Voices from the Field: Sharing Experiences and Challenges During and After the COVID-19 Pandemic

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Travis Johnson 357 Marble Rock Way Lexington, KY 40503 (P) 859-333-2102 tjohnson@csg.org EDUCATION Master of Safety, Security, and Emergency Management Eastern Kentucky University, 2013 Bachelor of Arts, Political Science University of Kentucky, 2011 PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE American Probation and Parole Association, Lexington, KY Program Associate 2016-present • Conducted on-site training sessions for 9 APPA professional development institutes while also conducting meetings with grant partners • Coordinated with APPA partners and provided logistical support for creation of webinar content at onset of online training institute. Collected community feedback for adaption of subsequent online training programs. • Scheduled and coordinated recordings of virtual training workshops for 3 virtual institutes. • Conducted outreach to qualified trainers to present at APPA institutes • Developed written products (e.g., reports, articles, briefs, research memos, presentations, etc.) for both grants and membership services departments • Obtained new funding opportunities through positive working relationships with government and private agencies, creation of grant proposals and execution of deliverables • Prepared and monitored timelines, budgets, progress reports, and deliverables to ensure that responsibilities to funders are met in assigned project areas • Maintains training record for programs such as Impaired Driver Assessment, Tribal Law and Order Act, and the Tribal Intergovernmental Reentry Workshops.

Gwyn Kaitis, MA, is a Program Analyst with the American Probation and Parole Association, providing training and technical assistance and leading APPA’s efforts on a variety of projects to advance the field of community corrections. She has a background in intimate partner violence having served as Coalition Policy Director, Shelter Executive Director, trainer with the Chicago Police Academy, and serving as Chair of the New Mexico Intimate Partner Violence Death Review Team.

Faye S. Taxman, Ph.D., is a University Professor at the Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University. She is a health service criminologist. She is recognized for her work in the development of seamless systems-of-care models that link the criminal justice system with other health care and other service delivery systems and reengineering probation and parole supervision services. She has conducted experiments to examine different processes to improve treatment access and retention, to assess new models of probation supervision consistent with RNR frameworks, and to test new interventions. She developed the translational RNR Simulation Tool (www.gmuace.org/tools) to assist agencies to advance practice. She is the current Principal Investigator for the National Institute on Drug Abuse‘s Justice Community Opioid Innovation Network (JCOIN) and HEAL Accelerator for the National Institute on Health. Dr. Taxman has published more than 220 articles. She is author of numerous books including Implementing Evidence-Based Community Corrections and Addiction Treatment (Springer, 2012 with Steven Belenko). She is co-Editor of Health & Justice. She has received numerous awards including the American Society of Criminology's Division of Sentencing and Corrections Distinguished Scholar, the Rita Warren and Ted Palmer Differential Intervention Treatment, and Lifetime Achievement Award.

Jill Viglione is an Associate Professor in the Department of Criminal Justice at the University of Central Florida. Her research focuses on the implementation of evidence-based practices, individual and organizational responses to policy reform, and decision making within correctional agencies. She conducts policy-relevant evaluations of correctional programs and policies. She has studied the implementation of a variety of programs/policies, including risk and needs assessments, correctional curriculums, and motivational interviewing. In 2020, she received funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to examine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on community corrections agencies across the United States. She is currently PI on several Bureau of Justice Assistance-funded experiments examining the implementation of virtual supervision in probation and parole agencies. Additionally, she is PI on a newly funded NSF study to examine responses to COVID-19 in community corrections agencies, including the short and long-term impacts and develop guidelines for future pandemics. She is an active editorial board member for APPA’s Perspectives. In 2019, she was named the American Society of Criminology’s, Division on Corrections and Sentencing Distinguished New Scholar.