Saturday, April 24, 2021 | NATIONAL SECOND CHANCE MONTH
Order of Program 11:00 AM OPEN MEETING 400 YEARS OF AFRICAN AMERCIAN HISTORY COMMISSION
12:00 PM PRESENTATION OF COLORS LIFT EVERY VOICE AND SING
12:10 PM WELCOME INVOCATION SPECIAL REMARKS
12:40 PM KEYNOTE ADDRESS
2:00 PM SPECIAL PRESENTATION MUSICAL SELECTION INTERVIEW: HBCUS INSIDE & OUT
3:30 PM MUSICAL PERFORMANCE CLOSING
Congressman Robert C. "Bobby" Scott has represented Virginia’s third congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives since 1993
May 1, 2017 | U.S. House of Representatives, Floor Statements "Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 1242, the 400 Years of African-American History Commission Act, which was introduced earlier this year by Senators Tim Kaine, Mark Warner, Roy Blunt, and Cory Booker. I was proud to introduce the House version, which has the support of Representatives TAYLOR, RICHMOND, WITTMAN, BEYER, MCEACHIN, LEWIS, COMSTOCK, CONNOLLY, GRIFFITH, GOODLATTE, and many others.
I would like to thank Chairman Chaffetz, Ranking Member Cummings, Mr. Comer, and Mr. Connolly for their assistance in bringing the bill to the floor today. This bill would establish a commission to begin the planning of programs and activities across our Nation to recognize the contributions of African Americans since their first arrival as African slaves in the English colonies at Point Comfort, Virginia, in 1619, almost 400 years ago. Slavery was an abhorrent institution, but the history of Virginia and our Nation cannot be fully understood without first recognizing the role played by the slave trade. This institution was the foundation of the colonial and early American agricultural system. The 20 slaves who arrived at Point Comfort in Hampton, Virginia, in 1619 were the first on record to be forcibly settled as involuntary laborers in the English colonies. This bill will establish a commission to recognize and highlight the resilience and contributions of African Americans since 1619. From enduring slavery to fighting in the Civil War, to working against the oppressive Jim Crow laws, to struggling through the civil rights movement, the rich history of African Americans in the United States and their contributions to our Nation began hundreds of years ago. Obviously, this history does not end there. The commission established by this bill will be charged with the important task of planning, developing, and implementing a series of programs and activities throughout 2019 to tell the full story of African Americans over the last 400 years. This 15-member commission will include historical experts instead of politicians. Therefore, the true legacy of African Americans will be truthfully told. It would be a great disservice not only to African Americans, but to all Americans, if we fail to appropriately recognize this important milestone in our Nation's history. Mr. Speaker, I again thank the chairman and ranking members of the committee, Mr. Comer and Mr. Connolly, for their leadership in bringing this bill to the floor. I urge my colleagues to support this bill."
The 400 Years of African-American History Commission Act was signed into law on January 8, 2018, and established a 15-member commission, Public Law No: 115-102. The commission was extended in late-2020 and continues the work of recognizing the history, resilience, and contributions of the descendants of the enslaved Africans in the United States.
2
April 24, 2021
On March 31st President Joseph Biden affirmed the commitment of his administration to supporting prison reform and all those who have been incarcerated. He expressed a sincere desire to assist those who "return to society" with the hope of making "meaningful contributions." On behalf of the 400 Years of African American History Commission, we support the President's Proclamation, and join our partners, Prison Fellowship, Catholic Charities, and others who acknowledge the significance of continued discussion, education and action that undergirds the
National Returning Citizens Virtual Conference."
"
According to Wendy Sawyer, Research Director at the Prison Policy Initiative, "The American criminal justice system currently holds nearly 2.3 million people in 1,833 state prisons, 110 federal prisons, 1, 772 juvenile correctional facilities, 3, 134 local jails, 218 immigration detention facilities, and 80 Indian Country jails, as well as, in military prisons, civil commitment centers, state psychiatric hospitals and prisons in the U.S. territories." These extraordinary statistics trumpet the importance of re-examining our existing criminal justice system, grappling with long-held racial inequities, and instituting effective reentry programs and services for those determined to live a better life after they have served their time. We are honored to join our colleagues in an exciting series of day-long discussions from experts around the country who will expand our understanding, collaborate on new and existing strategies for meaningful change, and offer new hope for a more perfect union through which all of our returning citizens, all 600,000, are valued and supported.
Dr. Rex M. Ellis Chair, 400 Years of African American History Commission
4
April 24, 2021
As Chair of the Faith and Justice Committee of the 400 Years of African American History Commission (400 YAAHC), I want to thank all who have elected to participate in this significant event...those who understand and recognize the importance of providing "A Second Chance" for those who have been incarcerated and have paid their debt to society. In addition, I too want to thank President Biden for his commitment to prison reform and for his Proclamation designating April as "Second Chance Month." We realize like many annual recognized commemorations, one month is simply not enough! As a former Deputy Superintendent of a prison (over social services), I can speak from experience that those who have been incarcerated and have completed their sentences are very likely to face significant challenges and barriers in their attempt to reintegrate into society. A key priority of the 400 YAAHC is to acknowledge the impact that slavery and laws that enforced racial discrimination had and continue to have on the United States. Reintegration has never been easy, but as most of us know, history has shown that it has always been more of a challenge for people of color. From slavery to Jim Crow and beyond, the criminal justice system has a well-documented history of consequences which have been disproportionately applied for the men and women of color who return to families and communities hoping to rebuild following incarceration. In our commitment to Public Law 115-102, the Faith and Justice Committee of the 400 YAAHC is committed to doing our part in an effort to draw attention to a path of worthwhile and meaningful opportunities that will lead to successful rehabilitation. Many of the perils and facts of reentry will be presented during this conference. As Dr. Ellis mentioned, our goal is to collaborate with our colleagues, experts, and others nationwide, an important part of which is to listen to the victims of this very flawed system and help to identify strategies for meaningful and sustainable change that will offer "new hope". We all must come together.
Mr. Ron Carson Chair of the Faith and Justice Committee 400 Years of Affican American History Commission
5
Vernise Robinson Vice Chair, National Returning Citizens Virtual Conference Vernise Robinson is the Workforce Development Administrator for the Ohio Central School System within the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation, and Correction;
National
Secretary
and
Life
Member
of
the
National
Association of Blacks in Criminal Justice; Member of the Faith and Justice Committee of the 400 Years of African American History Commission; and Vice Chair of the National Returning Citizens Virtual Conference.
6
Rev. Judy Fentress-Williams, PhD Alfred Street Baptist Church Alexandria, VA Judy Fentress-Williams is in bi-vocational ministry in Alexandria, VA as the Professor of Old Testament at Virginia Theological Seminary and the Senior Assistant to the Pastor for Teaching and Preaching at the Alfred Street Baptist Church.
Dr. Fentress-Williams
received her Ph.D. in Hebrew Bible from Yale University in 1999. She earned her M.Div. from
Yale
Divinity
School
and
her
A.B.
in
English
from
Princeton
certificates in African-American Studies and American Studies.
University
Her book entitled,
Holy Imagination: A Literary Guide to the Bible, was published March 2021.
7
with
MESSAGE FROM THE WHITE HOUSE
Melissa Rogers, JD Executive Director White House Office of Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships Melissa Rogers served as special assistant to President Barack Obama and as executive director of the White House Office of Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships
(2013-2017),
and
re-appointed
to
that
office
by
President
Joe
Biden. Her book, Faith in American Public Life was published in October 2019.
8
When was
THE HONORABLE
PROFESSOR
John Nathan Deal
Marc Howard, JD, PhD
Former Governor State of Georgia
Prisons and Justice Initiative Georgetown University
John
in
with
Deal
the
high
rates.
took
midst
of
office a
incarceration
To
address
implemented
a
that
taxpayers
saved
reduced native 2019,
of his
the
series
need
Georgia, reforms
for
costs
2011,
issues,
$264
resulted
left in
Marc
M.
