole and New York City Police Department Absconder Search Unit. She was named Deputy Commissioner for the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision in 2011. In this capacity, she is responsible for all of the Division’s staff and activities around the State. Along with her staff, Ms. Jimenez has assisted in the development of the Transition from Prison to Community Model along with several other State partners. The model will help ensure a seamless transition from prison to the community for released inmates. Additionally she has been instrumental in establishing practices such as Parole Stat, Sex Offender Containment Strategies, and ACA Accreditation. All three represent forms of accountability that elevate the agency’s public image and professionalism.
Clinton Lacey, Deputy Commissioner, Adult Operations, NYC Department of Probation
Clinton has over 25 years of experience working with youth and families - 19 of which have been focused in the field of juvenile and criminal justice. From 1992 to 2004, Clinton served as the associate executive director of Friends of Island Academy, developing and managing services for 16 to 24 year olds involved in the juvenile and criminal justice systems of New York City. Following his tenure at Friends of Island Academy, Clinton served as the director of the Youth Justice Program at Vera Institute of Justice. There, he oversaw a technical assistance project focused on the reform of New York State’s juvenile justice policies. At Vera, he also led an initiative to develop and improve collaborative relationships between communiy based youth advocates and system based juvenile justice officials from various jurisdictions around the nation. In June, 2006, Clinton joined the W. Haywood Burns Institute as a project manager working in several jurisdictions around the nation with stakeholders engaged in the Burns Institute process of addressing racial disparities in local juvenile justice systems. In this capacity Clinton had the opportunity to train and collaborate with a cross section of stakeholders, including judges, probation officials, prosecutors, public defenders, educators, advocates, community organizers and the court involved youth and families themselves. Clinton recently joined the New York City Department of Probation as the Deputy Commissioner for adult operations. In this capacity he is responsible for oversight of a division that supervises some 27,000 clients on probation and is leading a series of innovative initiatives to designed to reform the Probation Department’s key policies and practices. Clinton is an experienced trainer, facilitator and keynote speaker on such issues as DMC, racial & ethnic disparity, transitional discharge planning, comprehensive re-entry services, gang intervention strategies and overall youth & human development. He has conducted training workshops and delivered lectures around the nation, as well as in Brazil and Barbados. Clinton has a B.A. in Latin American and Caribbean History from Herbert H. Lehman College (City University of New York) and is a graduate of the Institute for Not-for-Profit Management at Columbia University.
Clinton has over 25 years of experience working with youth and families - 19 of which have been focused in the field of juvenile and criminal justice. From 1992 to 2004, Clinton served as the associate executive director of Friends of Island Academy, developing and managing services for 16 to 24 year olds involved in the juvenile and criminal justice systems of New York City. Following his tenure at Friends of Island Academy, Clinton served as the director of the Youth Justice Program at Vera Institute of Justice. There, he oversaw a technical assistance project focused on the reform of New York State’s juvenile justice policies. At Vera, he also led an initiative to develop and improve collaborative relationships between communiy based youth advocates and system based juvenile justice officials from various jurisdictions around the nation. In June, 2006, Clinton joined the W. Haywood Burns Institute as a project manager working in several jurisdictions around the nation with stakeholders engaged in the Burns Institute process of addressing racial disparities in local juvenile justice systems. In this capacity Clinton had the opportunity to train and collaborate with a cross section of stakeholders, including judges, probation officials, prosecutors, public defenders, educators, advocates, community organizers and the court involved youth and families themselves. Clinton recently joined the New York City Department of Probation as the Deputy Commissioner for adult operations. In this capacity he is responsible for oversight of a division that supervises some 27,000 clients on probation and is leading a series of innovative initiatives to designed to reform the Probation Department’s key policies and practices. Clinton is an experienced trainer, facilitator and keynote speaker on such issues as DMC, racial & ethnic disparity, transitional discharge planning, comprehensive re-entry services, gang intervention strategies and overall youth & human development. He has conducted training workshops and delivered lectures around the nation, as well as in Brazil and Barbados. Clinton has a B.A. in Latin American and Caribbean History from Herbert H. Lehman College (City University of New York) and is a graduate of the Institute for Not-for-Profit Management at Columbia University.
Timothy F. Lisante, Superintendent of District 79, NYC Department of Education
Timothy F. Lisante has worked within the NYC Public Schools system for the past 35 years. He has a Bachelor’s degree and Master’s degree in special education and is a long time volunteer and former director of the Queens Special Olympics. Since 1988, he has been a leader in alternative education. Dr. Lisante has served as a teacher, assistant principal, and principal at the schools on Rikers Island. He is the Jails Education Chairperson of the Correctional Education Association and is a member of the NYS Juvenile Justice Steering Committee and the NYC Dispositional Steering Committee. He currently is Superintendent of District 79 with oversight for 11 alternative programs including GED prep, Career & Technical Education, residential and youth justice education. Dr. Lisante teaches graduate courses in special education at Brooklyn College and has served as an adjunct professor at Hunter College.
Timothy F. Lisante has worked within the NYC Public Schools system for the past 35 years. He has a Bachelor’s degree and Master’s degree in special education and is a long time volunteer and former director of the Queens Special Olympics. Since 1988, he has been a leader in alternative education. Dr. Lisante has served as a teacher, assistant principal, and principal at the schools on Rikers Island. He is the Jails Education Chairperson of the Correctional Education Association and is a member of the NYS Juvenile Justice Steering Committee and the NYC Dispositional Steering Committee. He currently is Superintendent of District 79 with oversight for 11 alternative programs including GED prep, Career & Technical Education, residential and youth justice education. Dr. Lisante teaches graduate courses in special education at Brooklyn College and has served as an adjunct professor at Hunter College.
Nick Marinacci, Executive Principal, East River Academy, District 79 Alternative Schools and Programs, NYC Department of Education
Nick Marinacci is the Executive Principal of East River Academy on Rikers Island. Nick entered the field of education in 1996 as a Teach for America teacher in the South Bronx. He has been a principal since 2004 when he founded the Bronx Writing Academy (BWA), a 6-8 Middle School. Nick led BWA for 5 years before becoming the Executive Principal of Passages Academy, serving as the educational leader for all juvenile detention facilities in NYC. In June 2010 District 79, NYC's alternative school district, reorganized the educational programs on Rikers Island and asked Nick to start East River Academy (ERA). ERA serves students aged 16-21 on Rikers Island in both High School and GED programs. Nick was selected as a member of the Cahn Fellows in 2007 and was awarded the Austin H. MacCormick award for outstanding leadership in correctional education in 2011.
Nick Marinacci is the Executive Principal of East River Academy on Rikers Island. Nick entered the field of education in 1996 as a Teach for America teacher in the South Bronx. He has been a principal since 2004 when he founded the Bronx Writing Academy (BWA), a 6-8 Middle School. Nick led BWA for 5 years before becoming the Executive Principal of Passages Academy, serving as the educational leader for all juvenile detention facilities in NYC. In June 2010 District 79, NYC's alternative school district, reorganized the educational programs on Rikers Island and asked Nick to start East River Academy (ERA). ERA serves students aged 16-21 on Rikers Island in both High School and GED programs. Nick was selected as a member of the Cahn Fellows in 2007 and was awarded the Austin H. MacCormick award for outstanding leadership in correctional education in 2011.
Feliz Matos Rodriguiz, President, Eugenio María de Hostos Community College of The City University of New York (CUNY)
Panelist, Partnerships for College Access and Success, Morning Panel
Panelist, Partnerships for College Access and Success, Morning Panel
Carl Mazza, Associate Professor, MSW Program Director, Lehman College Carl Mazza, DSW, LMSW is Associate Professor of Social Work at Lehman College of the City University of New York as well as the Director of the Masters Degree Program in Social Work. He teaches in both the undergraduate and graduate programs usually in the practice, policy, and fieldwork sequences. Dr. Mazza is former President of the New York State Social Work Education Association and Chairperson of the Criminal & Juvenile Justice Track for the National Council on Social Work Education. In 2011, he was recognized by the Urban Male Leadership Program of CUNY and the African and African-American Studies Department of Lehman College for his years of service and dedication to mentoring students. Also in 2011, Lehman College awarded him an award for Outstanding Service to the College. In October 2011 he received an award as “Outstanding Peer Reviewer” from the Journal of Social Work Education. In 2010 he was named “Person of the Year” by the College Initiative Program, a support program for people transitioning from prison into college. Also in 2010 he received a Lifetime Achievement Award from Hudson Link. At Lehman College, he was named Teacher of the Year in 2005. He was taught and lead social work groups in prisons in New York for thirty years. Additionally, for over fifteen years he has provided counseling serves for individuals, couples, and families affected by incarceration both while the person is in prison as well as when he/she re-entered the larger society. In addition he has proved therapeutic services for several men who have been exonerated after serving long prison sentences. He has mentored many men and women who have transitioned to college from prison. He has published on incarcerated fathers, children of incarcerated parents, persons re-entering the larger society from prison, and adolescent fathers. He is currently researching articles on the emotional and psychological ramifications experienced by men who have been exonerated from prison, and the experiences of college students who have transitioned from prison. Dr. Mazza is on the Boards of Directors of Exodus Transitional Community, In Arms Reach Services to Children of the Incarcerated, and Harlem Restoration Project. He has been a consultant to the Women’s Prison Association, the College Initiative Program, and the Osborne Association. Dr. Mazza is also a part time psychotherapist at North Shore Child & Family Guidance Center in Westbury, New York where he specializes in acting-out adolescents and young adults, and children and families of incarcerated people.
