PBS LEARNING INSTITUTE - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
- Treasurer / Assistant Vice President of Program Quality
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
- Director / Former Associate Commissioner
Barry Stoodley is the former associate commissioner for the Maine Department of Corrections' Division of Juvenile Services. This agency is responsible for the management and operation of two juvenile correctional facilities as well as a regional network of community-based programs providing detention, diversion and correctional case management services. The Division is committed to the implementation of evidence-based practice and high levels of quality assurance, to ensure positive outcomes for clients, residents, and staff. The Division is also committed to Collaborative Service Planning and the integration of services and programming across functional domains.
From 1971 to 1978, Mr. Stoodley served as a probation-parole officer for the Division of Probation and Parole and later as district supervisor directing adult and juvenile community-based programs from 1979 to 1996. From 1996 to 2000 he served as a regional correctional administrator for the newly created Division of Juvenile Services within the Maine Department of Corrections. The work became operationally specialized, focusing exclusively on juvenile offenders including detention, diversion, probation and aftercare functions.
He graduated from Queen's University (Kingston, Ontario, Canada) in 1969 followed by a master's degree in sociology from the University of Toronto in 1971.
Always concerned with improving outcomes for youth and their families, Barry has supported the implementation of a number of new initiatives including Performance-based Standards (PbS), ACA Accreditation, Collaborative Problem Solving, Motivational Interviewing, Jurisdictional Team Planning for Detention, Evidence-Based Practice and Recidivism measurement. Strengths-based approaches, such as Family and Systems Teams have been integrated into the work of the Division.
He currently is the President of Performance-based Standards Learning Institute and also serves on the Lives in the Balance board of directors.
Job Titles:
- Associate Director for Data and Technology
Since joining PbS in 2006 Brendan Donahue has been focused on using technology to improve the PbS user experience. He brings to every project a wealth of information on emerging web technologies such as design, usability, and front-end development. In his 16 years at PbS, Brendan has served as the lead project manager for new initiatives and technology innovation including the national roll-out of PbS' family engagement standards, development of touch-screen survey kiosks and the software integration of data systems to PbS. Brendan also manages PbS' technical support team and has developed interactive trainings and demonstrations delivered both in-person and over the web. Brendan has previously served as a freelance consultant helping small businesses on the south shore of Massachusetts with a variety of web and multimedia needs including graphic design, audio and video production and online marketing. Brendan has his degree in Business Administration from Quincy College and stays up to date on new technologies by attending Boston area trainings, meetups, hackathons and professional development seminars.
Dan joined the PbS coaching team in 2016, continuing a career in juvenile justice of over 37 years. Dan started his career working with Hispanic youth in a community based organization in Utah. This work involved residential and outpatient models that served as alternatives to secure confinement.
Dan left this agency to take a position with the state Juvenile Court system as a manager developing treatment and intervention program models. This work then led to his becoming the Deputy Director of Utah's Youth Correction system, the Division of Juvenile Justice Services. After serving in this capacity for several years, he was then appointed as the Director, and served for over 6 years.
When he left government service, he continued work in juvenile services becoming the CEO of Cornerstone Programs Corp. This private entity provides detention, supervision and treatment programs for juveniles.
As part of his career in juvenile justice, he has served on numerous local, State, and national public policy committees and commissions. Included in these activities were testimony to a congressional subcommittee on Children, Youth, and Families (ACYF), and a policy analysis paper on Disproportionate Minority Confinement.
Dan has a Bachelors degree in Psychology and did graduate work in Educational Psychology.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
- Principal
David Giordano focuses his practice on patent drafting and prosecution across a wide variety of technologies including life sciences, materials sciences, medical devices, software, telecommunications, and mechanical devices. David represents a broad array of clients, including individual inventors, small and mid-size companies, universities, and large multinational corporations, and prosecutes patents in the United States and internationally. David also has extensive experience counseling clients. He has conducted due diligence analyses, including freedom-to-operate and validity opinions, for intellectual property matters pertaining to pharmaceutical manufacturing processes, antibodies, consumer products manufacturing processes, and semiconductor manufacturing processes. Additionally, David advises clients with regard to the strategic development of their patent portfolios and has successfully negotiated licenses on behalf of his clients.