Howard
is
Professor
of
Government and Law and the founding director of
the
Prisons
and
Justice
Initiative
at
Deal
Georgetown University, as well as the author of
reforms
three books and dozens of academic articles,
million
prison
Deal
Dr.
crisis,
recidivism
bipartisan
5,000
Georgia
justice
and
these of
when had
in
criminal
and
including his most recent book, Unusually Cruel:
beds.
A
Prisons,
office
in
Exceptionalism.
his
home
Punishment,
president of
and
He
is
the
Real
the
and
the Frederick Douglass Project for
state having one of the lowest recidivism rates
Justice,
in the nation.
incarcerated people nationwide.
9
American
founder
which
promotes
the
humanity
of
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Addie L. Richburg 400 Years of African American History Commission Addie
L.
Richburg
serves
as
Executive
Director
of
the
400
Years
of
African
American History Commission and President of the National Alliance of Faith and Justice. She is retired from the U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons. She conceptualized JUSTICE SUNDAY™, recognized across the country on the day before the Dr. King federal holiday, and the PEN OR PENCIL™, an evidenced-based, national, youth mentoring initiative and curriculum.
10
KEYNOTE SPEAKER T h e
H o n o r a b l e
Danny K. Davis U.S. House of Representatives State of Illinois Congressman Danny K. Davis was elected to Congress in 1996. Representing the 7th Congressional District
of
Illinois,
he
has
been
re-elected
by
large
majorities
to
succeeding
Congresses.
Congressman Davis is a member of several Congressional Caucuses including the Congressional Black Caucus, and he Co-Chairs the Congressional Caucus on Re-entry. He is resolutely committed to preserving our democracy, maintaining our nation’s gains in civil and human rights, women’s rights, voting rights, while maintaining his long time focus on issues of poverty, education, youth and criminal justice reform. Congressman Davis is the sponsor of the bipartisan Second Chance Act of 2007.
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KEYNOTE SPEAKER T h e
H o n o r a b l e
Pastor Tony Lowden First U.S. Re-Entry Czar U.S. Department of Justice Pastor Lowden is the former U.S. Reentry Czar and Executive Director of the Federal
Interagency
Council
on
Crime
Prevention
and
Improving
Re-Entry
with the U.S. Department of Justice, by presidential appointed in 2020. He currently serves as the Chief Strategy Officer for Hope For Prisoner in Las Vegas, NV, and Pastor of Maranatha Baptist Church in Plains, Georgia.
12
Rev. Jesse C. Turner
Charles Thornton
Pine Bluff Interested Citizens
DC Office of Human Rights
For Voter Registration
Desmond Meade
Tonza Sheree Thomas
Florida Rights Restoration
Xplain The Vote - Georgia
Coalition
13
HBCUS INSIDE AND OUT
Glenda Baskin Glover, PhD, JD, CPA President, Tennessee State University Dr. Glenda Baskin Glover began serving as President of Tennessee State University in 2013.
She is the former Dean of the College of Business at Jackson State University
where she spearheaded the implementation of the nation’s first Ph.D. in Business at an HBCU.
She
is
a
certified
public
accountant,
an
attorney,
and
is
one
of
two
African
American women to hold the PhD-CPA-JD combination in the nation. Dr. Glover earned a
Bachelor
of
Administration
Science from
Clark
from
Tennessee
Atlanta
State
University,
a
University,
doctorate
in
a
Master
business
Washington University, and a law degree from Georgetown University.
of
Business
from
George
Dr.
Glover is
also the International President and CEO of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated, the oldest Greek-letter organization established by African-American college women.
14
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS AND NEXT STEPS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS AND NEXT STEPS
Ron Garrett, DMin
Carlyle I. Holder
Executive Director, Reentry United, Inc. Ron
Garrett
Center
at
County,
serves
Adams
as
Director
House,
Maryland,
a
in
one
of
Chair, National Returning Citizens Virtual Conference the
Prince stop
Bridge
Vice
George's shop
Chair
of
the
Faith
and
Justice
Committee, Carlyle Holder is CEO of CI Holder
for
Enterprises, and author of Can Anything Good
Returning Citizens, Veterans, and 18 - 24 year
Come
olds. He is the Founder of Reentry United, Inc.,
Restructuring and Reintegration.
and Co-Chair of the Re-Entry Action Network
years
of Prince George's County. In 2018, Dr. Garrett
Department
delivered an audacious Ted Talk entitled,
Prisons
(BOP),
Officer
(Warden)
"Permission Addiction
to on
Dream Mass
Again:
The
Impact
Incarceration",
Advisory
of
during
of
of
Prison-The
distinguished of
Case
service
Justice, he
12
as
Chief
years,
Prison
In his 27 plus with
Federal
served for
for
the
U.S.
Bureau
of
Executive
managing
the
largest Pre-Trial and co-managing the largest
TedxDecatur at Emory University.
Correctional Complex facilities in the BOP.
15
Musical Performances
Wintley Phipps "Lift Every Voice And Sing" and "Amazing Grace" Wintley Augustus Phipps (b. 1955) was born in Trinidad and Tobago. Phipps is an ordained Seventh-day Academy,
Adventist
and
founder
minister, of
world-renowned
Songs
of
Freedom
vocal
artist,
Publishing
creator
Company
of and
the
US
Coral
Dream
Records
Recording Company. Mr. Phipps has been the featured speaker and performer at many notable occasions around the world. He has performed for American Presidents Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush at several National Prayer Breakfast events and other distinguished celebrations. He performed for: the 1984 and 1988 National Democratic Conventions, Mother Teresa of Calcutta, President Nelson Mandela. He has appeared on various programs such as the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. television special, Dr. Robert Schuller's Hour of Power Telecast, the Billy Graham Crusades, the Vatican, and was guest soloist at Diana Ross' wedding ceremony in Switzerland, and the Oprah Winfrey Show.
16
Musical Performances
The Spiritual Inspirations
Momolu Stewart
"Change"
"I Dreamed It"
The
Spiritual
The
Hall
founded
Inspirations,
Brothers, by
is
Joseph
a
Hall
originally gospel
and
known
music
Roy
Lee
as
Momolu Stewart, a native Washingtonian, is an
group, in
artist who uses hip hop as a form of expression,
2001
and
while serving 30 years to Life sentences along with
other
members,
David
Lee
Hall
and
a
vehicle
to
album,
"GOD's
Lesson"
educate. is
Momolu's
available
current
on
Tidal,
Apple Music, and Spotify,
Cleophas James Hall, at Coleman Correctional Complex
-
Sometime Coleman
United later,
-
States
the
Medium
guys
where
Penitentiary were they
One.
moved
met
Momolu's
to
Slam
Emanuel
Recently,
Adams Jr., who joined the group as one of the
movie
(1998)
acting
and
Momolu
Thug
performances Life
performed
in at
include,
DC
(1998).
Kanye
West’s
Gospel brunch, at Howard University.
lead singers.
"Music is my life, it gives me a quality of peace
From left to right standing, Roy Lee, Cleophas
that cannot be compromised", Momolu Stewart.
James Hall, Sr., and David Lee Hall; sitting, Joe Nathanal Hall, Jr., and Emanual Adams, Jr.
17
ROOM 1 Plenary Overview "Remember those in prison as if you were together with them in prison" (Hebrews 13:1-3) A discussion on the role of the faith-based community in supporting returning citizens and their families through hospitality, prayer, and partnership.