Panelist, The Power of Peers, Morning Panel
Arlene Mohammed, Academic Coordinator of Sing Sing College Preparatory & College Programs, Hudson Link
Arlene began her relationship with Mercy College while incarcerated; they were the college degree-granting program at Bedford: first as a student, then as a clerk helping to coordinate the college program and a tutor for the women attending college. In 1994 when the TAP and Pell grants were withdrawn, Mercy College shut down their program at the prison. To help fill this need, Arlene and several academics from Marymount College founded the Bedford College Program which was called the “Center for Redirection Through Education,” a privately funded non-profit through the College. Arlene was given the position of the Learning Center Coordinator. In that capacity she worked closely with the professors, students, Marymount College Administration and Bedford Correctional Facility Administration. Following her release from prison, Arlene worked as the Assistant to the Vice President and Provost at Mercy College. Her achievements included establishing a Mercy College Extension Center at Fort Hamilton Military Base. There she registered 200 students and for her efforts, received recognition and the Commandant’s Medal for her service to the military. It was while working at Mercy College that Arlene earned her Bachelor of Science degree. Arlene has worked as the Academic Coordinator for Hudson Link for the past 11years, coordinating the College Preparatory and College Programs at Sing Sing Correctional Facility. Arlene oversees approximately 100-125 students, 20 Mercy College adjunct professors, 3 inmate clerks 15 inmate tutors. Ms. Mohammed recognizes the importance of a college education for the disenfranchised and believes firmly in the transformative power of an education. This is her motivation and the reason for her strong commitment to the education of incarcerated men and women.
Arlene began her relationship with Mercy College while incarcerated; they were the college degree-granting program at Bedford: first as a student, then as a clerk helping to coordinate the college program and a tutor for the women attending college. In 1994 when the TAP and Pell grants were withdrawn, Mercy College shut down their program at the prison. To help fill this need, Arlene and several academics from Marymount College founded the Bedford College Program which was called the “Center for Redirection Through Education,” a privately funded non-profit through the College. Arlene was given the position of the Learning Center Coordinator. In that capacity she worked closely with the professors, students, Marymount College Administration and Bedford Correctional Facility Administration. Following her release from prison, Arlene worked as the Assistant to the Vice President and Provost at Mercy College. Her achievements included establishing a Mercy College Extension Center at Fort Hamilton Military Base. There she registered 200 students and for her efforts, received recognition and the Commandant’s Medal for her service to the military. It was while working at Mercy College that Arlene earned her Bachelor of Science degree. Arlene has worked as the Academic Coordinator for Hudson Link for the past 11years, coordinating the College Preparatory and College Programs at Sing Sing Correctional Facility. Arlene oversees approximately 100-125 students, 20 Mercy College adjunct professors, 3 inmate clerks 15 inmate tutors. Ms. Mohammed recognizes the importance of a college education for the disenfranchised and believes firmly in the transformative power of an education. This is her motivation and the reason for her strong commitment to the education of incarcerated men and women.
Panelist, The Power of Peers, Morning Panel
Sophia Morel, Director, Education Youth Services, CASES
Sophia joined CASES in 2004. Throughout her time with CASES, she has taken on several roles within the Education Unit including afterschool tutor, Education Liaison, GED Preparation Teacher, Supervisor of teaching and in 2012 was promoted to Director of Youth Education Services. She oversees all education services for CASES’ youth programs. In 2009, Sophia began the Next Steps program for CASES students who earned their High School Diploma or its equivalent. This initiative led to CASES winning a grant from NYEC to expand and staff Next Steps, a post secondary retention initiative. Sophia and her team strive to bring innovative instruction, education opportunities and supportive education counseling to court-involved youth. Sophia holds a BA in Communication and Rhetoric from SUNY Albany and is finishing up an MS in Leadership in Community-Based Learning from Bank Street College of Education.
Sophia joined CASES in 2004. Throughout her time with CASES, she has taken on several roles within the Education Unit including afterschool tutor, Education Liaison, GED Preparation Teacher, Supervisor of teaching and in 2012 was promoted to Director of Youth Education Services. She oversees all education services for CASES’ youth programs. In 2009, Sophia began the Next Steps program for CASES students who earned their High School Diploma or its equivalent. This initiative led to CASES winning a grant from NYEC to expand and staff Next Steps, a post secondary retention initiative. Sophia and her team strive to bring innovative instruction, education opportunities and supportive education counseling to court-involved youth. Sophia holds a BA in Communication and Rhetoric from SUNY Albany and is finishing up an MS in Leadership in Community-Based Learning from Bank Street College of Education.
Marta Nelson, Executive Director of the Center for Employment Opportunities NYC
Marta Nelson leads CEO’s New York City programs and operations. Ms. Nelson joined CEO in 2005, and oversaw development of policy and new projects and partnerships. Before CEO, Ms. Nelson worked at the Vera Institute of Justice on a variety of projects to improve systems to help men and women leaving prison and jail. Ms. Nelson was also a lawyer at the Brennan Center for Justice and the Prisoners’ Rights Project of the New York Legal Aid Society, where she worked to improve access to education for young people incarcerated in New York City jails.
Marta Nelson leads CEO’s New York City programs and operations. Ms. Nelson joined CEO in 2005, and oversaw development of policy and new projects and partnerships. Before CEO, Ms. Nelson worked at the Vera Institute of Justice on a variety of projects to improve systems to help men and women leaving prison and jail. Ms. Nelson was also a lawyer at the Brennan Center for Justice and the Prisoners’ Rights Project of the New York Legal Aid Society, where she worked to improve access to education for young people incarcerated in New York City jails.
Ditashiah Norris-Kohn, Director, DREAMS YouthBuild
Ditashiah Norris-Kohn is currently the Youth Programs Director of D.R.E.A.M.S. Youthbuild and Young Adult Training Program. D.R.E.A.M.S. is owned and operated by Settlement Housing Fund Inc. Ms. Kohn has an MSW from Adelphi University and has worked with both adults and young people in vocational services and counseling settings for over 16 years. Prior to her employment with Settlement Housing Fund, Inc., Ms. Kohn worked at St. John’s Place Family Center for 10 years where she served as the Director of the Employment Program. Ms. Kohn served as a vocational counselor and trainer prior to assuming the Director’s role. Ms. Kohn has designed successful, outcome generating training program models for both youth and adults.
Ditashiah Norris-Kohn is currently the Youth Programs Director of D.R.E.A.M.S. Youthbuild and Young Adult Training Program. D.R.E.A.M.S. is owned and operated by Settlement Housing Fund Inc. Ms. Kohn has an MSW from Adelphi University and has worked with both adults and young people in vocational services and counseling settings for over 16 years. Prior to her employment with Settlement Housing Fund, Inc., Ms. Kohn worked at St. John’s Place Family Center for 10 years where she served as the Director of the Employment Program. Ms. Kohn served as a vocational counselor and trainer prior to assuming the Director’s role. Ms. Kohn has designed successful, outcome generating training program models for both youth and adults.
Christine Pahigian, Executive Director, Friends of Island Academy
Christine Pahigian has worked for over 30 years in criminal and juvenile justice, particularly in sentencing advocacy and the development of alternatives to incarceration at direct service, policy and government levels. Ms. Pahigian serves as Executive Director of Friends of Island Academy, a youth development center which breaks cycles of incarceration by building the capacity of young people to become contributing citizens. During her tenure at NCIA and later at CASES, Ms. Pahigian was instrumental in the creation of a number of innovative programs in New York City, including those for juvenile offenders, parole violators and defendants with mental illness. She served in the New York City Mayor’s Office under Mayor David Dinkins on the Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative. Ms. Pahigian has written training manuals for criminal and juvenile justice and mental health professionals as well as on best practices for court-involved youth. She has consulted and provided technical assistance nationally to Departments of Corrections and justice system agencies in New Mexico, Connecticut and Maryland around the use of positive youth development practices with justice-involved young people. Ms. Pahigian has taught as an Assistant Clinical Professor at New York University and has provided training programs around New York State to justice system and youth practitioners. She holds a BA from Barnard College and an MPA from NYU’s Wagner School.
Christine Pahigian has worked for over 30 years in criminal and juvenile justice, particularly in sentencing advocacy and the development of alternatives to incarceration at direct service, policy and government levels. Ms. Pahigian serves as Executive Director of Friends of Island Academy, a youth development center which breaks cycles of incarceration by building the capacity of young people to become contributing citizens. During her tenure at NCIA and later at CASES, Ms. Pahigian was instrumental in the creation of a number of innovative programs in New York City, including those for juvenile offenders, parole violators and defendants with mental illness. She served in the New York City Mayor’s Office under Mayor David Dinkins on the Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative. Ms. Pahigian has written training manuals for criminal and juvenile justice and mental health professionals as well as on best practices for court-involved youth. She has consulted and provided technical assistance nationally to Departments of Corrections and justice system agencies in New Mexico, Connecticut and Maryland around the use of positive youth development practices with justice-involved young people. Ms. Pahigian has taught as an Assistant Clinical Professor at New York University and has provided training programs around New York State to justice system and youth practitioners. She holds a BA from Barnard College and an MPA from NYU’s Wagner School.
Fred Patrick, Director, Pathways from Prison to Postsecondary Education Project, Vera Institute of Justice
Fred Patrick is the Director of the Pathways from Prison to Postsecondary Education Project, a national initiative led by the Vera Institute of Justice that provides selected states with incentive funding and technical assistance to expand access to higher education for people in prison and those recently released. The project seeks to demonstrate that access to postsecondary education, combined with supportive reentry services, can increase educational credentials, reduce recidivism, and increase employability and earnings. States participating in Pathways from Prison are required to create a continuum of coordinated education and reentry support services that begins in prison and continues in the community after release until the student has achieved a degree or professional certification. It is funded by several prominent national foundations and includes an independent evaluation. Prior to his tenure with Vera, Fred served as Deputy Commissioner for Planning and Programs and Assistant Commissioner for Training at the NYC Department of Correction, Deputy Criminal Justice Coordinator in the Mayor's Office, Commissioner of the NYC Juvenile Justice Department, and NYPD Deputy Commissioner for Community Affairs. He has also served on the faculty at John Jay College of Criminal Justice and in executive positions at the Fortune Society and NADAP, a nonprofit workforce development and behavioral health services agency. Fred has a master’s degree in public policy from Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School and a bachelor of science degree (highest honors) in political science from Tuskegee University.
