Alexis Klemm M.S.

Graduate Research Assistant, Arizona State University Center for Correctional Solutions, Arizona State University, United States

Alexis Klemm, M.S., is a second-year doctoral student in the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Arizona State University (ASU). She has worked collaboratively with the Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentry (ADCRR) since 2019, engaging in research, program development and facilitation, and subject matter support. This work includes facilitation of the Inside Out Prison Exchange Program, working on a joint prison staff-incarcerated task force, and leading the {Ink}arcerated: Creativity Within Confinement program – an annual charitable prison art show. From 2023-2024, Alexis also led the development of gender-responsive staff training for ADCRR in collaboration with prison staff and incarcerated women. Alexis is a graduate research assistant with the ASU Center for Correctional Solutions where her research has focused on prison staff-incarcerated dynamics and interactions through a racialized lens, experiences of community supervision, and gender-responsive and trauma-informed approaches to corrections. She was awarded the Watts College Outstanding Graduate Award in 2020, the Arizona State University Faculty Women’s Association Distinguished Graduate Student Award in 2023, and the Arizona State University Catalyst Award for Inclusive Excellence in 2024.

Susan Nembhard

Senior Research Associate/Graduate Assistant, Urban Institute/John Jay College of Criminal Justice/CUNY Graduate Center, United States

Susan Nembhard is a senior research associate in the Justice Policy Center at the Urban Institute. She has nearly a decade of experience working directly with, or on research projects related to, victim-survivors of different forms of violence. Her work takes a mixed-methods approach to understand experiences of harm both within and outside of the criminal legal system, explore perceptions of safety and justice for different populations, and evaluate strategies to address community safety needs. Nembhard conducts mixed-methods research on victimization, community safety and policing, and crime reduction, with a focus on racial equity and community-based approaches to safety.

Sabrina Mahtani

Founder, Women Beyond Walls, Zambia

Shikha Pandey

Asia Program Director, International Legal Foundation, India

Shikha is the Asia Program Director of the International Legal Foundation (ILF). 
 
She provides leadership and strategic direction toward development and achievement of ILF’s mission to guarantee high-quality legal aid. With focus on challenging contexts like Myanmar, she leads the operations of legal aid offices, juvenile justice and gender justice units, civil legal units, and introduced integration of social work support into legal aid services, to enhance outcomes for individuals in conflict with the law. 
 
In her previous roles as legal consultant and international legal fellow, Shikha advised ILF’s public defense lawyers on legal strategy and advocacy to strengthen access to justice particularly for children in conflict with the law during COVID and political transition in Myanmar. She also authored a primer on Quality Criminal Legal Practice at the Remand Stage in Myanmar to bolster early access to justice. 
 
Before joining ILF, she served as David W. Leebron Human Rights Fellow with one of the leading legal aid groups in Chhattisgarh, India, where she provided pro bono legal representation. Along with legal defense, she also conducted an empirical analysis of barriers in access to justice in anti-terrorism courts in Chhattisgarh. 
 
Shikha is criminal lawyer by background and has extensive experience representing clients before the trial courts and High Courts in India. She holds an LLM from Columbia Law School in New York. She also has degrees in law degree and social work from the University of Delhi.

Jolyn Chia

Teaching Fellow and Research Assistant, United States

Jolyn Chia is a Teaching Fellow and Research Assistant at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and Harvard College, and a Teaching Assistant at The Educational Justice Institute at MIT. She holds an Ed.M in Human Development and Education (HDE) with a concentration in Global, International, and Comparative Education (GICE) from the Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE), and a Child Protection Certificate from the Harvard FXB Center for Health and Human Rights. Jolyn primarily works with adult learners in higher-ed settings, as well as children and youth in out-of-school settings, correctional facilities, and carceral spaces. She is a co-editor of “Learning Education Policy to Make the World Better: Volumes 1 and 2” (2024) and co-author of “Chapter 6: Policy Alternatives for Inclusive Education in Finland” in “Rebuilding Resilient Education Systems After the Covid-19 Pandemic” (2023). Jolyn's research and professional interests include organized crime, child protection, inclusive education, criminal (in)justice, education in humanitarian and carceral spaces, emotion, decision-making, and heuristics.

Funke Adeoye

Executive Director, Hope Behind Bars Africa, Nigeria

Niluka Gamalath LL.B (Hons), MCL, MHRD

Senior Lecturer, The Open University of Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka

I am a senior lecturer at the department of Legal Studies, Open University of Sri Lanka, actively engaged in academic activities for Law students. I hold an LL.B (Hons), Master of Comparative Law and Master of Human Rights and Democratization. I served as the Director of the LL.M in Criminal Justice postgraduate degree program offered by the  Department of Legal Studies from 2021 to 2023, where I was involved in shaping and directing legal education within the university. My academic and professional background reflects a strong commitment to the field of criminal justice, with a particular focus on prisoners' rights and their treatment under legal systems. Currently, I am pursuing my PhD, which focuses on the right to health of prisoners in Sri Lanka and selected jurisdictions. My research explores how the right to health is recognized and implemented within the prison system, analyzing the existing legal frameworks in comparison with international standards such as the Nelson Mandela Rules and the Bangkok Rules. Through this comparative study, I aim to highlight gaps in the Sri Lankan prison system's approach to prisoners' health and provide recommendations for reform. In addition to my academic roles, I am a practicing attorney-at-law, which allows me to combine theoretical research with practical legal insights. My future aspirations include contributing to the development of policies that safeguard prisoners' rights, particularly in ensuring their health and well-being, and advancing legal education that equips future lawyers with a strong foundation in criminal justice and human rights.