REV. HAROLD DEAN "DOC" TRULEAR, PHD Facilitator Associate Professor of Applied Theology at Howard University, an ordained American Baptist Minister, Director of Healing Communities Prison Ministry, and Prisoner Reentry Project of the Philadelphia Leadership Foundation
Panelists APOSTLE LEE ROBBINS Life Empowerment Enterprises, Inc.
RON GARRETT, DMIN Reentry United
G. MICHAEL DAVIS, PHD Religious Services, Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction
JANE STENSON Catholic Charities USA
REV. DONALD ISAAC, SR DC Correction Information Council
Breakout Session A & B
18
ROOM 2 Plenary Overview Historically
Black
Colleges
and
Universities
were
founded
with
the
intention
of
primarily
serving the African-American community by providing African-Americans with a route to higher education. Who better to educate those currently and formerly incarcerated, and who better to educate the next generation of culturally-responsive criminal justice professionals?
CARLYLE I. HOLDER Facilitator Retired Warden-FBOP, Chairman & CEO of Correctional Management and Communications Group, immediate past President of the National Association of Blacks in Criminal Justice, and Vice Chair of the Faith and Justice Advisory Committee to the 400 Years of African American History Commission
Panelists DR. GLENDA GLOVER President, Tennessee State University
DR. EARL RICHARDON President Emeritus, Morgan State University
DR. JOSEPH L. GREEN 400 Years of African American History Commission
DR. ZARIA DAVIS Filling The Gap
DR. E. LABRENT CHRITE President, Bethune-Cookman University
DAVID JIMENEZ Prison Fellowship
DR. ALVIN THORNTON
Retired Associate Provost, Howard University
Breakout Session A & B
19
ROOM 3 Plenary Overview Now is the time to support Black-owned businesses and develop a database of businesses owned and operated by returning citizens. When they thrive they employ more AfricanAmericans, minorities, and returning citizens, increasing diversity in the workforce, expanding the tax base, fuelling the economic engine of local communities, and providing opportunities for more returning citizens to start and grow their own businesses - "for us by us."
PASTOR TONY LOWDEN Facilitator Former U.S. Reentry Czar and Executive Director of the Federal Interagency Council on Crime Prevention and Improving Re-Entry with the U.S. Department of Justice, and Pastor of Maranatha Baptist Church
Panelists CEDRIC HENDRICKS KAY Y. WALLACE
DC Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency - HireOne
Duka Consulting
MARVEN SPARKS Culinary Vocational Training U.S. Bureau of Prisons
HANNIBAL B. JOHNSON, ESQ 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre Centennial Commission
BRIAN FERGUSON Frederick Douglass Project for Justice
PHIL ALFARO Rebound Employment Zero to Income Pilot Program
JENNIFER ROGERS National Association of Women's Prison Reform and Rise Up Media Group
Breakout Session A & B
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ROOM 4 Plenary Overview More states are enacting legislation to ensure juveniles sentenced to life have access to an opportunity for parole.
In this session, the panel will discuss the effects of school discipline
on the incarceration of youth, and the need for a ban on life without parole and other extreme sentences for children and youth across the United States.
CRYSTAL R. FRANCIS, PHD Facilitator Senior public policy expert, and founder of ReentryAdvisor, LLC, a company that offers reentry planning and life coaching services to local communities
Panelists
MOMOLU STEWART The Justice Project / N.E.E.D., LLC
CHIEF JUDGE ROBERT M. BELL Retired Maryland Appellate Court Chief Judge
STANFORD FRASER, JD Public Defender
KUNTRELL JACKSON Activist, Actor-Just Mercy
SHARON Y. BLAKE Former President, Baltimore Teachers Union and Spokesperson, Maryland HBCU Advocates
Breakout Session A & B
21
ROOM 5 Plenary Overview The summit of reentry work is family reunification. This is the ultimate goal of the work in supporting the successful reintegration of returning citizens, which results in the restoration of whole communities. How do we equip the family with the proper tools to assist their loved one in successful reintegration?
MASICA JORDAN, PHD Facilitator Professor at Bowie State University, licensed clinical professional counselor (LCPC), a certified peer recovery specialist (CPRS), and founder of Jordan Peer Recovery, Inc.
Panelists LAMONT CAREY DC Mayor's Office of Returning Citizens Affairs
SHEILA BRUNO Author, Wife After Prison: Caught In The Aftermath
JOE AVILA Prison Fellowship - Angel Tree Sports Clinics
RONI BURKES-TROWSDELL Office of Reentry Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction
JOSEPH HACKETT, PHD Jordan Peer Recovery, Inc.
JUDGE ROHULAMIN QUANDER Author, The Quanders: Since 1684, An Enduring African American Legacy
Breakout Session A & B
22
ROOM 6 Plenary Overview Telling the story of returning citizens is necessary to draw greater support in response to the needs of returning citizens and the reentry service providers who support them.
As greater
funding opportunities for reentry become available, it is crucial for service providers to practice good data collection and governance in order to tell the story effectively, and show the impact of the work.
Research-based
practices,
and
partnerships
between
service
providers
and
researchers will be critical in securing funding to enhance work in the reentry space.
RACHEL FULCHER DAWSON Facilitator Associate Director of the University of Notre Dame, Wilson Sheehan Lab for Economic Opportunities and education policy and early childhood education researcher working to show the power of evidence in improving outcomes for our most vulnerable populations
Panelists JOYELL ARSCOTT, PHD Center for Public Health and Human Rights Johns Hopkins University
LAWRENCE BARTLEY The Marshall Project - News Inside
CHELSEA FRISKE, JD Prison Fellowship Ministries
BEN MACKEY
Center for Advancing Correctional Excellence George Mason University
DIVINE PRYOR, PHD People's Police Academy Medgar Evers College (CUNY)
BAHIYYAH MUHAMMAD, PHD Department of Sociology and Criminology Howard University
DARIEN BRUNSON Golden Health Initiative
Breakout Session A & B
23
ROOM 7 Plenary Overview In a post-COVID environment, and with increasing numbers of incarceration, connecting children and families with their loved ones in jails and prisons, and connecting the formerly incarcerated with resources and services to ensure their successful reintegration is ever more challenging. Utilizing 21st century technology is key to making these connections and growing a strong base of reentry service providers, employers, and supporters.
