Meet our Board of Directors

Joanna is the Executive Director of Stand Up for What's Right and Just (surj.org), a grass roots, non-profit criminal justice reform group.  Joanna is a graduate of the University of Delaware with a degree in political science.  She received a graduate degree in criminology from the University of Pennsylvania, where her research focused on the effectiveness of prison vocational education on reducing future crime.  While at the University of Delaware, Joanna was named a Woman of Promise and was a managing editor for the Delaware Politics and Law Review.  Prior to joining the SURJ staff, Joanna interned with the Department of Correction and worked for a private criminal defense law firm as well as a major finance company in Wilmington.  While in college, she served as President of Mortar Board Sr. National Honor Society. She currently serves as Secretary on the Board of Directors of Family Promise of Northern New Castle County, a social service agency which provides shelter and services to homeless children and their families. She is an active member of Hockessin Baptist Church, where she is involved in the children's ministry.  Joanna resides in Wilmington with her husband and two children.

Susan has been employed by the University of Delaware for over 20 years, where her very first position was grant funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) where she supported research on drug use and the spatial patterns of crime. As a result of this exposure, she has been studying criminal justice issues ever since with a strong interest in reentry issues. Her experience at the University over the years also includes working with the University Honors Program, the Vice President of Student Life, and for the past 12 years providing academic support to faculty, students and staff in the College of Education and Human Development.

Chrysanthi is assistant professor of Sociology and Criminal Justice at the University of Delaware. An interdisciplinary scholar, Ms. Leon focuses primarily on penology and the sociology of law. Her current research centers on sex crime and punishment. Her other interests include mental health and criminal justice, re-entry, specialized courts, and the relationship between law and social change. Her book, Sex Fiends, Perverts and Pedophiles: Understanding Sex Crime Policy in America, will be published in 2011 by the NYU Press.

Paula is a Unitarian Universalist Community Minister and MFT. She is the co-ordinator and facilitator of the Alternatives to Violence (AVP) Project in Delaware’s prison for women, Delores Baylor Correctional Facility; founder of A Center for Relational Living (relationalliving.org) and co-director for its first project, Delaware AVP Women’s Re-Entry Project. Rev. Maiorano is a life-time Delaware resident, a small business owner, partner to husband, John (Giovanni) Maiorano, and mother to their two young adult sons.

 

Ted has been working in the field of correction and prisoner reentry for that past nine years, three years as a Correctional Officer and six years with the Delaware Center for Justice (dcjustice.org) as case manager and program director for the reentry services program. Ted graduated from the University of Delaware in 1993 with a BA in psychology and in 2010 he received his Master of Education in School Counseling from Wilmington University.

Haneef is a dual alumnus of Public Allies of Delaware, as well as AmeriCorps, who changed his career from small business to community service, following his incarceration in Delaware for a drug conviction. In the past, he owned and operated CLH Home Renovations, and was the leading foreman with Parker Contracting. His first year with Public Allies was in service to Goodwill Industries of Delaware and Delaware County where he was the Workforce Coordinator for Youth. He presently is offering public relations service to the Newark Senior center. Mr. Salaam’s job skills and training are eclectic, and include project coordination, carpentry training at Delaware Skills Center, professional and business skills training at Professional Staffing, and proposal Writing and Communication Workshops. Mr. Salaam serves as a trustee of A Center for Relational Living, where his experience is an asset to Delaware AVP Re-entry Project.

John is the Delaware State Coordinator of the Alternatives to Violence Project, is on the Board of AVP/USA and is Co-Chair of AVP International. He facilitates three-day attitude changing - empowerment workshops for inmates in all of Delaware's adult prisons. He is a founding Board member of A Center for Relational living and is currently its Reentry Training Director. Mr. Shuford is the Executive Director of the National Association of Social Workers, Delaware Chapter and President of Conflict Resolution Services through which he conducts teambuilding/conflict transformation trainings for corrections staff nationally.

Fay began her career with Prison Fellowship Ministries (PFM) as the volunteer state coordinator for Delaware and Cecil County, Maryland. There she focused the group’s work with inmates, ex-offenders, youthful offenders, victims and their respective families. She now is a consultant to the group. Starting in 1990-1991 she lobbied for a chapel for the Baylor Womens Correctional Institution in New Castle. In 2001 she established a non-profit, tax–exempt, 501(c)(3) organization, Prison Ministries of Delaware, Inc., in order to to secure funds to build the chapel. Funds became available. The chapel/multi-purpose building is now in existence. Fay has also been active in the Court Appointed Special Advocates Program (CASA) at family court. She has served on the board for the Delaware Center for Justice, for which she has received the Exemplar of Justice Award. She now serves on the Advisory Board.

Jim graduated from Salesianum in 1956 and the University of Delaware in 1960 [Business Degree]. He worked for 35 years with Hercules Incorporated, retiring in 1995 from the position of Director of Administration for the Controllers and Treasurers Departments. Since retiring Jim has been a full time volunteer for the Society of St. Vincent de Paul-he is currently Regional Vice President for the Eastern Region of the Society. Jim and other Society members have been doing Delaware prison ministry for the last 15 years. He can be reached at the SVDP cell phone number-302-528-1994.

Biography forthcoming

Biography forthcoming

Photo and biography forthcoming