Addressing Staff Shortages

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Keilah Joyner has worked in different capacities in the criminal justice system and on criminal justice policy for 10 years. As a Program Associate with the Center for Effective Public Policy (CEPP), she supports CEPP’s National Resource Center on Justice-Involved Women (NRCJIW), Advancing Pretrial Policy and Research, and other initiatives. She brings a deep commitment to racial and gender equity that fuels the innovation of project teams and moves ideas from concepts to action. Previously, she held positions with the Florida Commission on Offender Review and various nonprofit organizations, including the Maryland Coalition Against Sexual Assault. She has also served in a direct service capacity with at-risk and vulnerable girls in the foster care and juvenile justice systems. She holds a bachelor of arts degree in journalism from Hampton University (Virginia), a master of science degree in criminology, and a master’s degree in public administration from Florida State University.

Cynthia Mausser is a Senior Manager at CEPP, where she is helping develop the vision for, and supporting, the Community Supervision Resource Center. Ms. Mausser serves as a substantive expert on probation and parole supervision and delivers training and technical assistance to the field. Previously, Ms. Mausser worked for over 30 years in the criminal justice field in Ohio, serving in a variety of positions, including Deputy Director at the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction, Division of Parole and Community Services; Parole Board Chair, Parole Board Member, Chief Hearing Officer, and Hearing Officer at the Ohio Parole Board; and Assistant State Public Defender at the Office of the Ohio Public Defender. She was also an active member of the Association of Paroling Authorities International and served as President from 2014 to 2018. Ms. Mausser received her BA in criminal justice from Bowling Green State University and her JD from Case Western Reserve University School of Law.

Alison Shames is a Director at CEPP, where she also serves on the organization’s Board of Directors. Ms. Shames leads many of CEPP’s pretrial projects, including the Advancing Pretrial Policy and Research initiative, which she helped develop and for which she has served as Co-Director since its launch in 2018. She is also Co-Director of the Community Supervision Resource Center, through which CEPP helps community supervision agencies strengthen practices and build a network of practitioners committed to pursuing innovative and best practices. Before joining CEPP, Ms. Shames was a justice consultant and worked with organizations and jurisdictions to implement new programs, conduct strategic planning, and author reports. Prior to that, she served as the Associate Director and Director of Programs for the Center on Sentencing and Corrections at the Vera Institute of Justice; a policy manager for the Attorney General’s Department of New South Wales, Australia; and a law clerk to a federal district court judge in New Orleans. Ms. Shames received her JD from New York University School of Law and her BA from the University of Pennsylvania.