MARCUS BULLOCK Facilitator Founder and CEO of Flikshop, Inc., a software company that builds tools to help incarcerated people stay connected to their families and build community
Panelists DAVID STEPHEN, DO My Alibi
LOUISE WASILEWSKI Acivilate Pokket App
RICHARD GOLDEN Golden Health Initiative
TODD DUBOSE Reentry Institute
PAUL BOLDEN Hello World
ALAN BOTTORFF Teledactyl
ROGER MITCHELL, MD Howard University College of Medicine
Breakout Session A & B
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PANEL 3: Supporting Black Business and Pathways to Entrepreneurship
Phil believes that entrepreneurism is the act of leveraging the best of your natural and technical abilities to impact the lives of those you serve positively. Once you identify who you are best positioned to serve, you can align your life purpose with your income streams. Freelancing is a geographically independent profession that provides a direct path to entrepreneurism for those in all walks of life. Phil’s career in launching new companies led him to Rebound Employment where he is helping inmates, returning citizens, college students, and other entrepreneurs connect their passions to their income streams. https://reboundemployment.com/
PANEL 6: The Facts and More: The So What? of Research
Dr. Joyell Arscott is a trauma and violence research post-doctoral fellow at Johns Hopkins School of Public Health. She is a registered nurse and AIDS Certified Registered Nurse (ACRN). Her research examines the historical impact of social, structural, and institutional factors that contribute to the health inequities in marginalized populations, particularly African American/Black, sexual and gender, minority adolescents and young adults. Dr. Arscott currently leads the I-REECOVR study at the Johns Hopkins Center for Public Health and Human Rights to understand the experiences of incarcerated people returning to their communities during the COVID-19 pandemic. https://www.jhsph.edu/research/centers-and-institutes/ center-for-public-health-and-human-rights/ resources/opportunities/I-RECOOVER
26
PANEL 4: My Brother's and Sister's Keeper: Family Reunification
Joe Avila is the Founder and National Director for Angel Tree Sports Camps at Prison Fellowship Ministries. An ordained minister and received his education from Patten Bible College, Oakland CA and Bethany Bible College, Dothan Alabama. He has served on the Board of Elders for his church and is on the Board of Directors for the Victim Offender Reconciliation Program (VORP), Circles of Support and Accountability, founded First Base After-Care Ministry, cofound Welcome Home Ministries of the Central Valley. Joe also serves on the State of California Department of Corrections Volunteer Advisory Task Force and is special consultant to several state legislators. http://prisonfellowship.org
PANEL 6: The Facts and More: The So What? of Research
Lawrence Bartley is the founder and director of “News Inside,” the print publication of The Marshall Project, which is distributed in hundreds of prisons and jails throughout the United States. He is an accomplished public speaker and has provided multimedia content for CNN, PBS, NBC Nightly News, MSNBC, and more. News Inside is the recipient of the 2020 Izzy Award for outstanding achievement in independent media. https://www.themarshallproject.org/
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PANEL 5: Juvenile Lifers and the School to Prison Pipeline
The Honorable Robert M. Bell served as Chief Judge of the Maryland Court of Appeals. He was the first African American to do so. During his time in office, Chief Judge Bell instituted the Maryland Access To Justice Commission, helping to educate the public on the role and procedures of the courts. As a youth, he participated in a sit-in protest at a segregated restaurant in Baltimore, Maryland, and when he and the other students refused to leave the restaurant, they were arrested and convicted of trespassing. The case was appealed to the Maryland Court of Appeals where the group was represented by Thurgood Marshall among other attorneys. The case was appealed to the U. S. Supreme Court in the 1964 case of Bell v. Maryland. After the Supreme Court's decision, Congress passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
PANEL 5: Juvenile Lifers and the School to Prison Pipeline
As a proud graduate of Morgan State College (now University), Sharon Blake served the Baltimore City Public School System for 43 years. Her service includes, but is not limited to: 1991-1992 Distinguished Fellow of the American Federation of Teachers 1994-1998 Director Educational Issues for the Baltimore Teachers Union May of 2000 Elected President of the Baltimore Teachers Union Sharon continues to speak on panels and at rallies to inspire the youth of tomorrow to exercise their constitutional rights. Sharon currently serves as the Spokesperson for the Maryland HBCU Advocates. https://www.savemdhbcus.org/
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PANEL 7: Leveraging Technology to Expand Access and Build Coalition
Paul Bolden is a sixteen-year volunteer in the Georgia state prison system who brings together his passions for technology and improving the outlook of incarcerated and returning citizens. He has over thirty years of experience in managing and developing technology solutions in the semiconductor and communications sectors. He has a BS in electrical and computer engineering from the University of Tennessee and a MSEE from Drexel University. He has launched Digital Pathways into two prisons in the local Atlanta area to teach advanced computer programming (C#, ASP.NET, Blazor) and general reentry skills (entrepreneur skills, personal finance, investing, and basic computers). paul.bolden@digipathways.org
PANEL 7: Leveraging Technology to Expand Access and Build Coalition
Alan E. Bottorff, Co-Founder and CEO of Teledactyl, is a well-seasoned healthcare executive and professional. After retiring from the U.S. Navy, he went on to be a co-founder and operator of three different types of healthcare companies - urgent care practice, Medicare home health agency and healthcare software/technology. The latter and most current, addresses issues surrounding the lack of access as it relates to health, the redundancy surrounding it, and the wasteful spending that makes it unaffordable. Today, individual practices, non-profits, large and small communities, and for-profit organizations are benefiting from the use of his innovative solutions. https://teledactyl.com/
29
PANEL 5: My Brother's and Sister's Keeper: Family Reunification
Shelia Bruno is an International Public Speaker, Training and Development Trainer, Reentry/Life Coach, Mental Health Advocate, and author of Wife After Prison, Caught in The Aftermath, published in 2019. She is known for giving voice to incarceration’s psychological impact, known as Post Incarceration Syndrome (PICS). Shelia’s mental health advocacy began in 2017 when she came face to face with her husband’s mental health struggles after getting out of prison. Shelia has reached over 60,000 people, sharing her message, seeking to understand, not to deny, prison has side effects. https://wifeafterprison.com/
PANEL 6: The Facts and More: The So What? of Research
Darien Brunson, Program Coordinator and Community Manager for Golden Health Initiative (GHI) has a diverse background of experience and expertise within an array of community platforms. As a former collegiate and current professional athlete, Mr. Brunson utilizes those experiences in collaboration with his longstanding community engagement as a member of the Our Voice Our Vote Arizona, Boys & Girls' Club, Young Black Leaders of Phoenix and involvement in Special Olympics, to mold projects for GHI in clinical, community and re-entry capacities. Mr. Brunson received his Bachelor's Degree from Colorado State University-Pueblo and is currently pursuing a Master's Degree in Executive Health Administration from the University of Central Florida.
30
PANEL 7: Leveraging Technology to Expand Access and Build Coalition
Marcus Bullock is an entrepreneur, justice reform advocate, and public speaker. Bullock launched Flikshop, an app that enables incarcerated people to receive personalized postcards from their families; building community and decreasing recidivism. He also founded the Flikshop School of Business, a program that teaches returning citizens life skills and entrepreneurship. He is a Techstars alumni and was selected as one of The Root’s 2019 100 Most Influential African Americans in the US. Shortly after, Bullock was named a 2020 Halcyon Incubator Fellow. He is a member of the Justice Policy Institute’s board of directors, Advisory Board member for Princeton University's Prison Teaching Initiative, and serves as an advisor to the Georgetown University McDonough School of Business and Aspen Institute’s Opportunity Youth Incentive Fund. Married with two children, Bullock’s story has received coverage from Forbes, CNN, Washington Post, Black Enterprise, and NPR. https://www.flikshop.com
PANEL 5: My Brother's and Sister's Keeper: Family Reunification
Roni Burkes-Trowsdell has over 20 years of service with the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction and has served in various capacities including Warden and Deputy Director. Roni has been honored with numerous awards and recognitions to include the 2019 Governor’s Award for Arts in Community Development and Participation and the 2017 Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction Warden of the Year. Roni earned a master’s degree in Criminal Justice Administration from Tiffin University. She serves as the President of the Ohio Wardens and Superintendents Association and the Vice-President of the National Association of Blacks in Criminal Justice, Ohio Chapter. https://www.drc.ohio.gov/
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PANEL 5: My Brother's and Sister's Keeper: Family Reunification
“Success Is The Only Option” Lamont Carey was born Washington, DC but raised in prison. His focus since his release has been to assist other returning citizens in finding their pathway to success. Initially he accomplished this through the development of businesses, programs, coaching, speaking and authoring several books. As the Director of the Mayor’s Office on Returning Citizens Affairs (MORCA) in Washington, DC, he advises the Mayor on policy issues that remove barriers for returning citizens. Through his leadership, MORCA collaborates with businesses and community partners to create opportunities for successful reintegration. More than half of his committed staff are returning citizens.