David has substantial litigation experience that spans technologies from active pharmaceutical ingredients and medical devices to consumer products and mobile phone technologies. He has experience developing strategies relating to validity and infringement, as well as post-grant challenges. David's litigation and post-grant experience allow him to counsel clients and prosecute patents with an awareness of the issues that could appear during litigation, resulting in prosecution and portfolio development strategies that increase the strength and value of a client's intellectual property. David also counsels clients regarding trademarks and copyrights, including filing trademark applications and copyright registrations.
Prior to founding Giordano Law LLC, David practiced at Giordano & Chavous LLC for four years after practicing IP law at WilmerHale from 2004-2013. David is also President and a Director for Parkway in Motion, Inc., a non profit community organization serving the West Roxbury and Roslindale neighborhoods of Boston.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
- Vice President / Former Judge
Gray was first elected to the Orleans Parish Juvenile Court on Nov. 6, 1984, where she has served with distinction for 33 years. A native of South Carolina, Judge Gray received her early education in the public schools of Orangeburg, S.C. She attended Spelman College in Atlanta, Ga., and Louisiana State University School of Law where she received her J.D. in 1976. Judge Gray was admitted to the Louisiana Bar in 1976. Prior to her election to the bench, Gray was in private practice. She has had an extensive career in government positions, most notably with the Louisiana Attorney General's office working on antitrust matters, and many years as a trial attorney with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).
Since the start of her career, Gray has been involved in the juvenile justice arena, working with the Baton Rouge Legal Aid Society where she handled hundreds of family law cases. Gray is past president of the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, National CASA, the local YWCA, YMCA and Volunteers of America Boards of Directors. She currently serves as the president of the Pelican Center for Children and Families, a nonprofit organization dedicated improving the quality of legal representation for children and providing interdisciplinary training and education to child welfare practitioners. Gray regularly appears before the state Legislature to speak and provide information on issues relating to youth in both the child welfare and juvenile justice systems. In addition, she has been invited to speak before committees of the United States Congress.
Her numerous leadership awards include: 2013 CityBusiness Leadership in Law Award; 2011 Louisiana Association of Black Women Attorney's Trailblazer Award; 2008 Honorary Membership, Louisiana Chapter of the Order of the Coif; 2004 recipient of Spirit of Crazy Horse Award Reclaiming Youth International; 2002 Albert Elias Award for Advancement of Compassionate Care of Troubled Youth, National Council on Crime and Delinquency; 2000 Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, in recognition for achievements that have made the future safer and brighter for children and families in America's communities; and the 1995 American Bar Association Franklin D. Flaschner Judicial Award.
Job Titles:
- Director of Development
- Director of Development for PbS
Hayden Blood is the Director of Development for PbS. She has over 27 years of experience working with for profit and non-profit institutions building capacity, raising funds and increasing awareness for the organizations' mission.
Hayden was inspired by the stories of member facilities to join the dedicated staff of PbS to improve the quality of life for young people and create real opportunities for their success.
James joined the PbS coaching team in 2022 after a twenty-year career as a youth justice and child welfare professional, with a track record of data-driven strategy development and implementation. Since beginning his career managing the day-to-day operations of a detention facility in Atlanta, Georgia, James has served as the Director of Detention Services and the Assistant Secretary of Residential Services at the Maryland Department of Juvenile Services. Beginning in 2008, James also served the Texas Juvenile Justice Department as the Director of Youth Services and later as the Associate Executive Director.
Between 2012 and 2020, James worked as the Director of New Programs and Development at VisionQuest, Ltd. In this role, he provided leadership and guidance about evidence-based models and performance measures to various juvenile justice departments and agencies. For a brief time between March and October 2020, James led the coordination and administration of national nonprofit Southwest Key Program's direct services to young people who have recently immigrated. James is especially knowledgeable about safety and security, trauma-focused care, restraints and confinement. James has presented about the Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) in Chicago, IL and Washington, DC.
James is an alumnus of Georgia College & State University. He is a member of the National Association of Blacks in Criminal Justice and the National Partnership for Juvenile Services.
Janice began her career with the Illinois Department of Corrections, Juvenile Division in 1979 as a youth supervisor at a coeducational youth center. Through her 32 years of service to the staff and youths of Illinois, Janice served in multiple positions including counselor, casework supervisor, reception administrator, assistant superintendent, superintendent, and acting deputy director of program services. Janice retired from the Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice in 2010.
