Transforming Community Supervision: Leadership, Learning, and Lasting Impact

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Gabriella Priest Celestin is a Senior Associate at Justice System Partners. Gabriella works with community corrections agencies around the country to elevate practices and align organizational culture with the CoachReferee Model for Change. Gabriella leads the National Institute of Corrections Implementing Organizational Resources to Support Behavior Change project in three states, and the Community Supervision Leadership Learning Lab virtual training academy with the National Institute of Corrections. Gabriella also manages JSP’s Coaching Network for Change (CNC) - an interactive virtual community of practice for community corrections organizations implementing the coaching model. For two decades, Gabriella has worked tirelessly to improve the criminal legal system, partnering with practitioners, policymakers, academics, and impacted individuals and their families in research and evidenced-based practices for equitable reform and services. Prior to joining JSP, Gabriella was the Program Director of the Harvard Kennedy School’s Program in Criminal Justice Policy and Management (PCJ) and served on the PCJ’s Roundtable on Reducing Racial Disparities in Massachusetts Criminal Courts. Gabriella worked for 11 years at the nonprofit Community Resources for Justice (CRJ). As CRJ’s Director of Innovation, Implementation, and Development, she was responsible for oversight of its Massachusetts community-based reentry programs and its Social Justice Services (SJS) training academy. Through CRJ's Crime and Justice Institute (CJI) division, Gabriella led youth and adult justice system policy reform and implementation efforts in several states– Georgia, Utah, Kansas, Oregon, West Virginia, and Kentucky– as part of the Justice Reinvestment Initiative. These reforms improved outcomes and reduced prison and juvenile system populations. Gabriella is an adjunct faculty member at Suffolk University, teaching undergraduate and graduate courses on crime and justice. She obtained a Bachelor of Science in Sociology and Criminology and a Master of Science in Criminal Justice from Suffolk University. Gabriella is Vice President of the Board of Directors of the International Community Justice Association (ICJA) and founded ICJA’s Justice Emerging Leaders (JEL) Network.

Katie Green is a National Programs Advisor with the National Institute of Corrections overseeing and actively participating in the design, development, implementation and evaluation of resources to enhance the competencies of criminal justice practitioners. Prior to joining NIC 12 years ago, Katie was the Director of community criminal justice agencies in Williamsburg and Portsmouth, Virginia. She also served as an implementation team member in the Commonwealth of Virginia leading organizational change efforts, improving pretrial and community corrections services and programming with the implementation of evidence- based practices. Included in her portfolio with NIC, Katie manages resource development for community supervision organizations to include leadership training, organizational technical assistance and training to help organizations reengineer and create effective organizations that support behavior change for persons under community supervision. Katie also over sees training and technical assistance projects to advance the work of community supervision organizations. Currently she is managing the implementation of the Community Supervision Leadership Learning Lab and Facilitating Behavior Change trainings.

Jordyn (she/her) is a Research Associate with JSP. She received her Ph.D. and Master’s degrees in Criminology from Florida State University and her Bachelor’s degree in Sociology and Criminal Justice from the University of Georgia. Her research uses quantitative methods to study the effects of childhood victimization and disproportionate minority contact on juvenile reoffending amongst justice-involved youth, individual and neighborhood factors that contribute to the non-reporting of intimate partner violence to police, and racial and ethnic disparities in GED/HSED program completion amongst an incarcerated population. Her dissertation, entitled “An Examination of the Mediating Effects of Negative Emotionality on the Relationship Between Childhood Victimization and Juvenile Reoffending,” used official juvenile justice data to study the mediating effects of negative emotionality on the relationship between victimization and subsequent juvenile reoffending. Jordyn’s research interests focus on social justice, the causes and consequences of victimization and criminal justice system involvement, social stratification, and disparate outcomes in the criminal justice system.

Dr. Tameka Vaught Williams is an accomplished leader with over 17 years of experience in the criminal and juvenile legal systems, project management, leadership coaching, and higher education. She currently serves as the Director of Staff Investment and Curiosity at Justice System Partners (JSP). Previously, she has managed multi-million-dollar projects, provided training and technical assistance to criminal legal agencies, and worked in roles such as probation officer, juvenile court counselor, and quality assurance manager for the North Carolina Department of Public Safety. Dr. Williams has also held the position of Clinical Assistant Professor at North Carolina Central University (NCCU) and founded a non-profit organization dedicated to empowering the next generation of women leaders in criminal and social justice fields. She holds dual bachelor’s degrees in Political Science and Criminal Justice, a Master of Science in Criminal Justice, and a Ph.D. in Leadership Studies. Dr. Williams is dedicated to fostering growth, innovation, and excellence in the criminal legal field and leadership development.