PANEL 2: HBCUs Inside and Out
Dr. Chrite is the president at Bethune-Cookman University and the former dean of the University of Denver’s Daniels College of Business. Dr. Chrite has more than 25 years of leadership experience in higher education. As president of Bethune-Cookman, a historically Black university in Florida, he led a process that created a long-term strategy for institutional governance and fiscal integrity, leading the university out of probation and strengthening its academic and administrative leadership teams. As dean of the Daniels College of Business at the University of Denver, Chrite oversaw the development of a strategic plan aligned with the changing higher education landscape, leading to new programs as well as increased enrollment, student satisfaction and revenues. He also served as dean of the Feliciano School of Business at Montclair State University, where he increased graduate enrollment by 24 percent, led the creation of a center for entrepreneurship, and partnered with the cities of Newark and Paterson to invite inner-city high school students to campus and introduce them to careers in business.
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PANEL 1: Faith Leading The Way
G. Michael Davis, Ph.D. currently serves as the administrator of the Office of Recreation and Religious Services for the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction. Dr. Davis provides central leadership for the development of institutional pro-social activities, religious services, and programs. Additionally, he collaborates with national, state, and local organizations to promote effective faith-based reentry programming models. His career in public service includes his role as Crime Prevention Coordinator within the Ohio Office of Criminal Justice Services, during which time, he developed the Ohio Urban Crime Prevention Initiative, providing a comprehensive strategy for the prevention of crime and increased public safety in high crime urban areas. Dr. Davis received his PhD from Antioch University where his doctoral research focused on Exploring the Effects of Prisoner Reentry on Structural Factors in Disorganized Communities. He is also a proud graduate of Central State University in Wilberforce, OH and Tiffin University.
PANEL 2: HBCUs Inside and Out
Dr. Zaria Davis is a mentor, educator, and advocate. She owns New Direction Coaching & Consulting, LLC. As Founder of Filling The Gap Reentry Services, she addresses many of the voids of services in her community for formerly incarcerated women. Zaria serves on UnlockHigherEd Steering Committee, Ed Trust's Justice Fellows Advisory Board, & Executive Board for the Division of Convict Crim with ASC. Zaria holds a DSW from Capella University, MSW from University of Cincinnati, BA in Sociology from Wilberforce University and pursuing her MDiv at Eden Theological Seminary. She is actively engaged in developing new advocates impacted by the criminal legal system. Zaria is a Subject Matter Expert with Dignity LeadHership Alliance & Jamii Sisterhood. http://www.fillingthegapservices.com
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PANEL 7: Leveraging Technology to Enhance Access and Build Coalition
CEO of Returning Citizens Magazine, Mr. Dubose assists the “justice-involved” community inside and outside the walls of correctional facilities around the U.S. His national magazine provides best practices in creating sound reentry strategies and countless reentry resources. His digital monthly magazine “Returning Citizens” has a daily tablet-based audience of over 452,000 readers in prisons across America. https://returningcitizensmag.com Mr. Dubose is the COO of ReentryInstitute.com, an IT-based Learning Management System (LMS) custom-designed for the post-release population. Our reentry-based video courses help address the education gap experienced when individuals are released from prison and no longer have access to LMS reentry-based content. http://reentryinstitute.com
PANEL 3: Supporting Black Business and Pathways to Entrepreneurship
Brian Ferguson, a 4.0 university student, was wrongfully accused and ultimately wrongfully convicted of a homicide of which he had no knowledge or involvement. Brian was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. His conviction was overturned, and he was finally released after 11-years inside a maximum-security penitentiary. Brian returned home with a new purpose, to serve as an example to others who have experienced and overcome great hardships in their lives by striving to create systemic equity. Brian worked for the Washington, DC Office of Human Rights as an investigator, and in 2016 was appointed by Mayor Muriel Bowser to her executive cabinet as the Director of the Mayor’s Office on Returning Citizen Affairs (MORCA) while completing his bachelor’s degree in Government at Georgetown University. He earned a master’s degree in Comparative Social Policy from Oxford University. Brian is now the COO of the Frederick Douglass Project for Justice.
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PANEL 4: Juvenile Lifers and the School to Prison Pipeline
Dr. Crystal R. Francis is a Senior Public Policy Expert. She recently launched ReentryAdvisor, LLC, a company that offers reentry planning and life coaching services to local communities. Dr. Francis volunteers on the Board of Directors of the Maryland Alliance for Justice Reform, and in 2019, was appointed to serve as the Community Representative for the Baltimore County Equitable Policing Workgroup. Her work was integral in the passage of the Baltimore County SMART Policing Act in 2020. Dr. Francis earned a bachelor's degree in Criminal Justice Pre-law from the University of Maryland Eastern Shore, a Master's in Homeland Security Management from Towson University, and a Ph.D. in Public Policy and Administration from Walden University. She is a proud member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc. and the Fulbright Association.
PANEL 4: Juvenile Lifers and the School to Prison Pipeline
Stanford Fraser lives in Upper Marlboro, Maryland and is an Assistant Public Defender in Prince George’s County. Stanford attended Howard University as an undergraduate and received his J.D. from Harvard Law School in 2016. As both an undergraduate and a law student Stanford was very involved in student and community organizing. His efforts included campaigning to repeal the death penalty in Maryland and representing low income residents in Boston Housing Court.
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PANEL 6: The Facts and More: The So What? of Research
Chelsea Friske serves Prison Fellowship’s advocacy team by managing the tracking of criminal justice trends at the state and federal levels, authoring technical writing pieces in support of justice reform campaigns, and producing resources that raise the profile of values-based criminal justice reform. Friske is a graduate of the University of South Carolina School of Law and Bay Path College, where she studied criminal justice and psychology, with a research focus on the experience of children. https://www.prisonfellowship.org/
PANEL 6: The Facts and More: The So What? of Research
Rachel oversees the research team as they develop, launch, run, and complete LEO’s research studies. She also works to disseminate research results and information to everyone who can benefit from it– providers in the field, researchers, policymakers, and funders. Rachel received her BA in Political Science from Marquette University, her MA in Public Policy and Management from the University of Maryland, and her PhD in Education Policy from Michigan State University. Before joining the LEO team, Rachel consulted with nonprofits, schools, and state governments and worked for the federal government at the Department of Education and on Capitol Hill. https://leo.nd.edu/
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PANEL 1: Faith Leading The Way
Ron Garrett serves as Director of the Bridge Center at Adams House, in Prince George's County, Maryland, a one stop shop for Returning Citizens, Veterans, and 18 - 24 year olds. He is the Founder of Reentry United, Inc., and Co-Chair of the Re-Entry Action Network of Prince George's County. In 2018, Dr. Garrett delivered an audacious Ted Talk entitled, Permission to Dream Again: The Impact of Addiction on Mass Incarceration, during TedxDecatur at Emory University. During his incarceration, Dr. Garrett was instrumental in designing and implementing a re-entry dorm program in a 400-bed facility called, The Walker Faith and Character Based Program. The program developed into the first Faith and Character Based Prison within the Georgia Department of Corrections. To document this historic initiative, he co-authored the book, Men of Destiny, Redeeming the Time. Dr. Garrett's vision for the future is to position Reentry United as a vibrant, national returning citizens organization, working specifically to meet the needs of returning citizens and their families. https://youtu.be/5lqCLel5x_s
PANEL 2: HBCUs Inside and Out
Dr. Joseph L. Green, Jr is a husband, father, businessman and a published author. In September of 2016, Dr. Green started The 2019 Movement, a movement aimed at racial and cultural reconciliation. In October of 2018 he was congressionally appointed to the United States 400 Years of African American History federal Commission and served as the first chairman of the commission. Dr. Green is the head pastor of St Paul Missionary Baptist Church, located in Harrisburg Pa. He is the Pennsylvania Chaplain for Capitol Ministries and he is a Facilitator of Cultural Intelligence Training. Dr. Green is the author of several books including, Kingdom Business, a book that discusses race, religion, and politics from a biblical perspective. The 2019 Movement, and The Power of The Original Church, turning the world upside down.