Janice implemented Performance-based Standards in the states 8 youth centers where she served as the Agency Coordinator. Additionally, Janice initiated and implemented standardized reception and classification procedures throughout the state, implemented gender specific programming at the 2 female youth centers, and began the implementation of the state's behavior management programming.
Janice's commitment to improving conditions of confinement for youths and work environment for staff was recognized when she began working for Performance-based Standards in February 2012 as the Coach for the state of Alaska. Janice has a BS Degree in Criminal Justice from the University of Wisconsin. Janice has been married for 31 years and has two terrific sons. Janice derives great satisfaction from gardening and trying new recipes!
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
- Adjunct Professor of Law at Georgetown University
- Director / Professor and Chair / Department of Psychology at Georgetown University
A Professor of psychology and adjunct professor of law at Georgetown University, Jennifer Woolard began her career at the National Victims Resource Center. While obtaining her doctoral degree in developmental and community psychology at the University of Virginia she also served as a victim-witness volunteer in the county police department, a staff member to the Virginia Commission on Family Violence Prevention, and a consultant with Virginians Against Domestic Violence (now Virginia Sexual and Domestic Violence Action Alliance) . She then joined the MacArthur Foundation Research Network on Adolescent Development and Juvenile Justice and became an assistant professor at the University of Florida's Center for Studies in Criminology and Law. In 2002 she joined the psychology faculty at Georgetown University. Her research and action laboratory, the Georgetown Community Research Group, studies individual and family experiences with systems of care and control in order to create fair, effective, and just legal processes. Projects examine how youth and parents understand the right to remain silent, the right to an attorney, and the right to a trial. Her lab is the evaluation partner for the Youth In Custody Practice Model initiative, which helps juvenile correctional institutions implement evidence-informed and developmentally-appropriate practices. Dr. Woolard has testified as an expert before federal and state legislatures as well as in criminal cases. She has presented her research findings to a wide variety of academic, legal, and policy audiences, and won several awards for teaching excellence, including the Dean's Award for Teaching Excellence. She currently serves as chair of the Psychology Department.
Job Titles:
- Executive Director
- Member of the Board of Directors
In the mid 1990's, Joseph attended Southeastern Louisiana University, where he received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Criminal Justice.
In March of 2016, Joseph was appointed to his current position of Executive Director for the Florida Parishes Juvenile Justice District, becoming the first employee to transition through every rank of the agency. In addition to having responsibility over all of the District's operations, he remains engaged with the many city and district courts throughout the region, as well as various law enforcement agencies, juvenile justice practitioners and stakeholders statewide and nationally.
Joseph now holds a Master of Public Administration degree from Louisiana State University. His father is smiling down; "Geaux Tigers"! He is a graduate of the 12-week Dale Carnegie course for Effective Communications and Human Relations and has received its Highest Award for Achievement. As a public speaker, Joseph shares his passion for working with kids, the public, and effecting organizational change. He currently serves as President of the Louisiana Juvenile Detention Association, is a member of the Performance Based Standards Learning Institute's Board of Directors and is also a member of the Council of Juvenile Correctional Administrators, where he regularly convenes on a national level with state department heads, to study, discuss, and develop initiatives and best-practices within juvenile justice.
Job Titles:
- Coach
- Member of the Board of Directors
- Ex Officio Member
Joyce Burrell joined the PbS coaching team in 2015, having worked in the juvenile justice field for more than twenty-five years. Joyce has led significant juvenile justice reform initiatives and provided technical assistance to many agencies in the United States, especially those interested in implementing reform, improving performance and integrating mental health and trauma informed services in traditional correctional models of care. Joyce has served as project director on national, state and local initiatives and has worked for federal, state, city government and the private sector. Before going into private consulting, Joyce served as a principal researcher at the American Institutes for Research, where she directed the OJJDP State Training and Technical Assistance Center within the Human and Social Development Program and previously the National Evaluation and Technical Assistance Center for the Education of Children Who are Neglected or Delinquent (NDTAC) and served as the juvenile justice senior advisor supporting grantees through the TA Partnership for Child and Family Mental Health. Joyce served as the Deputy Commissioner of the New York State Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS) and directed the Division of Juvenile Justice and Opportunities for Youth (DJJOY), where she introduced and implemented PbS, trauma-focused care, supported the implementation of several evidence-based treatment interventions, while supporting a team in developing a comprehensive model of mental health care for children and youth in New York facilities and all of the community offices in the juvenile system. She did similar work at the local level in Philadelphia and Washington, DC.
