Patricia Clark serves as Program and Operations Director for Fund for Nonviolence and is on the Board of Directors. A graduate of Smith College, Pat has been dedicated to work and advocacy on criminal and social justice throughout her career. This includes working with the 8th Amendment Project, a campaign to abolish the death penalty; directing the American Friends Service Committee’s National and New York Regional criminal justice programs focusing on issues that included reentry, the death penalty, restorative and healing justice, juvenile justice, prison reform and alternatives to incarceration; and directing the Fellowship of Reconciliation (FOR), an interfaith, international organization focused on programs in racial and economic justice, demilitarization, nuclear disarmament, and peaceful resolution of conflicts. From 2004 to 2006, Pat served as a commissioner with the Greensboro Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Pat has served on several boards including those of Southern Poverty Law Center (where she previously directed the Klanwatch Project and is a director emeritus), Murder Victims’ Families for Reconciliation (as Chair), and Habitat for Humanity International. She currently serves as the Chair of Scarritt Bennett Center’s Board of Directors.
Dr. Stephanie Bush-Baskette received her baccalaureate degree from Cornell University, law degree from American University, and doctorate from Rutgers University School of Criminal Justice. Bush-Baskette has served as the city administrator of three municipalities and has been the chair of two mayor-elect’s transition teams. She is the City Administrator for the City of Bridgeton. She has taught and trained graduate students, as well as governmental administrators and staff in the areas of ethics and government, diversity, and criminal justice. She is an attorney/collaborative lawyer/mediator. Dr. Bush-Baskette is the president and founder of Sojourn Institute, LLC through which she promotes social justice through research, training, technical assistance, and informed advocacy. She is co-founder and Board member of the national non-profit National Black Women’s Justice Research Institute. Bush-Baskette is a certified life, career/professional, and conflict coach.
Anthony H. Williams is a Licensed Chemical Dependency Counselor in the State of Texas and a Certified Addiction Counselor in the states of Florida and Georgia.
For more than 20 years Anthony has been providing counseling services to individuals, groups and families nationwide whom have been directly and indirectly impacted by a wide variety of addictions, substance abuse, chemical dependency issues that can result in unfortunate relationships with our nation’s criminal justice system.
Anthony has a personal passion for this population because he too has been arrested many times as a juvenile and as young adult for various drug related and violent crimes which resulted in several brief incarcerations in a few different states. Anthony is a high school dropout that later obtained his GED, went to college and eventually earned the privilege of becoming a Licensed Professional.
Mr. Williams admires and supports the work that Founder, President, and CEO, Gale Muhammed the Board and Staff of Women Who Never Give Up, Inc. (WWNG) for all of the work they have done over the past decades. Their effort to promote this cause by educating the public while assisting individuals and families to fight social injustice and stand up for human rights is amicable and deserves to be recognized and supported.
Rose Valdez held the title of "Citizen-at-Large in a Summit hosted by Rutgers University, in New Brunswick, NJ, titled "NJ Community & Corrections Working Summit: Impacting Communities of Color". The topic of Mass Incarceration/Recidivism and its impact on society was being sponsored by The Hispanic Directors Association of NJ, NJ Black Issues Convention, NJ Department of Corrections, and the NJ State Parole Board.
In 2012, I obtained a Bachelor of Science degree from Kaplan University in Legal Studies. Immediately following I started to work on my Master's in Public Administration/Public Policy and graduated from Walden University in 2014. I am currently working on my Doctor of Philosophy/Public Policy Administration/Nonprofit Management & Leadership.
In January 2017, I started to write my dissertation on the topic of the importance of trust between youth and law enforcement, especially in communities needing the most police protection for young adults. I also work for a non-profit organization, the Paterson Great Falls Youth Build, where I hold the title of case manager and youth advocate helping Paterson, New Jersey's youth reach their goals academically, spiritually, and financially in their pursuit of becoming positive social change advocates.
Prior to this I dedicated myself to my two daughters and worked in the healthcare industry for over 15 years helping patients deal with the fear and anxiety associated with health issues. During this time I also served as counselor and advisor to teenage girls in a private high school in Washington Heights, New York. After over 35 years in New York City I now reside in Northern New Jersey.
Naima Black is a Program Manager at
Coordinate North Philadelphia Breastfeeding Program, a community-based Doula model using trained doulas and Breastfeeding Peer Counselors to support women through pregnancy, childbirth, and postpartum. As Program Manager, Naima hosts annual free community-based Doula trainings to increase community capacity to support and empower families and enhance community health and wellbeing.
Naima Black served as STOPMAX Campaign Coordinator at American Friends Service Committee. The STOPMAX Campaign sought to end the use of solitary confinement and other forms of torture in US Prisons. Strategies include research, grassroots organizing, public education, and policy advocacy to abolish solitary confinement or reduce its use.
Naima also worked at Medical Education Teaching Associates, and studied Swahili studies, Holistic Health & Global Women's Health at LIU Global
Luis Francisco Del Orbe Currently Executive Director and Founder of the charitable organization D’Orb, Inc. (Geared towards Youth Development)
Currently employed per diem at Unique Home Care & Companionship,
Providing Individual Support Services to special needs children.
Past employment, FOCUS Hispanic Center for Community Development, Inc. as Program Director to the agency’s Family Success Center
Serves as Chief Financial Officer for the Non-profit organization Women Who Never Give-Up, Inc.
Serves on the Board of Directors for the Friends Organization of the New Jersey Hispanic Research and Information Center (NJHRIC)
Mentors at risk youth and formerly incarcerated adults.
Graduate of the 2012 class of the Governor’s Hispanic Fellows Program (Training for government, private, and nonprofit management).
Served 3 years 8 months in the NJ Army National Guard as a Combat Engineer in the 104th Engineer Battalion Completed Non-Commission Officer’s training school at the Army National Guard Training Center, Fort Indiantown Gap, Pennsylvania.
Served as an armed auxiliary police officer for the City of Passaic, NJ.
Shana E. Herman is a Social Worker, Teacher, and Coach whose unwavering sense of ambition and compassion have earned her the reputation as a community leader and advocate of change across Queens, New York. Throughout the past decade, she has cultivated extensive experience within the Drug Counseling and Prevention space. Currently, Shana serves as the President and Founder of D.E.A.P.E., an emerging drug education nonprofit organization that is on a mission to put an end to unjust mass incarceration and the staggering opiate epidemic. With dedicated drug education counselors and social workers, her initiative strives to improve the DARE program and replace harsh law enforcement. To Shana, education is the answer, not punishment. Growing up in the midst of drug addiction and later becoming incarcerated herself, she possesses the first-hand experience necessary to eradicate this ever-pervasive drug war once and for all. Shana E. Herman holds a Bachelor's degree in Psychology and a Master's degree in Social Work from Rutgers University.