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PANEL 7: Leveraging Technology to Expand Access and Build Coalition
Richard Golden is the CEO and founder of Golden Health Initiative (GHI), a technology enabled clinical services company striving to improve access and delivery of healthcare to rural and urban poor communities. Mr. Golden is passionate about reentry and the opportunity to help community based organizations deliver social and clinical services to their clients. Prior to starting GHI, Mr. Golden spent twenty years in healthcare logistics and technology, working in healthcare facilities in all fortyeight contiguous states. Mr. Golden is from Summit, NJ and attended Arizona State University as a Bio-Medical Engineer.
PANEL 5: My Brother's and Sister's Keeper: Family Reunification
Joseph T. Hackett, PhD is a social scientist with over 20 years of experience in community and economic development. His scholarship is rooted in social entrepreneurship with experience connecting for-profit and non-profit agencies for the greatest good. As a returning citizen himself, his research on recovery/re-entry is published in NAADAC's scholarly journal and featured in the North Carolina Bar Journal for Social Enterprise where non-profit agencies create for-profit subsidiaries. The journey of re-entry is complex. To that end, he has built the state's first registered Community Health Worker Apprenticeship; owns Asheville's first black-owned coffee shop, GRIND; and is the founder of Black Wall Street AVL. http://jordanpeerrecovery.org
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CEDRIC R. HENDRICKS PANEL 3: Supporting Black Business and Pathways to Entrepreneurship
Cedric R. Hendricks currently serves as Associate Director for the Office of Legislative, Intergovernmental and Public Affairs of the Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency (CSOSA). This federal agency is responsible for the supervision of men and women on probation, parole, and supervised release in the District of Columbia. Mr. Hendricks serves as the Co-Chair of the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council’s Reentry Steering Committee. Mr. Hendricks joined CSOSA in January 2001. Before assuming his present position, Mr. Hendricks served as Minority Deputy General Counsel for the US House of Representative's Committee on Education and the Workforce, a position he assumed in April 1998. http://www.csosa.gov
PANEL 2: HBCUs Inside and Out
Carlyle I. Holder is a proven strategic and innovative executive leader with a career spanning 40 years in criminal justice. Over his 27 plus years of distinguished service with the United States Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP), he served 23 of those years as supervisor, manager and executive. He was a Chief Executive Officer (Warden) for 12 years managing the largest Pre-Trial and co-managing the largest Correctional Complex facilities in the BOP. Mr. Holder is a life member and inductee on the National Association Blacks in Criminal Justice Wall of Fame, and served as its 12th National President. He is a member of the American Correctional Association. Mr. Holder is very active in his community serving on the Board of Trustees and Treasurer of his church. Founder and President of an AAU Basketball Club, and CI Holder Ministries to provide services to formerly incarcerated and returning citizens. He is author of the book, Can Anything Good Come of PrisonThe Case for Prison Restructuring and Reintegration.
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PANEL 1: Faith Leading The Way
Rev. Donald Isaac, Sr. is currently the Executive Director of the Corrections Information Council in Washington, DC. Prior to that he served as the Executive Director of the East of the River Clergy Police Community Partnership, also in Washington, DC. Both of these entities work in collaboration with faith, law enforcement, and community-based partners addressing issues related to incarceration, youth violence, and economic empowerment of the community. In these roles, Rev. Isaac has been involved in mentoring, employment, housing, and the reunification of youth, men, and women with their families adversely impacted by the criminal justice system.
PANEL 4: Juvenile Lifers and the School to Prison Pipeline
Kuntrell Jackson grew up in Blytheville, Arkansas in a public housing community devastated by the prevalence of drugs, guns, and violence. At the age of 14, Kuntrell was tried as an adult and convicted of capital murder, receiving a mandatory life sentence without the chance of parole. With the involvement of Bryan Stevenson of the Equal Justice Initiative (EJI), Kuntrell became one of the plaintiffs in a 2012 case challenging his sentence (Jackson v. Hobbs and Miller v. Alabama). EJI took his case to the Supreme Court and in June 2012, the Court issued a historic ruling, holding that mandatory life-without-parole sentences for children are unconstitutional. He was eventually re-sentenced, released, and supported through his societal re-entry process through EJI’s Post-Release Education & Preparation (PREP) program. Today, Kuntrell is an outspoken activist, author, advocate, and highly sought out speaker. He is fulfilling his purpose through his organization, P.A.I.N. (Preventing Adolescents from Incarceration Nationwide). https://www.kuntrelljackson.com/
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PANEL 2: HBCUs Inside and Out
David Jimenez serves as a federal legislative strategist for Prison Fellowship’s advocacy and public policy team. As an undergraduate at Bowdoin College in Maine, Jimenez studied history. After graduating, he participated in the Hudson Institute’s Political Studies Fellowship and was a Fulbright English teaching assistant in Romania. He first became passionate about criminal justice reform while serving urban youth in New Jersey, where he saw up close the urgent need for restorative approaches to incarceration, law enforcement, and violence. He is passionate about theology, social policy, and literature. A Pittsburgh native, Jimenez lives in the Columbia Heights neighborhood of Washington, D.C.
PANEL 3: Supporting Black Business and Pathways to Entrepreneurship
Hannibal B. Johnson is a graduate of Harvard Law School. He did his undergraduate work at The University of Arkansas, where he completed a double major in economics and sociology. Johnson is an attorney, author, and independent consultant specializing in diversity & inclusion/cultural competence issues and nonprofit governance. Johnson has also served as an adjunct professor at The University of Tulsa College of Law, Oklahoma State University, and the University of Oklahoma. Johnson serves on the federal 400 Years of African-American History Commission. He chairs the Education Committee for the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre Centennial Commission. https://www.hannibalbjohnson.com/bio/
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PANEL 5: My Brother's and Sister's Keeper: Family Reunification
Dr. Jordan is a licensed clinical professional counselor and certified peer recovery specialist. She’s the CEO of Jordan Peer Recovery and Peerfinity. She’s a professor at Bowie State University. Dr. Jordan provided expert testimony to the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) on peer recovery and technologies to address the opioid epidemic. She’s also leading efforts addressing substance misuse and other mental health conditions affecting African Americans. She was a panelist during a townhall presented by Roland Martin, has been featured on FOX media, and numerous local talk and news shows, her work was also featured in an HBO documentary. https://mypeerfinity.com
PANEL 3: Supporting Black Business and Pathways to Entrepreneurship
A well-rounded, godly man, Tony is the former Executive Director of the Federal Interagency Council on Crime Prevention and Improving Reentry. Reared in North Philadelphia in a single-parent home, he understands the plight of poverty and illiteracy. He believes that in order for young people to become productive citizens in their communities, they must have a firm biblical foundation and a good education. Tony double majored in Economics and Government at the University of Southern California while on an athletic scholarship. He earned his M.Div. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. Tony Lowden founded and served as Executive Director of STONE Academy, an after-school enrichment program for at-risk children in the Macon-Bibb County area. He has served as pastor at Strong Tower Fellowship and youth pastor at Lundy Chapel Missionary Baptist Church in Macon, and in other leadership capacities in numerous civic organizations in Middle Georgia.
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PANEL 6: The Facts and More: The So What? of Research
Benjamin Mackey is a graduate research assistant at the Center for Advancing Correctional Excellence and an MA student in the Department of Criminology, Law and Society at George Mason University. His research focuses on community-based systems of service and supervision. In particular, he is interested in reentry, probation, and parole. Benjamin takes an interdisciplinary approach to this work, combining his academic background with practical experience working in the reentry field. His current research explores the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on reentry service systems.
