3pm – 4pm BST, 15 May 2025 ‐ 1 hour
Coffee Break & Showcases

Vice President Research, Innovation and Impact, South East Technological University, Ireland



Senior Assistant Director, Corporate Communications and Relations, Singapore Prison Service, Singapore


Deputy Director, Nebraska Department of Correctional Services, United States

Vice President Research, Innovation and Impact, South East Technological University, Ireland
Marie Claire Van Hout is Professor of International Health Policy and Practice, and Vice President for Research, Innovation and Impact at the South East Technological University in Ireland. She has been research active for over 20 years in the field of law, health inequalities and human rights of marginalised populations (people in prison, people who use drugs, women affected by gender based violence, migrants and refugees). She consults regularly as independent evaluation consultant or substantive expert for the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Council of Europe Pompidou Group, and World Health Organization in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.Lecturer, Munster Technological University, Ireland
JJ Healy is a Lecturer in the Department of Tourism and Hospitality, at Munster Technological University, Bishopstown, Cork, Ireland. He received his BA in Culinary Arts from Cork Institute of Technology and his M.Sc. in Culinary Innovation and Product Development from Dublin Institute of Technology.
Mature Student officer, Munster Technological University, Ireland
Christine Nolan is the Mature Student Officer at Munster Technological University Cork Campus. Having worked as an Access practitioner for over 13 years, Christine is committed to creating pathways and widening participation for mature and non-traditional learners into higher education. Christine initiated the Prison lecture series. The Prison Lecture Series is an educational programme that is delivered annually and that offers participants in Cork Prison the opportunity to engage in a series of lectures by volunteers across both academic and professional services staff in MTU in Cork, supported by the teachers in the Prison Education Unit. The lecture series creates an opportunity for participants to directly engage and interact with the university. It creates awareness around the opportunities that can come with engaging in higher education and identifies current feasible pathways for all learners, allowing for a meaningful learning impact for participants and their families.
Associate Director, The Aangan Trust, India
Dr. Smita Dharmamer is a passionate advocate for child rights and protection, with over 18 years of experience working with vulnerable children. As Associate Director at Aangan Trust (www.aanganindia.org), she leads transformative, child-focused initiatives across six prisons in India. Her work impacts over 1,000 incarcerated mothers, 50 of their children living in prison, and 75 children of prison staff residing on prison premises. Dr. Dharmamer’s efforts focus on fostering holistic development for children through trauma-informed care, structured curriculums, and collaborative frameworks involving government agencies, NGOs, and community stakeholders.Research Assistant, Irish Prison Service Psychology Service, Ireland
Amelia Desmond is a Research Assistant employed in the Psychology Service of the Irish Prison Service (IPS). Her primary project explores monitoring and evaluating service delivery of the current emotional dysregulation intervention treatment pathways in the IPS Psychology Service. As Research Assistant, Amelia supports the initiation and ongoing development of data collection, specifically related to the effectiveness of the updated programme in terms of psychological change. She sits on the Emotion Regulation and the Autism IPS National Steering Groups. Amelia completed her MA in Applied Psychology (Mental Health) and her BA (Hons) in Applied Psychology, both at University College Cork.Acting Senior Clinical Psychologist, Irish Prison Service, Ireland
Dr Ruth Cleary is an Acting Senior Clinical Psychologist in the Irish Prison Service’s (IPS) Psychology Service. She completed her Doctorate in Clinical Psychology at the University of Limerick. Prior to this, Ruth completed her MSc in Psychological Research at the University of Edinburgh and her BA in Psychology at University College Dublin.

Senior Assistant Director, Corporate Communications and Relations, Singapore Prison Service, Singapore
With over 13 years of experience as a prison officer with the Singapore Prison Service (SPS), YingYing is deeply committed to improving public safety through effective offender management, rehabilitation, and reintegration.
CEO, Wellbeing & Equity Innovations, United States
DR. CARRIE PETTUS is a visionary social work scholar and innovator dedicated to advancing social equity and justice within criminal justice systems. She is the Founder and CEO of Wellbeing & Equity Innovations, a national equity-centered applied research nonprofit that collaborates with justice and community partners to improve outcomes through research-practitioner partnerships. Her work focuses on areas such as diversion and deflection, community violence, social support, trauma, behavioral health, and practices that improve the well-being of individuals, families, and communities.
Deputy Director, Nebraska Department of Correctional Services, United States
Dawn-Renee Smith has served as a deputy director of Nebraska Department of Correctional Services since 2018. In this role, she provides oversight to the rehabilitative services division, which is focused on preparing individuals for release and includes the areas of classification and transportation, volunteers, non-clinical programming, education, vocational and life skills, reentry services, correctional industries and research.