Fred Patrick is the Director of the Pathways from Prison to Postsecondary Education Project, a national initiative led by the Vera Institute of Justice that provides selected states with incentive funding and technical assistance to expand access to higher education for people in prison and those recently released. The project seeks to demonstrate that access to postsecondary education, combined with supportive reentry services, can increase educational credentials, reduce recidivism, and increase employability and earnings. States participating in Pathways from Prison are required to create a continuum of coordinated education and reentry support services that begins in prison and continues in the community after release until the student has achieved a degree or professional certification. It is funded by several prominent national foundations and includes an independent evaluation. Prior to his tenure with Vera, Fred served as Deputy Commissioner for Planning and Programs and Assistant Commissioner for Training at the NYC Department of Correction, Deputy Criminal Justice Coordinator in the Mayor's Office, Commissioner of the NYC Juvenile Justice Department, and NYPD Deputy Commissioner for Community Affairs. He has also served on the faculty at John Jay College of Criminal Justice and in executive positions at the Fortune Society and NADAP, a nonprofit workforce development and behavioral health services agency. Fred has a master’s degree in public policy from Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School and a bachelor of science degree (highest honors) in political science from Tuskegee University.
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 Librarys’ 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.
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 Librarys’ 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.
Randy Peers, Executive Director, Opportunity for a Better Tomorrow
Randolph Peers has spent the last twenty years working in the fields of adult education, workforce development, and economic development, and currently serves as Executive Director of Opportunities for a Better Tomorrow, a Brooklyn-based non-profit organization. Having spent all his professional career in non-profit administration, Randolph previously has held senior management positions at the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce (Vice President), South Shore High School’s Adult Education Center (Executive Director), the Church Avenue Merchants Block Association (CAMBA) and the Osborne Association. As Executive Director of OBT, Randolph leads a $4.5 million workforce development organization that works with out-of-school youth and adults in the neighborhoods of Sunset Park, Bushwick, Williamsburg, and Bedford Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. OBT is known for its highly effective job training and education program designed specifically to meet the unique needs of disconnected youth. Overall, OBT serves approximately 3200 people annually, providing GED & ESL classes, business skills job training, adult literacy, entrepreneurship & financial literacy, job placement assistance and college access. Through his work as a thought leader in the field of workforce development for New York City, Randolph contributed to the publication of two significant reports, The Time is Now, focusing on the crisis of disconnected youth, and Reentry and Employment, highlighting strategies to assist formerly incarcerated individuals. Randolph holds a Bachelors degree in Political Science from Brooklyn College and a Masters in Public Administration from NYU’s Wagner School. He is the former Chairperson of Community Board 7, encompassing the neighborhoods of Sunset Park, Windsor Terrace and Greenwood Heights, and South Park Slope, Brooklyn. He serves on the Board of Directors of Lutheran Healthcare, Health Plus Inc, and the Southwest Brooklyn Industrial Development Corp. He is also the Chair of the NYC Employment & Training Coalition which represents approximately 200 workforce development agencies across the City. He is on the Advisory Board for Kingsborough Community College’s Perkins funding initiative. He is also the current host of Sector B: The Business of Brooklyn television show on Brooklyn Cable Access TV.
Randolph Peers has spent the last twenty years working in the fields of adult education, workforce development, and economic development, and currently serves as Executive Director of Opportunities for a Better Tomorrow, a Brooklyn-based non-profit organization. Having spent all his professional career in non-profit administration, Randolph previously has held senior management positions at the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce (Vice President), South Shore High School’s Adult Education Center (Executive Director), the Church Avenue Merchants Block Association (CAMBA) and the Osborne Association. As Executive Director of OBT, Randolph leads a $4.5 million workforce development organization that works with out-of-school youth and adults in the neighborhoods of Sunset Park, Bushwick, Williamsburg, and Bedford Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. OBT is known for its highly effective job training and education program designed specifically to meet the unique needs of disconnected youth. Overall, OBT serves approximately 3200 people annually, providing GED & ESL classes, business skills job training, adult literacy, entrepreneurship & financial literacy, job placement assistance and college access. Through his work as a thought leader in the field of workforce development for New York City, Randolph contributed to the publication of two significant reports, The Time is Now, focusing on the crisis of disconnected youth, and Reentry and Employment, highlighting strategies to assist formerly incarcerated individuals. Randolph holds a Bachelors degree in Political Science from Brooklyn College and a Masters in Public Administration from NYU’s Wagner School. He is the former Chairperson of Community Board 7, encompassing the neighborhoods of Sunset Park, Windsor Terrace and Greenwood Heights, and South Park Slope, Brooklyn. He serves on the Board of Directors of Lutheran Healthcare, Health Plus Inc, and the Southwest Brooklyn Industrial Development Corp. He is also the Chair of the NYC Employment & Training Coalition which represents approximately 200 workforce development agencies across the City. He is on the Advisory Board for Kingsborough Community College’s Perkins funding initiative. He is also the current host of Sector B: The Business of Brooklyn television show on Brooklyn Cable Access TV.
Marlon Peterson, Associate Director, Crown Heights Community Mediation Center
Marlon Peterson is Associate Director of the Crown Heights Community Mediation Center, a project of the Center for Court Innovation and was the founding Program Coordinator of the Center’s youth program, Youth Organizing to Save Our Streets (Y.O.S.O.S). He is also the co-founder of a youth mentoring program based in a Brownsville middle school named How Our Lives Link Altogether (H.O.L.L.A.!). Mr. Peterson has an extensive history in youth development, prison re-entry, and program facilitation. He also served as the youth coordinator of Families for Freedom, an immigrant advocacy organization. Additionally, Mr. Peterson received his Associates Degree in Criminal Justice from Ashworth University and is currently completing his B.S. in Organizational Behavior & Communications from New York University.
Marlon Peterson is Associate Director of the Crown Heights Community Mediation Center, a project of the Center for Court Innovation and was the founding Program Coordinator of the Center’s youth program, Youth Organizing to Save Our Streets (Y.O.S.O.S). He is also the co-founder of a youth mentoring program based in a Brownsville middle school named How Our Lives Link Altogether (H.O.L.L.A.!). Mr. Peterson has an extensive history in youth development, prison re-entry, and program facilitation. He also served as the youth coordinator of Families for Freedom, an immigrant advocacy organization. Additionally, Mr. Peterson received his Associates Degree in Criminal Justice from Ashworth University and is currently completing his B.S. in Organizational Behavior & Communications from New York University.
Sean Pica, Executive Director, Hudson Link
Reporting to the Hudson Link Board of Directors, Sean Pica has overall strategic and operational responsibility for staff, programs, development, expansion and execution of Hudson Link's mission. Mr. Pica joined Hudson Link's Board of Directors in 2004 and in 2007 left the Board to become the Executive Director for the organization. Under Sean's leadership, Hudson Link has grown from a 65 person college program operating inside one prison, Sing Sing Correctional Facility, to approximately 250 students enrolled in college programs at 4 New York State correctional facilities. "My hope, when I took over as Hudson Link's Executive Director, was to positively affect as many lives as possible through higher education, both inside and outside the prison walls. Transformation is about the ripple effect on the prison community, the students families and the communities they return to." Prior to joining Hudson Link, Mr. Pica was the Director of Club Access, a psychosocial clubhouse for adults with mental health disabilities, and a tenant advocate for the James Weldon Housing Projects in East Harlem. Mr. Pica serves as a Senior Fellow with Mercy College's Center for Social and Criminal Justice, on the Service Providers Advisory Committee (SPAC) which collaborates on policy issues in the NYS Department of Corrections, on the Boards of Career Gear and Saving Our Society and as a facilitator for STRIVE Fatherhood Programs. Mr. Pica earned his Bachelor's degree in Organizational Management from Nyack College, his Master's degree in Professional Studies from the New York Theological Seminary, his Master's degree in Social Work from Hunter College, and is currently an MBA student at Mercy College.
Reporting to the Hudson Link Board of Directors, Sean Pica has overall strategic and operational responsibility for staff, programs, development, expansion and execution of Hudson Link's mission. Mr. Pica joined Hudson Link's Board of Directors in 2004 and in 2007 left the Board to become the Executive Director for the organization. Under Sean's leadership, Hudson Link has grown from a 65 person college program operating inside one prison, Sing Sing Correctional Facility, to approximately 250 students enrolled in college programs at 4 New York State correctional facilities. "My hope, when I took over as Hudson Link's Executive Director, was to positively affect as many lives as possible through higher education, both inside and outside the prison walls. Transformation is about the ripple effect on the prison community, the students families and the communities they return to." Prior to joining Hudson Link, Mr. Pica was the Director of Club Access, a psychosocial clubhouse for adults with mental health disabilities, and a tenant advocate for the James Weldon Housing Projects in East Harlem. Mr. Pica serves as a Senior Fellow with Mercy College's Center for Social and Criminal Justice, on the Service Providers Advisory Committee (SPAC) which collaborates on policy issues in the NYS Department of Corrections, on the Boards of Career Gear and Saving Our Society and as a facilitator for STRIVE Fatherhood Programs. Mr. Pica earned his Bachelor's degree in Organizational Management from Nyack College, his Master's degree in Professional Studies from the New York Theological Seminary, his Master's degree in Social Work from Hunter College, and is currently an MBA student at Mercy College.
Stanley Richards, Senior Vice President of Programs, the Fortune Society
Stanley has worked in the Criminal Justice field for over 25 years. His work with inmates started while incarcerated in a New York State prison, where he worked as the inmate Director of Pre-Release. Stanley’s professional experience began in 1991 at the Fortune Society, where he initially worked as a Counselor. He is a graduate of Medaille College, and also a Robert Wood Johnson Fellow, having completed the Developing Leadership To Reduce Substance Abuse program. Additionally, Stanley has completed Columbia University’s Institute for Non-Profit, School of Business Management, Executive Management Program.