SPECIAL PRESENTATION on VOTING RIGHTS
Desmond Meade is a formerly homeless returning citizen who overcame many obstacles to eventually become the President of the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition (FRRC), Chair of Floridians for a Fair Democracy, a graduate of Florida International University College of Law, and a Ford Global Fellow. Recognized by Time Magazine as one of the 100 Most Influential People in the World in 2019, Desmond presently leads efforts to empower and civically re-engage local communities across the state, and to reshape local, state, and national criminal justice policies. Desmond is the author of Let My People Vote (2020) https://desmondmeade.com/desmond
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PANEL 7: Leveraging Technology to Expand Access and Build Coalition
Dr. Roger Mitchell Jr. is a forensic pathologist and former Chief Medical Examiner of the Nation’s Capital. He is one of only four Black Chief Medical Examiners of a major city in the US. Dr. Mitchell is an expert in Violence as a Public Health Issue. He has been bringing attention to the issue of Firearm Violence in the African American Community for over a decade and serves as Chair of the Task Force on Gun Violence for the National Medical Association. He coauthored a position paper on The Violence Epidemic in the African American Community for the Journal of the National Medical Association, 2017. Dr. Mitchell is a national expert on deaths that occur while in the custody of law enforcement and has served as an expert in many high profile cases. Dr. Mitchell is a proud graduate of Howard University, Washington DC, and New Jersey Medical School, Newark, NJ.
PANEL 6: The Facts and More: The So What? of Research
Dr. Bahiyyah Muhammad is an Associate Professor of Criminology in the Department of Sociology at Howard University. She is an expert on mass incarceration and the collateral consequences on families, specifically focused on resilience among children of incarcerated parents. Her recent work explores the culture among families and children who maintain bonds during long-term imprisonment and death by incarceration. Her future research agenda includes ethnographic methodologies to uncover the “culture of mass incarceration”. In addition, Dr. Muhammad is also Founding Director for the Higher Education in Prison (HEP) Suite of Programming across all three campuses at Howard University. Most recently, Dr. Muhammad was selected as a 2020-2021 Mandela Washington Reciprocal Exchange Fellow for the U.S. Government’s Young African Leaders Initiative and the International Research & Exchanges Board. Through this fellowship, Dr. Muhammad will spend the year working to expand prisoner and juvenile refugee programming in the Kingdom of ESwatini (known as Swaziland), located in Southern Africa.
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PANEL 6: The Facts and More: The So What? of Research
Dr. Divine Pryor is the President & Chief Executive Officer of the Peoples Police Academy (PPA) in the City University of New York at Medgar Evers College, where is has developed an innovative approach to public safety that brings local leadership together with law enforcement. This highly acclaimed training and information exchange experience requires that the participants commit to actively take part in a three-day, problem solving laboratory, out of which emerges a community specific public safety agenda. The establishment of the PPA is the hallmark of thirty years of advocacy and activism in the criminal justice arena that has demonstrated that those who have the greatest stake in public safety, should be at the center of solutions.
PANEL 5: My Brother's and Sister's Keeper: Family Reunification
Rohulamin Quander, a native Washingtonian and graduate of Howard University, is a retired Senior Administrative Law Judge. In 1985, he founded the Quander Historical and Educational Society, Inc. (QHES), to document, preserve, and share the historical legacy of the Quander Family as an inspirational and educational tool. His service includes addressing human and civil rights inequities and discrimination. His book, The Quanders – Since 1684, An Enduring African American Legacy (2021), relates the multi-century journey of one of America’s oldest documented families who, despite racially imposed obstacles, through entrepreneurship and perseverance, triumphed. He resides in Washington, DC with his wife, Carmen Torruella. http://QuanderQuality.com
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PANEL 2: HBCUs Inside and Out
Dr. Earl Richardson is President Emeritus, Distinguished Professor and Senior Research Associate at Morgan State University in Baltimore, MD. Dr. Richardson served as the 9th President of Morgan State University from 1984 to 2010. Prior to serving as the President of Morgan State University, Dr. Richardson served as Assistant to the President of the University System of Maryland. Dr. Richardson has over 45 years of experience in Maryland higher education. Dr. Richardson is an alumnus of the University of Maryland Eastern Shore.
PANEL 1: Faith Leading The Way
Lee Robbins is a national reentry expert and Founder/CEO of Life Empowerment Enterprises, Inc. (www.leerobbins.com) , a Life Coach Certification company. Lee has served as the Greater Gwinnett Re-entry (www.gwinnetreentry.org) President for which he is a perpetual volunteer connecting Partners, Providers, and Participants to reduce prison recidivism. Lee is the former Community Coordinator for the Department of Community Supervision (www.dcs.georgia.gov) and is committed to building networks of resources (housing, jobs, transportation, education, food, etc.) to help Returning Citizens better second chances. Lee is the founder of the reentry staffing company, Safe Staffing (safestaffinginc.com). Lee received his masters from Oral Roberts University. http://www.thesource.church
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JENNIFER ROGERS PANEL 3: Supporting Black Business and Pathways to Entrepreneurship
Jennifer Rogers, a formerly incarcerated woman is transforming the lives of incarcerated women and men all over the world. More than just a CEO and Founder National Association of Women's Prison Reform, Rise Up Media Group, and The Ruth Sanctuary Inc, Jennifer Rogers is a prison reform expert. Her popular talks have inspired an array of organizations all over the United States. A visionary, and an intense observer of highly successful leaders and teams, Jennifer has learned the key to women and men achieving success is having access to life skills, sales training, and employment tailored to each individual. Jennifer Rogers has taken the worst parts of herself and her life, and created a powerful way for convicted felons to start over. http://www.nawpr.org | http://www.riseupmediagroup.com
MARVEN SPARKS PANEL 3: Supporting Black Business and Pathways to Entrepreneurship
Marven Sparks is a native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and a military veteran. After an honorable discharge, he relocated to the Atlanta area where he completed a Bachelor of Science degree from Saint Leo University. Marven has three decades of restaurant industry experience as operations manager, general manager, and executive chef. Marven has also been the proprietor of several independent restaurant ventures. Currently, he is a vocational technical instructor for the United States Bureau of Prisons. Marven teaches an accredited culinary arts /entrepreneur program that provides inmates with marketable skills to secure gainful employment upon release, and thereby reducing the likelihood of recidivism for these returning citizens. Marven is also the CEO/Chief Consultant of Buckhead Epicurean Consulting, LLC, a restaurant consulting firm that works with urban restaurants to improve their operational objectives and overall profitability.
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JANE STENSON PANEL 1: Faith Leading The Way
Jane Stenson currently serves as the Vice President for Food and Nutrition and Poverty Reduction Strategies for Catholic Charities USA, the national office for the 167 member agencies in the United States. In this role, Ms. Stenson is responsible for leading the organization’s strategic priority on Food and Nutrition and supporting agencies identify and implement best practice in multiple program areas including poverty reduction, asset development and aging services. Ms. Stenson also provides networking support and consultation with agencies in selective areas. Ms. Stenson has serves on the Catholic Prison Ministry Coalition Executive Committee, and the Sponsor Council of the Council on Accreditation. Ms. Stenson received a Bachelor of Arts from Trinity College, Washington, DC and a Masters in Social Work from St. Louis University, St. Louis, Missouri. https://www.catholiccharitiesusa.org/
DAVID J. STEPHEN, DO PANEL 7: Leveraging Technology to Expand Access and Build Coalition
Dr. David J. Stephen was born and raised in Chicago, IL, and is an alumnus of the University of Illinois-Champaign Urbana. Dr. Stephen is currently the Discipline Chair of Pathology & Histology at an Osteopathic Medical School in the Southeast where he manages those departments at two of the institutions’ four campuses. David is a passionate longtime servant in Prison Ministry & Re-entry Programs, and the CEO of The Stephen Group, LLC, developer of the MyAlibi App: Your easy-to-use caseload monitoring app, and powerful alternative to ankle bracelets. Dr. Stephen enjoys golf, target shooting, kayaking and loves to read. http://myalibiapp.com
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MOMOLU STEWART PANEL 4: Juvenile Lifers and the School to Prison Pipeline
Momolu S.K. Stewart is the executive director of N.E.E.D. LLC. Momolu created N.E.E.D. for misguided youth in our society because he realizes how easy it is to choose the wrong path. N.E.E.D. is an acronym for Nothing Exceeds Educational Development. Momolu believes education is the only way to free minds from the fascination of crime and instant gratification, and that true education is the ability to pull something greater out of the student, rather than putting something into the student. He believes children are gifted intelligence and talent at birth, and must work to tap into the genius within. N.E.E.D. was established to assist young people in taping into their genius, and in shifting the educational paradigm. Momolu was once a sixteen year old child who received a life sentence for a murder. After twenty-three years, Momolu was able to believe in himself after many others believed in him. He is duty-bound to pay it forward. Momolu is an artist using his talent to express the story and heal the souls of Black people.
