Changing the Perspective of Community Supervision Through the Peace Education Program

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Willow Baker is the Program Director for The Prem Rawat Foundation’s Peace Education Program. Born and raised in Columbus, Indiana, she is currently a member of the American Probation and Parole Association’s International Relations Committee, a peace ambassador for the Institute of Economics and Peace, and a Rotary district PeaceBuilder chairperson. She earned her M.A. degree from the University of Paris, France, and her B.A. from Denison University, Granville, Ohio. Willow has extensive experience with international collaborations to support innovative and effective programs. She is passionate about empowering people to discover their humanity, personal peace and inner strengths. The Prem Rawat Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization whose purpose is advancing dignity, peace and prosperity through a variety of innovative programs and initiatives. The Foundation offers its Peace Education Program course content, professional development and ongoing support free of charge.

Christina Claar has served the Domestic Violence Intervention Court in various capacities since 2013 and is now the Program Coordinator for the domestic violence problem-solving court Specialized Docket (only used in Ohio). Ms. Claar has an immense passion for identifying and implementing innovative strategies that promote sustainable change in criminal justice-involved individuals. In her role as Program Coordinator, she prioritizes the development and facilitation of collaborative efforts between agencies to increase public safety, particularly that of DV victims. Ms. Claar completed the Peace Education Program in the Spring of 2021 and began facilitating the program to staff and participant groups. To date, she continues to facilitate the Peace Education Program with both participants and staff, and looks forward to expanding the Peace Education Program throughout Summit County and beyond.

Scott Hohl has been the Executive Director of Marion County Community Corrections since December 2020. This agency of 200 staff provides services to approximately 3,000 clients on electronic monitoring or work release. He was a member of the Indianapolis Criminal Justice Reform Task Force and is on the Criminal Justice Planning Council. Prior to being named Director, Scott was the Chief Financial Officer for the Indianapolis-Marion County City-County Council, assisting with proposals, developments and the review and passage of the combined City-County budget. Prior to these positions, Scott was the Chief Financial Officer for Marion County Community Corrections and the Information Services Agency for Indianapolis. He was also Chief of Staff for the Marion County Clerk and helped create the City of Indianapolis’ Nuisance Abatement program. His first jobs out of college were as a public assistance Case Manager and a Case Worker for Child Protection Services in a sex abuse unit. Scott earned his MPA from Indiana University’s O’Neil School of Public and Environmental Affairs, where he was a member of the Alpha Phi Sigma National Criminal Justice Honor Society and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Indiana University in History and Political Science.

Julie Truschel has an extensive employment history in criminal justice, working since 1985 in various capacities of juvenile and adult corrections that includes institutional and community-based programs. She has held direct service and administrative roles for government as well as private industry employers. Involvement with researchers while creating the ‘What Works’ curriculum made a dramatic impact, after which she began working with administrators nationwide to integrate evidence-based practices (EBP) into existing and newly designed operations. Her current focus is creating and directing the Supervision Around the World (SAW) Project. This endeavor strives to chart supervision practices from every country in the world and bring positive change through international collaboration. See more details at https://sawproject.org/