Stanley has worked in the Criminal Justice field for over 25 years. His work with inmates started while incarcerated in a New York State prison, where he worked as the inmate Director of Pre-Release. Stanley’s professional experience began in 1991 at the Fortune Society, where he initially worked as a Counselor. He is a graduate of Medaille College, and also a Robert Wood Johnson Fellow, having completed the Developing Leadership To Reduce Substance Abuse program. Additionally, Stanley has completed Columbia University’s Institute for Non-Profit, School of Business Management, Executive Management Program.
Hipolito Rosario, YMI I.M.P.A.C.T. Coordinator, Future Now at Bronx Community College and the NYC Office of Human Capital Development
has over 7 years of experience working with court-involved students at every level from outreach while incarcerated to pre-GED/GED, college prep and on thru college. In his own journey as a student, he obtained his GED from the Future Now program at Bronx Community College in 2005 and then went on earn his Associates Degree at Bronx Community College in 2007 and a Bachelor’s Degree at Lehman College in 2010. From 2008-2011, Mr. Rosario helped reshape adult education in New York City first as in intern and then as the Learner Leadership Coordinator at the Mayors' Office of Adult Education. There he ran the Transition to College Internship - an innovative leadership development internship for GED and justice involved students - and, as a peer leader, motivated and encouraged over 3,000 students to continue their education beyond just a high school diploma or GED. Hipolito is a co-founder of IMPACT (Improving My Progress At College Today), the nationally recognized peer mentoring program at Future Now, and currently serves as the Project Coordinator for the Young Men's Initiative funded IMPACT replication pilot now in its second year at Hostos Community College and Medgar Evers College.
has over 7 years of experience working with court-involved students at every level from outreach while incarcerated to pre-GED/GED, college prep and on thru college. In his own journey as a student, he obtained his GED from the Future Now program at Bronx Community College in 2005 and then went on earn his Associates Degree at Bronx Community College in 2007 and a Bachelor’s Degree at Lehman College in 2010. From 2008-2011, Mr. Rosario helped reshape adult education in New York City first as in intern and then as the Learner Leadership Coordinator at the Mayors' Office of Adult Education. There he ran the Transition to College Internship - an innovative leadership development internship for GED and justice involved students - and, as a peer leader, motivated and encouraged over 3,000 students to continue their education beyond just a high school diploma or GED. Hipolito is a co-founder of IMPACT (Improving My Progress At College Today), the nationally recognized peer mentoring program at Future Now, and currently serves as the Project Coordinator for the Young Men's Initiative funded IMPACT replication pilot now in its second year at Hostos Community College and Medgar Evers College.
Panelist, The Power of Peers, Afternoon Panel
Stacie Sanchez, Senior Project Director of NYC Justice Corps, Prisoner Reentry Institute, John Jay College of Criminal Justice
Stacie Sanchez joined the Prisoner Reentry Institute (PRI) as the Senior Project Director for the NYC Justice Corps in September 2012. Her primary responsibility is to collaborate with the Justice Corps sites and provide oversight for the administration of the program. Prior to joining PRI, Ms. Sanchez spent two years in Sunset Park as the founding director of the Sunset Park Alliance for Youth in Brooklyn, NY. Ms. Sanchez led a community-based collaborative of existing youth and workforce development agencies in Sunset Park who shared a united goal to reconnect youth, ages 16-24, to the classroom and the workplace. Ms. Sanchez also served at The After-School Corporation (TASC), where she held multiple roles including the Program Coordinator for the Summer Jobs Program, Program Officer for the City Connection program, which assisted approximately 100 youth at risk of failing to graduate from high school; she also launched the Scholars in Training program, an 18-month initiative that served over 200 teens that encountered or were at risk of entering the juvenile justice system. Ms. Sanchez holds a Master’s of Science in Social Work from Columbia University, with a focus on social policy and research. As a student, she worked in Citywide Education and Youth Services at the New York Mayor’s Office. During her tenure there, Ms. Sanchez worked to improve service delivery for the New York City Adult Literacy Initiative (NYCALI). Ms. Sanchez also worked at Little Flower Children and Family Services with the Juvenile Justice Initiative (JJI), the American Red Cross September 11th Recovery Program as a Family Support Specialist and with Columbia University’s Early Head Start.
Stacie Sanchez joined the Prisoner Reentry Institute (PRI) as the Senior Project Director for the NYC Justice Corps in September 2012. Her primary responsibility is to collaborate with the Justice Corps sites and provide oversight for the administration of the program. Prior to joining PRI, Ms. Sanchez spent two years in Sunset Park as the founding director of the Sunset Park Alliance for Youth in Brooklyn, NY. Ms. Sanchez led a community-based collaborative of existing youth and workforce development agencies in Sunset Park who shared a united goal to reconnect youth, ages 16-24, to the classroom and the workplace. Ms. Sanchez also served at The After-School Corporation (TASC), where she held multiple roles including the Program Coordinator for the Summer Jobs Program, Program Officer for the City Connection program, which assisted approximately 100 youth at risk of failing to graduate from high school; she also launched the Scholars in Training program, an 18-month initiative that served over 200 teens that encountered or were at risk of entering the juvenile justice system. Ms. Sanchez holds a Master’s of Science in Social Work from Columbia University, with a focus on social policy and research. As a student, she worked in Citywide Education and Youth Services at the New York Mayor’s Office. During her tenure there, Ms. Sanchez worked to improve service delivery for the New York City Adult Literacy Initiative (NYCALI). Ms. Sanchez also worked at Little Flower Children and Family Services with the Juvenile Justice Initiative (JJI), the American Red Cross September 11th Recovery Program as a Family Support Specialist and with Columbia University’s Early Head Start.
Frederick Schaffer, General Counsel and Senior Vice Chancellor for Legal Affairs, City University of New York
Frederick P. Schaffer is General Counsel and Senior Vice Chancellor for Legal Affairs of The City University of New York. In this position, he is responsible for providing legal counsel to the Board of Trustees, the Chancellor and the University on a wide range of issues and supervising a legal department of 18 lawyers. Mr. Schaffer also serves as General Counsel to the CUNY Construction Fund, a public authority that finances capital construction at the University. Before coming to CUNY, Mr. Schaffer was a litigation partner in the law firm of Schulte Roth & Zabel LLP, where he specialized in commercial and securities litigation and employment law. Earlier in his career, Mr. Schaffer served as Counsel to Mayor Koch, Chief of Litigation in the Office of the Corporation Counsel of the City of New York and Assistant U.S. Attorney in Manhattan. He also was an Associate Professor at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law. Mr. Schaffer recently served as Chairman of the Legal Aid Society and is currently a Trustee of the Practising Law Institute. He has previously served as Chairman of NYC Public/Private Initiatives, Inc. and a Director of the University Settlement Society. He is also active in the Association of the Bar of the City of New York, where he has served as a member of a number of committees, including the Executive Committee, the Nominating Committee and as Chairman of the Committee on Education and the Law. Mr. Schaffer received his B.A. degree summa cum laude from Harvard College and his J.D. degree magna cum laude from Harvard Law School, where he was an editor of the Harvard Law Review. Following law school, he clerked for the Honorable Francis L. Van Dusen, Circuit Judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. Mr. Schaffer was a recipient of one of the 2011 Awards for Excellence in Public Service from the New York State Bar Association.
Frederick P. Schaffer is General Counsel and Senior Vice Chancellor for Legal Affairs of The City University of New York. In this position, he is responsible for providing legal counsel to the Board of Trustees, the Chancellor and the University on a wide range of issues and supervising a legal department of 18 lawyers. Mr. Schaffer also serves as General Counsel to the CUNY Construction Fund, a public authority that finances capital construction at the University. Before coming to CUNY, Mr. Schaffer was a litigation partner in the law firm of Schulte Roth & Zabel LLP, where he specialized in commercial and securities litigation and employment law. Earlier in his career, Mr. Schaffer served as Counsel to Mayor Koch, Chief of Litigation in the Office of the Corporation Counsel of the City of New York and Assistant U.S. Attorney in Manhattan. He also was an Associate Professor at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law. Mr. Schaffer recently served as Chairman of the Legal Aid Society and is currently a Trustee of the Practising Law Institute. He has previously served as Chairman of NYC Public/Private Initiatives, Inc. and a Director of the University Settlement Society. He is also active in the Association of the Bar of the City of New York, where he has served as a member of a number of committees, including the Executive Committee, the Nominating Committee and as Chairman of the Committee on Education and the Law. Mr. Schaffer received his B.A. degree summa cum laude from Harvard College and his J.D. degree magna cum laude from Harvard Law School, where he was an editor of the Harvard Law Review. Following law school, he clerked for the Honorable Francis L. Van Dusen, Circuit Judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. Mr. Schaffer was a recipient of one of the 2011 Awards for Excellence in Public Service from the New York State Bar Association.
Vanda Seward, Statewide Director of Reentry Services, NYS Department of Corrections and Community Supervision
Dr. Seward is the Statewide Director of Reentry Services for New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, in this capacity she is responsible for ensuring that there are resources and services readily available for persons under parole supervision in the State of New York. She is the former Executive Director of the Kings County District Attorney’s Office ComALERT program which is the first full service reentry program run under the guidance of a prosecutors’ office. She is a native New Yorker from the Bronx and a product of the New York City Board of Education and New York City Housing Authority. Dr. Seward has been serving “high risk” populations for well over 25 years. Her extensive experience expands to providing services and linkages to men, women and adolescents suffering from mental illness, substance abuse, homelessness, unemployment, literacy and HIV and AIDS. Her vast experience includes working hands-on with individuals who are either mandated to services by criminal or family court and/or parole and probation. Dr. Seward has worked for numerous community based organizations and government agencies including New York State Department of Correctional Services where she has worked in a number of prisons at various security levels as a counselor, Kings County District Attorney’s Office reentry program ComALERT were she was the Executive Director, and FEGS Forensic Services Unit were she was the Director. She has headed several pilot projects and committees to assist the needs of the formerly incarcerated and communities at large. Her impressive array of work includes and is not limited to an apartment program for women suffering from mental illness who are formerly incarcerated; parole violation diversion programs; and provider-chair person for the New York City Criminal Justice Committee under New York City Department of Mental Health and Hygiene and New York State Forensic Advisory Committee. Dr. Seward received her PhD in Criminal Justice from Capella University in 2012. She is a graduate of Iona College where she holds a Masters of Science in Criminal Justice and is also a graduate of The College of New Rochelle where she holds a B.A. Degree. Vanda also continues to serve in her twelfth year as an adjunct professor at the College of New Rochelle. Dr. Seward has received many rewards and aculeate for her work within the criminal justice arena.