Salome Wairimu Muhia-Beacco

Principal Secretary, State Department for Correctional Services, Kenya

Elizabeth Sivi M.A

Senior Supretendent of Prisons (SSP), Kenya Prisons Service, Kenya

Dr Michał Sopiński PhD

Rector-Commandant, University of Justice, Poland

Dr Felice Yuen

Professor, Concordia University, Canada

Felice Yuen is full professor at Concordia University in Montreal, Canada in the Department of Applied Human Sciences. Her research focuses on the rehabilitation and healing experiences of Indigenous women who are implicated in the correctional system. Healing, social justice, and social transformation are at the heart of her research. She employs arts-based approaches in her research (e.g., body mapping, photographs, collage, poetry). Indigenous methodologies and participatory action research guide the critical approach she brings to her work. Her work with various Indigenous communities inside and outside prisons has led to publications in journals such as Critical Criminology, Arts in Psychotherapy, presentations in academic, community-based, and government sectors.

Rowena Tam

PhD Student, Drama Therapist, Concordia University

Rowena Tam, MA, CCC, is a drama therapist, artist and Ph.D. Candidate in the Individualized Program (Social Science) at Concordia University. She is a guest living and working in Tiohtià:ke, on unceded Kanien’kehá:ka territory.

Linda McFarlane

Executive Director, Just Detention International, United States

Linda McFarlane, MSW, LCSW, is the Executive Director and Board Secretary of JDI and Board Chair of JDI-South Africa. Linda manages all of JDI’s work, in the U.S. and internationally, and serves as the organization’s primary spokesperson. A licensed social worker, Linda has more than 30 years of experience working with survivors of sexual assault, domestic violence, and child abuse. Previously, Linda served as JDI’s Deputy Executive Director. In that role, she trained corrections officials, medical and mental health practitioners, and direct service providers in preventing and responding to sexual violence behind bars. She also worked with corrections agencies on implementing programs to make their facilities safer.  Linda pioneered JDI's trauma-responsive programs inside prisons, jails, and youth facilities and developed models that are now used across the US and in South Africa. Before joining JDI in 2005, Linda worked in community rape crisis programs, foster care, and with adults with mental illness. She also worked as a staff member, unit supervisor, and therapist in a detention facility for girls with mental illness.

Mo Korchinski

Executive Director, Unlocking the Gates Services Society, Canada

Pam Thomure

Executive Director, Empowering Women Out of Prison, United States

Jennifer Brown

Regional Facility Administrator, Management Training Corporation (MTC), United States

Dr Marietta Martinovic

Associate Professor, RMIT University, Australia

Marietta Martinovic, PhD is an Associate Professor in Criminology and Justice in the School of Global, Urban, and Social Studies, RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia. She started the first and only Australian Inside-Out Prison Exchange Program in Australia, and has established and is leading five prison-based and one community-based Think Tank.

Eugene Razbash

CEO, CombiTel, Australia

Eugene Razbash has over 30 years of experience in telecommunications, broadcasting and applied technologies as an engineer, manager and business owner. Eugene is the founder of CombiTel Group, a leading Australian digital systems supplier and application software developer. Eugene is a member of Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and holds Master’s degree in Electronics. Eugene’s speaking engagements include many engaging conferences and presentations including ICPA Technology in Corrections and Corrections Technology Summit in the USA.

Gabriela Franich

PhD Candidate, The University of Melbourne, Australia

Gabriela Franich is a third year Ph.D. candidate at the University of Melbourne in the discipline of Criminology. She considers herself a critical feminist criminologist. Gabriela has worked and volunteered in prisons since 2017, delivering education programs in both women’s and men’s facilities. She has also authored and co-authored academic articles and research reports addressing the needs of women in prison and post-release. She has also been involved in activist campaigns, working alongside and learning from women who have been inside.

Dr Inbal Peleg Koriat PhD

Senior Lecturer, Max Stern Yezreel Valley College, Israel

Dr. Inbal Peleg-Koriat is a senior lecturer at Max Stern Yezreel Valley College. Her work connects the fields of criminal law and alternative dispute resolution, with a particular emphasis on restorative justice. She earned her Ph.D. in Conflict Resolution, Management, and Negotiation from Bar-Ilan University. Her research focuses on the psychological and emotional processes that influence public attitudes toward punishment and alternative justice practices, especially restorative justice among incarcerated individuals. In collaboration with prominent scholars and institutions, including the Israel Prison Service, she has conducted research that underscores the importance of basic beliefs and emotions in promoting engagement with restorative justice.