TONZA SHEREE THOMAS SPECIAL PRESENTATION on VOTING RIGHTS
Ms. Thomas is a Silver Life Member of the NAACP, and Chair of the Muscogee County Democratic Committee. She is a Community Activist, W.I.N. Women In the NAACP Chair and Member-at-Large of the Columbus, Georgia Branch of the NAACP Ms. Thomas served as MCDC Vice Chair, two terms as a president of the NAACP Columbus, Georgia Branch (2015-2017); three terms as NAACP State Secretary for the Georgia State Conference; received two National NAACP Thalheimer Awards (2015 and 2017); received a Congressional Recognition of Leadership (2016); Zeta Phi Beta Inc., Epsilon Eta Chapter Community Pearl (2015), NAACP Georgia "Defining Leadership" Honoree (2015) and the recipient of the Leonard Leavell Educational Scholarship (2009). Ms. Thomas is a part-time, local actress, singer and spoken word artist. Her motto is, "I'd rather start from the bottom than start from the top. To appreciate what I ain't while I ain't got. This life is a gamble; you win, or you lose. Don't be the one getting caught pressing snooze."
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ALVIN THORNTON. PHD PANEL 2: HBCUs Inside and Out
Dr. Thornton was a faculty member in the Political Science Department at Howard University for 38 years. During his tenure at Howard, he was Senior Academic Advisor to the President, Interim Provost and Chief Academic Officer, Associate Provost for Academic Affairs, and chair of the Political Science Department. He is the co-author of two books, Perspectives of Political Power in the District of Columbia, and Like a Phoenix I’LL Rise: An Illustrated History of African Americans in Prince George’s County, Maryland, 1696 to 1996. Dr. Thornton chaired the Board of Education of Prince George’s County, Maryland from 1992-1999, and 2018-2020. He also chaired Citizens Against Police Brutality and Citizens for Representative Redistricting in Prince George’s County as part of political reform efforts in the county. In 1999, Maryland’s Governor appointed Dr. Thornton to chair the State’s Commission on Education Adequacy, Equity and Excellence (the “Thornton Commission”). The Commission’s visionary recommendations became the design that the State used to fund and hold accountable secondary public education (2002 Bridge to Excellence). Dr. Thornton is a graduate of Morehouse College (B.A.) and Howard University (Ph.D.).
CHARLES THORNTON SPECIAL PRESENTATION on VOTING RIGHTS
Since 1990, Charles Thornton has been a leading advocate on criminal justice policies, both locally and nationally. His work with the Washington, DC City Council led to the creation of the Mayor’s Office on Returning Citizens Affairs, The Corrections Information Council, The Public Employment Inclusion Act, and The Fair Criminal Record Screening Act. Mr. Thornton led the charge to secure voting rights for those in custody at the DC Jail. In 2008, he registered 2500 formally incarcerated men and women to vote. After his release from prison in 1990, Mr. Thornton began a vocational career that would take him from being a porter / maintenance engineer to Chief Engineer, and later, director of facilities for Walter Reed Medical Center in Washington, DC. Mr. Thornton began a real-estate career while working as an engineer, and received his Maryland and DC real-estate license. In 2005, he launched CB Thornton Realty Inc.
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HAROLD DEAN TRULEAR, PHD PANEL 1: Faith Leading The Way
Dr. Trulear teaches courses as part of Howard University’s Inside/Out Prisoner Exchange Program at both the Alexandria Detention Center and the DC Jail. He is also lead faculty for the Certificate in Criminal Justice and Reconciliation Studies. Dr. Trulear has taught at a variety of correctional institutions including Sing Sing State Correctional Facility in New York, and Holmesburg Prison and Curran-Fromhold Correctional Institution of the Philadelphia Prison System. He directs a national research and demonstration project called "Healing Communities USA". Dr. Trulear is co-editor of the book, Ministry with Prisoners and Families: The Way Forward. http://healingcommunitiesusa.com
REV. JESSE C. TURNER SPECIAL PRESENTATION on VOTING RIGHTS
Rev. Jesse C. Turner, serves on the Board of Directors for Go Forward Pine Bluff, the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff Board of Visitors. He is a veteran crime prevention practitioner and community builder. President of the Pine Bluff Faith Community Coalition Ministerial Alliance, his work with the U.S. Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs was recognized as one of fifty best Faith and Justice collaborations in America, and was featured in the documentary, "Faith Community and Criminal Justice Collaboration," a project funded by Pew Charitable Trust. Rev. Turner is also the Executive Director for Pine Bluff Interested Citizens for Voter Registration, Inc. As Executive Director, he led efforts to changed Pine Bluff elections for Pine Bluff City Council Members, as well as how school board members are elected in three Pine Bluff school districts.
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KAY Y. WALLACE PANEL 3: Supporting Black Business and Pathways to Entrepreneurship
Kay Wallace is a results-focused senior executive and consultant with diverse industry experience including strategic consulting, biotechnology, beverages, industrial chemicals, international athletics and sports competition. Her expertise includes organizational leadership, start-up management, organizational learning, executive coaching, large-scale change, project management and community development in public-private partnerships, for-profit and non-profit organizations. Ms. Wallace has a Masters in Business Administration from the Harvard Business School and a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from the University of Alabama.
LOUISE WASILEWSKI PANEL 7: Leveraging Technology to Expand Access and Build Coalition
Louise Wasilewski started Acivilate to transform second chances for people like her Dad and their children. She discovered how hard it is for returning citizens to get the support they need and manage everything they’re supposed to do, and all the people around them. She applied her business and technology skills to Pokket, the communications platform that gets citizens, service providers, and government agencies on the same page. Pokket puts the citizen in charge of sharing their own information. Louise was a teenage rocket engineer, and has an MBA from Emory University, but her Dad taught her the most important lesson of hard work. https://www.acivilate.com
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The Faith and Justice Advisory Committee of the 400 Years of African American History Commission will host an HBCU Roundtable to bring together University and College presidents and administrators to tackle funding disparities, and identify ways to increase the capacity of HBCUs to lead criminal justice reform, research, education, and recruitment.
The Faith and Justice Advisory Committee of the 400 Years of African American History Commission will support the development of a national database of reentry resources and Second Chance employers.
The Faith and Justice Advisory Committee of the 400 Years of African American History Commission will support the development of a national coalition of returning citizens and advocates, led by returning citizens to address the challenges of reentry faced by returning citizens, their families and communities.
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This is how I support Second Chances!
Post on IG and Twitter using #SecondChances | #SecondChanceMonth | #ReentryUnited
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JOIN US AGAIN NEXT YEAR
20 22
ORLANDO, FL
ONLINE AND IN-PERSON
NATIONAL RETURNING CITIZENS VIRTUAL CONFERENCE Follow Us on IG and Twitter @NRCVC
NRCVC 2021 Produced by QED Inc. www.QEDInc.us