Dr. Seward is the Statewide Director of Reentry Services for New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, in this capacity she is responsible for ensuring that there are resources and services readily available for persons under parole supervision in the State of New York. She is the former Executive Director of the Kings County District Attorney’s Office ComALERT program which is the first full service reentry program run under the guidance of a prosecutors’ office. She is a native New Yorker from the Bronx and a product of the New York City Board of Education and New York City Housing Authority. Dr. Seward has been serving “high risk” populations for well over 25 years. Her extensive experience expands to providing services and linkages to men, women and adolescents suffering from mental illness, substance abuse, homelessness, unemployment, literacy and HIV and AIDS. Her vast experience includes working hands-on with individuals who are either mandated to services by criminal or family court and/or parole and probation. Dr. Seward has worked for numerous community based organizations and government agencies including New York State Department of Correctional Services where she has worked in a number of prisons at various security levels as a counselor, Kings County District Attorney’s Office reentry program ComALERT were she was the Executive Director, and FEGS Forensic Services Unit were she was the Director. She has headed several pilot projects and committees to assist the needs of the formerly incarcerated and communities at large. Her impressive array of work includes and is not limited to an apartment program for women suffering from mental illness who are formerly incarcerated; parole violation diversion programs; and provider-chair person for the New York City Criminal Justice Committee under New York City Department of Mental Health and Hygiene and New York State Forensic Advisory Committee. Dr. Seward received her PhD in Criminal Justice from Capella University in 2012. She is a graduate of Iona College where she holds a Masters of Science in Criminal Justice and is also a graduate of The College of New Rochelle where she holds a B.A. Degree. Vanda also continues to serve in her twelfth year as an adjunct professor at the College of New Rochelle. Dr. Seward has received many rewards and aculeate for her work within the criminal justice arena.
Aviva Tevah, Reentry Education Transition Specialist, New York Reentry Education Network/ NYC Office of Human Capital Development/ Educational Services, NYC Department of Correction
Aviva Tevah is the Reentry Education Transition Specialist for the Transition to Post-secondary or Vocational Education for Formerly Incarcerated Adults Initiative, administered by the NYC Office of Human Capital Development (OHCD), formerly the Mayor's Office of Adult Education, since 2010. Based both at OHCD and in the Educational Services Unit of the New York City Department of Correction, Ms. Tevah supports the development of the New York Reentry Education Network and helps build its collective capacity to achieve systems change in reentry education by strengthening collaboration between the Network's members, including community-based service providers and city government partners. Prior to this position, Aviva did program outreach and transitional career counseling with 18-24 year old sentenced men at Rikers Island as the Program Analyst for Getting Out and Staying Out (GOSO), an East Harlem-based reentry program. Aviva graduated from Wesleyan University in 2009 with a BA in African American Studies. While at Wesleyan, Aviva coordinated the Prisoner Solidarity Project, managing student volunteers to lead academic workshops at nearby correctional facilities, and was part of a small group of students who founded the Wesleyan Center for Prison Education, a credit-granting college-in-prison program successfully launched in the fall of 2009.
Aviva Tevah is the Reentry Education Transition Specialist for the Transition to Post-secondary or Vocational Education for Formerly Incarcerated Adults Initiative, administered by the NYC Office of Human Capital Development (OHCD), formerly the Mayor's Office of Adult Education, since 2010. Based both at OHCD and in the Educational Services Unit of the New York City Department of Correction, Ms. Tevah supports the development of the New York Reentry Education Network and helps build its collective capacity to achieve systems change in reentry education by strengthening collaboration between the Network's members, including community-based service providers and city government partners. Prior to this position, Aviva did program outreach and transitional career counseling with 18-24 year old sentenced men at Rikers Island as the Program Analyst for Getting Out and Staying Out (GOSO), an East Harlem-based reentry program. Aviva graduated from Wesleyan University in 2009 with a BA in African American Studies. While at Wesleyan, Aviva coordinated the Prisoner Solidarity Project, managing student volunteers to lead academic workshops at nearby correctional facilities, and was part of a small group of students who founded the Wesleyan Center for Prison Education, a credit-granting college-in-prison program successfully launched in the fall of 2009.
Angela Tolosa, Assistant Commissioner of Skills Development and Program Services, NYC Department of Correction
Since 2010, Angela Tolosa has been serving as the Assistant Commissioner of Skills Development and Program Services at the NYC Department of Correction. In this capacity she oversees the provision of mandated services to the population incarcerated in DOC custody, which includes educational services, the inmate grievance and request program, law library services, and workforce development programs. Prior to this, she served as Executive Director in the Workforce Development division of the NYC Department of Small Business Services, managing day-to-day operations of the city’s Workforce1 Career Centers. Before entering the public sector, Ms. Tolosa worked at the Center for Court Innovation for seven years, where her last position was the Project Director of the Midtown Community Court, overseeing the efforts of the first community court in the country. Ms. Tolosa graduated from Brown University and has a JD from Brooklyn Law School.
Since 2010, Angela Tolosa has been serving as the Assistant Commissioner of Skills Development and Program Services at the NYC Department of Correction. In this capacity she oversees the provision of mandated services to the population incarcerated in DOC custody, which includes educational services, the inmate grievance and request program, law library services, and workforce development programs. Prior to this, she served as Executive Director in the Workforce Development division of the NYC Department of Small Business Services, managing day-to-day operations of the city’s Workforce1 Career Centers. Before entering the public sector, Ms. Tolosa worked at the Center for Court Innovation for seven years, where her last position was the Project Director of the Midtown Community Court, overseeing the efforts of the first community court in the country. Ms. Tolosa graduated from Brown University and has a JD from Brooklyn Law School.
Emily Tow Jackson, Executive Director and Board President, The Tow Foundation
Emily Tow Jackson has been involved in philanthropy since joining the board of trustees of her family foundation, The Tow Foundation, in 1988. She has been the Foundation’s executive director since 1994 and regularly speaks about the Foundation’s work, its commitment to advocacy as a key to achieving social change, and the value and practice of family philanthropy. Emily served on the board of directors of the Philanthropy New York from 1997-2004, and was chair from 2002-2004. She is the recipient of the 2002 Filer Award for creative leadership in philanthropy from the Connecticut Council for Philanthropy, where she currently serves on the board of directors and chairs the program committee. The Tow Foundation received the 2008 Critical Impact Award from the Council on Foundations for its Juvenile Justice Initiative. Emily is a graduate of Barnard College, where she currently serves as a trustee.
Emily Tow Jackson has been involved in philanthropy since joining the board of trustees of her family foundation, The Tow Foundation, in 1988. She has been the Foundation’s executive director since 1994 and regularly speaks about the Foundation’s work, its commitment to advocacy as a key to achieving social change, and the value and practice of family philanthropy. Emily served on the board of directors of the Philanthropy New York from 1997-2004, and was chair from 2002-2004. She is the recipient of the 2002 Filer Award for creative leadership in philanthropy from the Connecticut Council for Philanthropy, where she currently serves on the board of directors and chairs the program committee. The Tow Foundation received the 2008 Critical Impact Award from the Council on Foundations for its Juvenile Justice Initiative. Emily is a graduate of Barnard College, where she currently serves as a trustee.
Sangeeta Tyagi, Cheif Program Officer, YouthBuild USA
Sangeeta Tyagi is Chief Program Officer at YouthBuild USA. She oversees the program improvement strategies and capacity building work of YouthBuild USA vis-à-vis the field of YouthBuild programs. She provides strategic oversight to the scaling and sustainability of YouthBuild USA’s funded initiatives and works closely with the Department of Labor on the organization’s DOL contract. Sangeeta supports the President of YouthBuild USA on the organization’s foundation fundraising and serves as a member of the organization’s Executive Management Team. She also serves as President of the Board of the YouthBuild Charter School of California. Prior to joining YouthBuild USA, Sangeeta Tyagi was the Chief Operating Officer for the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee’s national office and served in several positions at the Exploration School. Sangeeta has written and published extensively in the area of multicultural education. Her co-edited anthology on multicultural education, Beyond A Dream Deferred: Multicultural Education and the Politics of Excellence (University of Minnesota Press) has received an award from the Gustavus Myers Center for Human Rights. She has also co-editedNames We Call Home: Autobiographical Essays on Racial Identity (Routledge). Sangeeta has been a faculty member in the Sociology departments at Boston College, University of Massachusetts at Boston, and at Roanoke College in Virginia and has a Ph.D. in Sociology from Brandeis University.
Sangeeta Tyagi is Chief Program Officer at YouthBuild USA. She oversees the program improvement strategies and capacity building work of YouthBuild USA vis-à-vis the field of YouthBuild programs. She provides strategic oversight to the scaling and sustainability of YouthBuild USA’s funded initiatives and works closely with the Department of Labor on the organization’s DOL contract. Sangeeta supports the President of YouthBuild USA on the organization’s foundation fundraising and serves as a member of the organization’s Executive Management Team. She also serves as President of the Board of the YouthBuild Charter School of California. Prior to joining YouthBuild USA, Sangeeta Tyagi was the Chief Operating Officer for the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee’s national office and served in several positions at the Exploration School. Sangeeta has written and published extensively in the area of multicultural education. Her co-edited anthology on multicultural education, Beyond A Dream Deferred: Multicultural Education and the Politics of Excellence (University of Minnesota Press) has received an award from the Gustavus Myers Center for Human Rights. She has also co-editedNames We Call Home: Autobiographical Essays on Racial Identity (Routledge). Sangeeta has been a faculty member in the Sociology departments at Boston College, University of Massachusetts at Boston, and at Roanoke College in Virginia and has a Ph.D. in Sociology from Brandeis University.