Dr Dana Weimann Saks PhD

Senior Lecturer, Max Stern Yezreel Valley College, Yezreel Valley, Israel

Prof. Ochgerel Tsedevsodnom PhD

Head of the 407th Open and Closed Correctional Prison for Women, The General Executive Agency of Court Decision, Mongolia

Silvia Bernardo

PhD Research Fellow, University of Beira Interior & IPS_Innovative Prison Systems, Portugal

Amélia Augusto

Associate Professor, University of Beira Interior , Portugal

Amélia Augusto holds a PhD in Sociology and is an Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology at the University of Beira Interior, where she also serves as Vice-Rector for Quality, Social Responsibility, and Social Action. She is a researcher at the Centre for Research and Studies in Sociology (CIES-ISCTE) and has extensively taught and coordinated courses in the sociology of health and illness. Her research spans sociology of health, infertility, gender, and violence, employing qualitative methodologies. A former coordinator of the Health Sociology Section of the Portuguese Sociological Association (2014–2023), she has supervised numerous master’s and doctoral theses and published widely in national and international outlets.

Pedro das Neves

Board Member, ICPA, Canada

Tristan Russell

PhD Candidate, Griffith University, Australia

Tristan Russell is a PhD Candidate in the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Griffith University in Brisbane, Australia. Her PhD research, undertaken in collaboration with Thailand Institute of Justice, qualitatively explores older women’s pathways into, through, and out of prison in Thailand. She has co-authored publications on gendered pathways to prison, including a book chapter on older women’s pathways to prison in Thailand. She also has experience as a sessional academic, teaching critical criminology courses at Griffith University, and has conducted guest lectures on feminist criminology for students in Myanmar. Additionally, her PhD findings were recently presented to criminal justice personnel in Southeast Asia as part of the Bangkok Rules (The United Nations Rules for the Treatment of Women Prisoners and Non-custodial Measures for Women Offenders) training. Her work is driven by a commitment to social justice.

Tosha Big Eagle

Lead Coordinator and Graduate Research Lead, Washington State University, United States

L. Elizabeth Shatswell

Correctional Education Manager and Academic Partner (UPS), JSTOR Labs Ithaka and University of Puget Sound, United States

L. Elizabeth Shatswell is passionately committed to community building and generational sustainability, viewing access to healthcare and education as vital pathways to fellowship, the preservation of essential knowledge for future generations, and a powerful form of reintegration in the face of legislative, systemic, and cultural erasure. A leader in the higher education space, Elizabeth is a strategic analyst and policy consultant with experience in change management, program design, and product development.
 
After serving 23 years of a juvenile life-equivalent sentence, Elizabeth was granted juvenile parole in 2023. While incarcerated, she faced several health and educational challenges, such as restrictions due to her sentence length, battling cancer, and learning disabilities. Instead of letting these obstacles hold her back, she used them as motivation to create alternative pathways for education and healing practices to support others in similar situations. She now holds three Associate’s degrees in Education, Business, and Liberal Arts, as well as a Bachelor’s degree with a focus on Religion and Bioethics.
 
Today, Elizabeth serves as the Correctional Education Manager with JSTOR Labs at ITHAKA, a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving global access to education, where she focuses on the JSTOR Access in Prison Initiative. She is the founder of the HOPE Team, an intergenerational end-of-life care program at the Washington Correctional Center for Women, and partners academically with both Washington State University and the University of Puget Sound to research the intersections of healthcare access and pedagogical development. In her spare time, she spoils the family dog, Sunshine.

Renata Broglia Mendes

Founder, Mundo Aflora Institute, Brazil

Rhia Mikkor

Manager, Offender Rehabilitation Unit, Corrections Victoria, Australia

Rhia has been working with the Department of Justice and Community Safety for over 15 years where she started as a case manager and parole officer in Community Correctional Services. Later, moving into the programs space, she held roles as a Program Facilitator delivering psycho-educational programs in the community. Rhia now manages the Offender Rehabilitation Unit which oversees numerous contracts with service providers for non-clinical programs for targeted vulnerable cohorts with a focus on family violence and family reunification, primarily in the women's system.

Innika LaFontaine

General Manager, Rehabilitation and Reintegration Branch, Corrections Victoria, Australia

Dr Zodwa Mosoma PhD

Acting Deputy Commissioner, Department of Correctional Services, South Africa

Saleha Rashidi

Centre Manager, Singapore Muslim Women’s Association (PPIS) - Rise Above Halfway House, Singapore

Nur Hamizah Abdul Rahim

Assistant Senior Social Worker, Singapore Muslim Women’s Association (PPIS) - Rise Above Halfway House, Singapore

Trizzah Muinde MPH

Clinical Epidemiologist, Kenya Prisons Service, Kenya

Eunice Wandor M.A.

Clinical Coordinator, Kenya Prison Service, Kenya

Trizzah Muinde MPH

Clinical Epidemiologist, Kenya Prisons Service, Kenya