Improving Juvenile Justice Program Through 4 Pillars of Wellness

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For the past two years, Damita has served as the Director of Adult and Family Services at Voices Corp. Although Damita has only been at Voices Corp since the beginning of February 2022, she comes with over two decades of experience working in the Human Services and Justice System fields. Damita served almost 20 years as a Juvenile Probation Officer/Supervisor and has experience with the Monroe County Youth Services Bureau and Indiana Girls School. While working with the courts, Damita was heavily involved with the Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative (JDAI) work. Damita is now a member of the Marion County Reentry Coalition with involvement on the Housing and Education/Employment subcommittees and the Steering Committe for the Marion County Youth’s Violence Prevention Coalition. Damita’s love for education and assisting the next generation of human, social and justice serving professionals led her to becoming an Adjunct Faculty at the O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs at IUPUI where she teaches Juvenile Justice. Damita was also involved with the development and implementation of Dual Status Assessment Teams (DSAT) process in Marion County. She attended the national and local trainings, including a conference with the Robert F. Kennedy Foundation. Damita now serves as the DSAT facilitator for Marion County. Damita recently completed the Women of Color Executive Leadership and Legacies Program under the Leadership of Carolene Mays. During this amazing year long program Damita was able to work and learn alongside some of the amazing WOC in Indianapolis and learn from some of our best community leaders.

Kia Wright is the Founder and Executive Director of VOICES Corporation. A graduate of Lawrence Central High School, in Indianapolis, Indiana, she went on to attend Indiana State University on a full Track and Field Scholarship. While earning her Master’s degree in Criminology, Mrs. Wright obtained employment with the Vigo County Juvenile Probation Department in 2004, where she developed a passion for community development. Moving back to Indianapolis in 2008, working for Marion County Juvenile Probation she gained a better understanding of systemic trauma, and root causes of delinquent and criminal behavior. Utilizing the power of the arts, in 2010, she founded VOICES with a vision of empowering communities of color to restore themselves through communal healing, artistic expression and economic mobility. In 2012, she walked away for Probation and began community work. VOICES was created to center the lived experience of Black and brown communities and to provide safe spaces for self- expression, and to begin the journey of healing. Today, VOICES services span 36 Indianapolis zip codes, 7 Indiana Counties, and serves 750+ youth and families annually. Mrs. Wright is a founding Board Member for Invent Learning Hub Charter School, and a member of the Indiana Juvenile Justice Oversight Committee, Juvenile Detention Alternatives to Detention Steering Committee, and an alum of the Indiana Youth Services Association Executive Journey Fellowship. Kia resides on the Northwest side of Indy with her husband Trey, (VOICES COO) and their 2 little boys.