John Valverde, Associate Executive Director, The Osborne Association
John Valverde is the Associate Executive Director for Program Operations, overseeing Osborne’s Family Services, Treatment and Prevention and Workforce Development units, including programs serving non-custodial fathers, young adults, individuals being released from Rikers Island and NYS prisons, Alternative to Incarceration programs, the Green Career Center, FamilyWorks and the New York Initiative for Children of Incarcerated Parents. At the core of John’s work is his deep, personal commitment to supporting people in the transformation of their lives, in the development of a vision for the future that participants never thought possible, and in standing for the genuine freedom of people with criminal records. His commitment to social, economic and environmental justice led him to be selected as a Marano Fellow of the Aspen Institute’s Workforce Strategies Initiative, and to Green for All’s national Green Pathways to Re-entry Community of Practice. John is the 2011 recipient of the Citizens Against Recidivism Bridge Builder Award for forming alliances of power and possibility for assisting people in need. He holds a Masters in Urban Ministry from New York Theological Seminary.
John Valverde is the Associate Executive Director for Program Operations, overseeing Osborne’s Family Services, Treatment and Prevention and Workforce Development units, including programs serving non-custodial fathers, young adults, individuals being released from Rikers Island and NYS prisons, Alternative to Incarceration programs, the Green Career Center, FamilyWorks and the New York Initiative for Children of Incarcerated Parents. At the core of John’s work is his deep, personal commitment to supporting people in the transformation of their lives, in the development of a vision for the future that participants never thought possible, and in standing for the genuine freedom of people with criminal records. His commitment to social, economic and environmental justice led him to be selected as a Marano Fellow of the Aspen Institute’s Workforce Strategies Initiative, and to Green for All’s national Green Pathways to Re-entry Community of Practice. John is the 2011 recipient of the Citizens Against Recidivism Bridge Builder Award for forming alliances of power and possibility for assisting people in need. He holds a Masters in Urban Ministry from New York Theological Seminary.
Patrick Van Sluytman, Executive Assistant to the Deputy Commissioner of Adult Operations, NYC Department of Probation
Patrick is the Executive Assistant to the Deputy Commissioner of Adult Operations and the agency's point person for implementing systemic educational changes at the agency. His responsibilities include collaborating with colleges and CBOs to educate and assist clients in removing barriers that prevent them from successfully reentering into their communities. Over the past 3 months, he has taken on the additional responsibility of managing Restoration Centers in the Rockaways that assist citizens impacted by Hurricane Sandy. Over the years, Patrick has worked with a number of colleges implementing educational programs and teaching at correctional institutions and in communities of color. Patrick holds an MPA degree from Columbia University.
Patrick is the Executive Assistant to the Deputy Commissioner of Adult Operations and the agency's point person for implementing systemic educational changes at the agency. His responsibilities include collaborating with colleges and CBOs to educate and assist clients in removing barriers that prevent them from successfully reentering into their communities. Over the past 3 months, he has taken on the additional responsibility of managing Restoration Centers in the Rockaways that assist citizens impacted by Hurricane Sandy. Over the years, Patrick has worked with a number of colleges implementing educational programs and teaching at correctional institutions and in communities of color. Patrick holds an MPA degree from Columbia University.
Felipe Vargas, Executive Director of Programs, The Doe Fund
Felipe Vargas is Executive Director of Programs for The Doe Fund, Inc., an organization whose mission is to develop and implement cost-effective, holistic programs that meet the needs of a diverse population working to break the cycles of homelessness, addiction, and criminal recidivism. The Doe Fund’s Programs and innovative Business ventures strive to help homeless and formerly incarcerated individuals achieve permanent self-sufficiency. Mr. Vargas has over 13 years of experience serving the community in positions of leadership in the fields of workforce development, chemical dependency treatment, HIV/AIDS services, homelessness services, reentry, supportive housing, and youth services. His use of cognitive behavioral approaches to help formerly incarcerated individuals change criminal thinking and behavior has been recognized by a New York State Senate Declaration. Mr. Vargas holds graduate degrees in sociology (SUNY-New Paltz) and Urban Ministry (New York Theological Seminary). He is also graduate of the Columbia Graduate School of Business' Institute for Not-for-Profit Management. As a formerly incarcerated individual he brings to the field of reentry a unique perspective which blends academia and firsthand experience.
Felipe Vargas is Executive Director of Programs for The Doe Fund, Inc., an organization whose mission is to develop and implement cost-effective, holistic programs that meet the needs of a diverse population working to break the cycles of homelessness, addiction, and criminal recidivism. The Doe Fund’s Programs and innovative Business ventures strive to help homeless and formerly incarcerated individuals achieve permanent self-sufficiency. Mr. Vargas has over 13 years of experience serving the community in positions of leadership in the fields of workforce development, chemical dependency treatment, HIV/AIDS services, homelessness services, reentry, supportive housing, and youth services. His use of cognitive behavioral approaches to help formerly incarcerated individuals change criminal thinking and behavior has been recognized by a New York State Senate Declaration. Mr. Vargas holds graduate degrees in sociology (SUNY-New Paltz) and Urban Ministry (New York Theological Seminary). He is also graduate of the Columbia Graduate School of Business' Institute for Not-for-Profit Management. As a formerly incarcerated individual he brings to the field of reentry a unique perspective which blends academia and firsthand experience.
Andre Ward, Instructor, Workforce Development, The Osborne Association
Andre Ward is a Workforce Development Instructor at The Osborne Association. He has over 15 years experience providing work and other related reentry services to people with criminal justice involvement. Andre’s commitment, activism, and advocacy to effect policy and legislative change within the criminal justice system can be heard and read through radio, lecturing and articles. Andre has a Bachelor’s in Social Work Degree from Medgar Evers College (CUNY). He also holds a CASAT-T certification, and will begin his graduate studies in social work in the fall of 2013.
Andre Ward is a Workforce Development Instructor at The Osborne Association. He has over 15 years experience providing work and other related reentry services to people with criminal justice involvement. Andre’s commitment, activism, and advocacy to effect policy and legislative change within the criminal justice system can be heard and read through radio, lecturing and articles. Andre has a Bachelor’s in Social Work Degree from Medgar Evers College (CUNY). He also holds a CASAT-T certification, and will begin his graduate studies in social work in the fall of 2013.
Panelist, The Power of Peers, Morning Panel
Marsha Weissman, Executive Director of the Center for Community Alternatives
Marsha Weissman is the founder and Executive Director of the Center for Community Alternatives. She holds a Ph.D. in Social Science and a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from the Maxwell School of Citizenship, Syracuse University. Under her leadership, the Center for Community Alternatives (CCA) has developed model alternative-to-incarceration programs for young people in the juvenile justice system as well as men and women in the criminal justice system. Justice Strategies, CCA’s policy initiative draws upon CCA’s direct service experience to advance justice system reform. Dr. Weissman is the author of several publications related to mass incarceration including “The Use of Criminal History Records in College Admissions: Reconsidered” and “Aspiring to the Impracticable: Alternatives to Incarceration in the Era of Mass Incarceration”, New York University Law School Review of Law and Social Change, 33 2009.” She is currently completing a book “Prelude to Prison: Youth Perspectives on the School-to-Prison Pipeline” which will be published later this year. Dr. Weissman serves on several boards including the Sentencing Project, the New York State Defenders Association and the National Hire Network. She was also a member of the New York State Task Force on Transforming Juvenile Justice.
Marsha Weissman is the founder and Executive Director of the Center for Community Alternatives. She holds a Ph.D. in Social Science and a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from the Maxwell School of Citizenship, Syracuse University. Under her leadership, the Center for Community Alternatives (CCA) has developed model alternative-to-incarceration programs for young people in the juvenile justice system as well as men and women in the criminal justice system. Justice Strategies, CCA’s policy initiative draws upon CCA’s direct service experience to advance justice system reform. Dr. Weissman is the author of several publications related to mass incarceration including “The Use of Criminal History Records in College Admissions: Reconsidered” and “Aspiring to the Impracticable: Alternatives to Incarceration in the Era of Mass Incarceration”, New York University Law School Review of Law and Social Change, 33 2009.” She is currently completing a book “Prelude to Prison: Youth Perspectives on the School-to-Prison Pipeline” which will be published later this year. Dr. Weissman serves on several boards including the Sentencing Project, the New York State Defenders Association and the National Hire Network. She was also a member of the New York State Task Force on Transforming Juvenile Justice.
Cheryl Wilkins, Staff Associate, Center for Institutional and Social Change at Columbia Law School, and Associate Director of the Criminal Justice Initiative at Columbia School of Social Work
Cheryl Wilkins is a Staff Associate at the Center for Institional and Social Change. Her work at the Center is focused on criminal justice initiatives, including building the collective impact of the New York Reentry Education Network, a collaboration of community based organizations, city and state government agencies, and institutions of higher education with a mission to improve educational access and success for people with criminal justice records and to make education a core component of reentry policy and practice. In addition to her work at the Center, Cheryl is the Associate Director of the Criminal Justice Initiative: Supporting children, families, and communities (CJI) where she works with at-risk youth, coordinating the Teen College Dreams Program. As an adjunct lecturer with CJI, at the Columbia School of Social Work, Cheryl presents on topics that address the needs of families and communities affected by mass incarceration. Cheryl also sits on the board of College and Community Fellowship, a reentry program that assists formerly incarcerated women in gaining access to college.
Cheryl Wilkins is a Staff Associate at the Center for Institional and Social Change. Her work at the Center is focused on criminal justice initiatives, including building the collective impact of the New York Reentry Education Network, a collaboration of community based organizations, city and state government agencies, and institutions of higher education with a mission to improve educational access and success for people with criminal justice records and to make education a core component of reentry policy and practice. In addition to her work at the Center, Cheryl is the Associate Director of the Criminal Justice Initiative: Supporting children, families, and communities (CJI) where she works with at-risk youth, coordinating the Teen College Dreams Program. As an adjunct lecturer with CJI, at the Columbia School of Social Work, Cheryl presents on topics that address the needs of families and communities affected by mass incarceration. Cheryl also sits on the board of College and Community Fellowship, a reentry program that assists formerly incarcerated women in gaining access to college.
Doug Wood, Program Officer, Ford Foundation
Douglas Wood works on higher education issues, with an emphasis on the needs of students from poor and marginalized communities in the United States. His grant making focuses on helping students transition from high school to college and improving the college completion rates of underserved students. He brings to this position broad experience in PK-12, as well as higher education policy and administration. Prior to joining the foundation in 2011, Douglas was associate dean of administration and planning at the Eugene Lang College of the New School for Liberal Arts. During the 10 years before coming to the foundation, he also worked as executive director and chief executive officer of the Tennessee State Board of Education; served as a member of the Tennessee Higher Education Commission; and was executive director and principal investigator of the National Academy for Excellent Teaching, an institute of the Teachers College, Columbia University. Douglas began his career as a public school teacher. After five years of teaching, he worked as a research assistant at Harvard University, the Center for Collaborative Education-Metro Boston and the Annenberg Rural Challenge, among others. He then served as a course assistant at Harvard's JFK School of Government and a teaching fellow at Harvard's Graduate School of Education. Douglas holds an Ed.D and an Ed.M in Administration, Planning and Social Policy from Harvard University, a master's degree in English from Middlebury College and a bachelor's degree in history from Wofford College, where he is a member of Phi Beta Kappa.
Douglas Wood works on higher education issues, with an emphasis on the needs of students from poor and marginalized communities in the United States. His grant making focuses on helping students transition from high school to college and improving the college completion rates of underserved students. He brings to this position broad experience in PK-12, as well as higher education policy and administration. Prior to joining the foundation in 2011, Douglas was associate dean of administration and planning at the Eugene Lang College of the New School for Liberal Arts. During the 10 years before coming to the foundation, he also worked as executive director and chief executive officer of the Tennessee State Board of Education; served as a member of the Tennessee Higher Education Commission; and was executive director and principal investigator of the National Academy for Excellent Teaching, an institute of the Teachers College, Columbia University. Douglas began his career as a public school teacher. After five years of teaching, he worked as a research assistant at Harvard University, the Center for Collaborative Education-Metro Boston and the Annenberg Rural Challenge, among others. He then served as a course assistant at Harvard's JFK School of Government and a teaching fellow at Harvard's Graduate School of Education. Douglas holds an Ed.D and an Ed.M in Administration, Planning and Social Policy from Harvard University, a master's degree in English from Middlebury College and a bachelor's degree in history from Wofford College, where he is a member of Phi Beta Kappa.
Facilitators
Elliott Dawes, University Director, City University of New York Black Male Initiative
Elliott Dawes is the University Director of The City University of New York Black Male Initiative (CUNY BMI), a University-wide program dedicated to increasing the enrollment, retention and graduation rates of students from populations that are severely underrepresented in higher education, particularly African American males. A graduate of Cornell University with a B.A. in Government and Africana Studies, Dawes later earned a Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree from the New York University School of Law. Before becoming CUNY BMI’s University Director, Dawes was the Assistant Dean for Multicultural Affairs at the Hofstra University School of Law. His work experience includes clerkships with federal judges; monitoring civil rights cases as a Trial Attorney in the Educational Opportunities Litigation Section, Civil Rights Division in the U.S. Department of Justice; teaching at two Brooklyn public high schools and serving as an Associate Professor in the Department of African American Studies at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice/CUNY.
Elliott Dawes is the University Director of The City University of New York Black Male Initiative (CUNY BMI), a University-wide program dedicated to increasing the enrollment, retention and graduation rates of students from populations that are severely underrepresented in higher education, particularly African American males. A graduate of Cornell University with a B.A. in Government and Africana Studies, Dawes later earned a Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree from the New York University School of Law. Before becoming CUNY BMI’s University Director, Dawes was the Assistant Dean for Multicultural Affairs at the Hofstra University School of Law. His work experience includes clerkships with federal judges; monitoring civil rights cases as a Trial Attorney in the Educational Opportunities Litigation Section, Civil Rights Division in the U.S. Department of Justice; teaching at two Brooklyn public high schools and serving as an Associate Professor in the Department of African American Studies at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice/CUNY.
(Invited) Facilitator, Partnerships for College Access and Success, Afternoon Panel
Ronald F. Day, Program Coordinator, Workforce Development, The Osborne Association
Facilitator, The Interdependence of Employment, Workforce Development, and Reentry Education, Afternoon Panel
Ann Jacobs, Director, Prisoner Reentry Institute at John Jay College of Criminal Justice
Ann joined the Prisoner Reentry Institute in May 2011 with over forty years of experience in the criminal justice field. For nearly two decades, Ms. Jacobs served as the Executive Director of the Women’s Prison Association (WPA) in New York. The WPA is the nation’s oldest and largest social service and advocacy organization for incarcerated women, formerly incarcerated women, and their families. During her time at WPA, she directed 120 staff members who served over 2,500 women and their families per year at five community sites, the city jail, and four women’s prisons in New York State. Under Ms. Jacobs’ leadership, WPA’s budget expanded from $500,000 in 1990 to a budget of $8.5 million at the time her of departure in 2008.Ms. Jacobs has served as a national spokesperson, consultant and trainer on a range of issues including gender, families and criminal justice, as well as associated issues of substance abuse, mental health, health, housing, child welfare and employment. Ms. Jacobs has designed and implemented innovative programs for women and families involved in the criminal justice system and has also served as a consultant to the National Institute of Corrections and Annie E. Casey Foundation, among others.As a recognized advocate and reformer, Ms. Jacobs also founded the Women’s Justice Alliance, a consortium of over 100 service providers in New York State; she created the Institute on Women in Criminal Justice, a national policy center dedicated to improving the policies and practices affecting women in the criminal justice system; and the Women’s Advocacy Project, a program in public policy and civic involvement for formerly incarcerated women. Previously, Jacobs was responsible for oversight of the city’s five public safety agencies for the New York City Mayor’s Office of Operations and served as the Deputy Director of the Mayor’s Office of the Criminal Justice Coordinator from 1986 to 1990. Earlier in her career, Ms. Jacobs worked at the Pretrial Services Resource Center and the National Institute for Dispute Resolution. Her experience encompasses work in both the juvenile and adult justice systems, at the local and national levels.Ms. Jacobs earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology from the University of Maryland, College Park and attended the University of Baltimore Law School. Azadeh Khalili, Consultant Azadeh Khalili is an international consultant committed to community engagement, leadership development among marginalized populations, and large scale system reform. She was the Deputy Commissioner for the New York City Mayor's Office of Immigrant Affairs for five years. The Office is a bridge between immigrant communities and New York City government, providing policy analysis and constituency services. Before her appointment at the Mayor's Office, Azadeh served as the CEO of the Youthbase, an agency that provided technical assistance to all New York City public high schools on youth-centered HIV/AIDS education. Prior to founding Youthbase, Azadeh worked on behalf of justice-involved and inner-city youth. Born in Iran, Azadeh lives in Brooklyn and holds an M.P.H. from Columbia University. She was a Charles H. Revson Fellow at Columbia University and a Children and Family Fellows with the Annie E. Casey Foundation. Glenn Martin, Vice President of Development and Public Affairs and Director of the David Rothenberg Center for Public Policy at the Fortune Society
Facilitator, Criminal Justice Agencies as Levers for Education, Afternoon Panel
Annie Moyer Martinez, Deputy Director, Youth Development Institute
Annie Moyer Martinez joined YDI in 2006. In her current role, Annie provides training and coaching to community based organizations (CBOs) and schools in the Office of Post-Secondary Readiness’ Learning to Work Initiative, which is a project of the New York City (NYC) Department of Education as well as the Young Adult Literacy Program, a project of New York City’s Department of Youth and Community Development and the Center for Economic Opportunity, of the Mayor’s Office. Specifically, Annie provides capacity building in the areas of youth development, social supports, internship development, case management, supervision & leadership, building school-CBO partnerships, post-secondary readiness and using data to inform practice. Prior to joining YDI, Annie conducted workforce development for adult ex-offenders, and developed and directed a GED and Career Exploration program for youth at the Midtown Community Court in NYC. Annie holds a B.A. from Yale University, an M.S. in Non Profit Leadership from the University of Pennsylvania and a M.Ed. from Columbia Teacher’s College. Pardeice Powell McGoy, Director of Young Adult Initiatives, Youth Development InstitutePardeice Powell McGoy has 25 years of experience working with youth and adults across multiple settings as a youth development trainer. In her current role, Pardeice serves as the Director of Special Projects where she provides capacity building support to community organizations and city agencies across New York City including programs supported by the Department of Youth and Community Development, Department of Probation and Administration for Children Services. Pardeice provides capacity building support in the areas of youth development, supervision & leadership, case management, social group work, work readiness, building school-CBO partnerships and post-secondary readiness. Pardeice has worked as a consultant for the Youth Development Institute, Cornell University Cooperative Extension, and Ramapo for Children. Pardeice has provided capacity building to major initiatives including New Visions for Public Schools, New Century High Schools, DYCD Beacon Program, NYC Department of Education, and the US Department of Labor. Pardeice holds a Bachelor’s Degree from SUNY New Paltz and a M.Ed from Brooklyn College. Susan Sturm, George M. Jaffin Professor of Law and Social Responsibility and the founding director of the Center for Institutional and Social Change at Columbia Law School Susan Sturm is the George M. Jaffin Professor of Law and Social Responsibility and the founding director of the Center for Institutional and Social Change at Columbia Law School. She is the principal investigator for a Ford Foundation grant, in collaboration with the New York Reentry Education, called “Community Renewal Through Reentry Education Network Development,” and works closely with the NYREN to build collective impact. Her work focuses on building “the architecture of inclusion,” making education central in reentry, institutional change, transformative leadership, legal education, and inclusion and diversity in higher education. She collaborates with a wide variety of higher education and community based organizations and networks involved in initiatives aimed at increasing full participation, including the New York Reentry Education Network, the Criminal Justice Consortium at Columbia University, LADO (Liberal Arts Diversity Officers), College and Community Fellowship, College Initiative, Imagining America, Rutgers Future Scholars, Syracuse University, University of Michigan, the American Commonwealth Partnership, and Harvard Business School. Her publications include: Building Pathways of Possibility from Criminal Justice to College: College Initiative as a Catalyst Linking Individual and Systemic Change (2010); Full Participation: Building the Architecture for Diversity and Public Engagement in Higher Education (with Tim Eatman, John Saltmarsh, and Adam Bush), www.fullparticipation.net (2011); Activating Systemic Change Toward Full Participation: The Pivotal Role of Mission-Driven Institutional Intermediaries; and Who’s Qualified? (with Lani Guinier, 2001). She has co-chaired a working group on Transformative Leadership, as part of a Ford Foundation funded project on Building Knowledge for Social Justice. Her research on strategies for facilitating constructive multi-racial interaction is featured on the Racetalks website, www.racetalks.org. In 2007, she received the Presidential Teaching Award for Outstanding Teaching at Columbia. Anthony Tassi, Executive Director, Literacy Partners
Anthony Tassi serves as the Chief Executive of Literacy Partners, setting the vision and direction of the organization and managing all of its programming. He is responsible for a growing array of classes and other services that help more than 1,800 adults from across the city, and from dozens of countries around the world, strengthen the literacy and language skills they need to improve all facets of their lives. Anthony previously served as the Founding Executive Director of the Mayor’s Office of Adult Education from March 2006 through October 2010, and was responsible for convincing Mayor Bloomberg to create a central office to coordinate and promote best practices among nine city agencies and numerous nonprofit literacy programs. He designed literacy programs for several city initiatives and championed re-entry education within City Hall. Over his tenure, Mr. Tassi secured significant funding to support reentry education, including the Transition to Postsecondary or Vocational Education for Formerly Incarcerated Adults Initiative, and was a co-founder of the New York Reentry Education Network. Anthony created and supervised the production of “We Are New York”, an Emmy-award winning educational television series for low-literate immigrants. He also drafted the Mayoral Order requiring city agencies to use plain language in essential public communications in order to make government services more accessible to adults with limited literacy skills. Prior to his role with the Mayor, he spent many years in the health arena working at both public and private enterprises, which culminated in a role advising then Deputy Mayor Dennis Walcott on health-related issues. Katy Taylor, Senior Policy Advisor and Director of Capacity Building, NYC Office of Human Capital Development
Katy Taylor is a Senior Policy Advisor and Director of Capacity Building at the NYC Office of Human Capital Development (OHCD) in the Office of the Mayor. OHCD was founded in 2012 and is a merger of the Mayor’s Office of Adult Education and the Workforce Investment Board. Under Ms. Taylor’s guidance, the office has spearheaded an asset-based approach to adult education, run a successful Mayoral leadership initiative - the Transition to College Internship, and helped found the NY Reentry Education Network. She designed and has been Project Director for the reentry-focused Transitions to Post-Secondary or Vocational Education for Formerly Incarcerated Adults grants funded by the Mayor’s office as well as a Young Men’s Initiative pilot to replicate IMPACT, a nationally recognized peer mentoring model developed by the Future Now GED and College Success program at Bronx Community College. Ms. Taylor has also worked for NY City Planning and the NYC Human Right Commission and has consulted for the UNDP, UNICEF and numerous international NGO’s. Katy has an M.S. in International Affairs from the New School for Social Research and an extensive background in community-based approaches to education, research and development in the US and abroad. Facilitator, The Power of Peers Morning Panel
Bianca Van Heydoorn, Director of Education Initiatives, Prisoner Reentry Institute at John Jay College of Criminal Justice
Bianca Van Heydoorn 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. |
Valerie Westphal, Director of Programs and Workforce Development, The Doe Fund
Valerie Westphal is the Director of Programs and Workforce Development for The Doe Fund. She joined the organization in 2005, bringing years of experience managing workforce development programs in New York City that serve individuals with multiple-barriers including homelessness and low-literacy, as well as histories of substance abuse and incarceration. She currently oversees the Career Development, Adult Education/Computer Skills, and Occupational Training Departments in addition to two residential facilities. She has a Master’s Degree in Urban Policy and Management from The New School and is a member of the Board of Directors of the New York City Employment and Training Coalition as well as the Best Practices Advisory Committee for the National Transitional Jobs Network.
Valerie Westphal is the Director of Programs and Workforce Development for The Doe Fund. She joined the organization in 2005, bringing years of experience managing workforce development programs in New York City that serve individuals with multiple-barriers including homelessness and low-literacy, as well as histories of substance abuse and incarceration. She currently oversees the Career Development, Adult Education/Computer Skills, and Occupational Training Departments in addition to two residential facilities. She has a Master’s Degree in Urban Policy and Management from The New School and is a member of the Board of Directors of the New York City Employment and Training Coalition as well as the Best Practices Advisory Committee for the National Transitional Jobs Network.
Organizers
Tammy Arnstein, Consultant and Doctoral Student, Teacher's College, Columbia University
Tammy has worked as a practitioner, consultant and researcher in a number of fields including immigrants’ rights policy; U.S. urban and international education; higher education teaching and administration; museum education; and public television/media production and administration. Currently, Tammy is a doctoral student in International Educational Development (IED)/Family and Community Education at Teachers College, Columbia University. She also has an EdM in IED/Peace Education from Teachers College and an MFA in film and video production from the University of Texas at Austin. Tammy was a Writing Fellow in the Programs in International and Comparative Education at Teachers College, NYC Mayor’s Office of Adult Education Social Media Fellow, Coro Immigrant Civic Leadership Program participant and a Rotary Foundation Ambassadorial Scholar in Lyon, France.
Tammy has worked as a practitioner, consultant and researcher in a number of fields including immigrants’ rights policy; U.S. urban and international education; higher education teaching and administration; museum education; and public television/media production and administration. Currently, Tammy is a doctoral student in International Educational Development (IED)/Family and Community Education at Teachers College, Columbia University. She also has an EdM in IED/Peace Education from Teachers College and an MFA in film and video production from the University of Texas at Austin. Tammy was a Writing Fellow in the Programs in International and Comparative Education at Teachers College, NYC Mayor’s Office of Adult Education Social Media Fellow, Coro Immigrant Civic Leadership Program participant and a Rotary Foundation Ambassadorial Scholar in Lyon, France.
Ronald F. Day, Program Coordinator, Workforce Development, The Osborne Association
Alberto Gutierrez, Director of Participant Training, Center for Employment Opportunities, NYC
Azadeh Khalili, Consultant
Barbara Kravitz, Director of Education and Computer Training, The Doe Fund
Barbara Kravitz is the Director of Education and Computer Training for The Doe Fund, an organization whose mission is to develop and implement cost-effective, holistic programs that meet the needs of a diverse population working to break the cycles of homelessness, addiction, and criminal recidivism. The Doe Fund’s Programs and innovative business ventures strive to help homeless and formerly incarcerated individuals achieve permanent self-sufficiency. Barbara has spent the last 12 years at The Doe Fund designing and developing a computer skills training program that allows the men in the Ready Willing and Able program to get the skills that will help to level the playing field for them when applying for a job. Over the past 3 years, Barbara, a former English teacher, has also created an education program that provides classes and opportunities for men whose skill levels range from basic literacy all the way to college level. So far this new program has yielded 50 GEDs, has raised the literacy levels of many of those in the program, and has aided some in beginning or returning to college classes. She is committed to collaborating with others in this diverse community, to offer the best possible avenues to self-sufficiency.
Barbara Kravitz is the Director of Education and Computer Training for The Doe Fund, an organization whose mission is to develop and implement cost-effective, holistic programs that meet the needs of a diverse population working to break the cycles of homelessness, addiction, and criminal recidivism. The Doe Fund’s Programs and innovative business ventures strive to help homeless and formerly incarcerated individuals achieve permanent self-sufficiency. Barbara has spent the last 12 years at The Doe Fund designing and developing a computer skills training program that allows the men in the Ready Willing and Able program to get the skills that will help to level the playing field for them when applying for a job. Over the past 3 years, Barbara, a former English teacher, has also created an education program that provides classes and opportunities for men whose skill levels range from basic literacy all the way to college level. So far this new program has yielded 50 GEDs, has raised the literacy levels of many of those in the program, and has aided some in beginning or returning to college classes. She is committed to collaborating with others in this diverse community, to offer the best possible avenues to self-sufficiency.
Leah Gogel Pope, Associate Research Scholar, Center for Institutional and Social Change at Columbia Law School
John Gordon, Associate Vice President of Programs, The Fortune Society
Susan Sturm, Director of the Center for Institutional and Social Change and George M. Jaffin Professor of Law and Social Responsibility at Columbia Law School
Katy Taylor, Senior Policy Advisor and Director of Capacity Building at NYC Office of Human Capital Development
Aviva Tevah, Reentry Education Transition Specialist, NY Reentry Education Network/ NYC Office of Human Capital Development/NYC Department of Correction Educational Services
Rick Tibbetts, Administrator, Citywide Outreach Resource Enhancement, NYC Department of Probation