Job Titles:
- Coach
- Vice President for the National Detention Association
Karl joined the PbS coaching team in 2017 after a fulfilling 32 year career with the Connecticut Judicial Branch. He is an expert in the field of juvenile detention; including program design and evaluation, construction, operational and healthcare accreditation standards; and juvenile justice reform efforts. Karl has dedicated his life to improving the lives of adolescents involved in the juvenile justice system by providing technical assistance to agencies across the United States. Until 2017 Karl was responsible for managing the operations of the Judicial Branch Juvenile Residential Services Unit which included: high secure state juvenile detention facilities, a continuum of contracted Community Residential Programs, and a statewide Central Transportation Unit.
Karl has extensive knowledge and understanding of trauma-informed service, gender responsive programming, and Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) standards. He has presented trauma research at national healthcare conferences, and played an integral role in the development and implementation of Connecticut legislation; including the Raise the Age Initiative (2010), and passage of the Juvenile Justice Policy and Oversight Committee recommendations to continue juvenile justice reform in Connecticut (2016). He has traveled to Arkhangelsk, Russia where he presented on trauma research to faculty, students and researchers.
Karl has served as Vice President for the National Detention Association and serves on the Connecticut Juvenile Training School Advisory Board to the Commissioner of the Department of Children and Families.
Kim is the executive director of the PbS Learning Institute, a national nonprofit organization dedicated to improving youth correctional programs, services and practices. Kim was hired when CJCA incorporated in 1994. In 1995 CJCA was awarded a grant from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), US Department of Justice, to develop and implement Performance-based Standards (PbS) in Youth Correction and Detention Facilities and Ms. Godfrey has worked since then to create the PbS system of continuous improvement to help facilities and agencies raise the quality of life and better conditions of confinement in youth facilities nationwide. In 2004, PbS was named a winner of the Innovations in American Government Award by the Ash Institute for Democratic Governance and Innovation at Harvard University and Ms. Godfrey served as the lead staff for the competition. She also serves as the executive director of the PbS Learning Institute, a subsidiary organization incorporated in 2004 to transition the free federally-funded PbS program to a income-generating non-profit venture that is sustainable and scaleable. She earned two master's degrees: in journalism (Northwestern University) and criminal justice (Northeastern University.) She worked as a newspaper reporter for seven years prior to joining CJCA.
Loura Coons is the .Net Web Developer for the PbS Learning Institute. She graduated from the University of Massachusetts with a M.S. in Applied and Computational Mathematics with extensive graduate level Computer Science coursework, a B.S. in Mathematics with a focus on Bioinformatics and a minor in Computer Science. Loura has over four years of professional software engineering experience designing interactive training boards and dashboards for pharmaceutical management and updating/redesigning expense management software. Using the newest Microsoft technologies Loura is updating and extending the capabilities of the PbS website and survey engine and she is maintaining and extending the PbS android kiosk application.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
- Superintendent
- Director of Community
Megan Milner is the Director of Community-based Services for the Kansas Department of Correction - Juvenile Services and has served in this role since 2017. Prior to this, Megan served as the Deputy Superintendent at the Kansas Juvenile Correctional Complex, now the state's only juvenile correctional facility for male and female youth and the 2017 recipient of the PbS Barbara Allen-Hagan Award for their work with female youth exhibiting crisis behaviors. She has over 19 years' experience in the criminal justice field and has been the state's PbS State Coordinator since 2014.
Megan holds a Bachelor's degree in psychology from Washburn University and a Master's in Criminal Justice from the University of Cincinnati. She is also a Certified Public Manager through the University of Kansas Public Management Center.
Job Titles:
- Associate
- Technical Support Associate
Nahom Woldesenbet is the Technical Support Associate for the PbS Learning Institute. Prior to working at PbS, Nahom was the IT support for Tango Therapeutics, a cancer cell research company that developed a state of the art CRISPR-based functional genomics target discovery platform which greatly advanced pharmacological research and accelerated drug discovery. In IT support, his work ranged from building and fixing desktop machines to administrating accounts, answering help desk tickets and finding solutions to all technical problems with regards to software, hardware, licenses and the like. He also recently graduated from Bunker Hill Community College with a degree in Information Technology and is looking to further advance his studies in the future.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
Patricia Seekell is a project manager for the PbS Learning Institute. She graduated from Villanova University with majors in Sociology and Criminal Justice. As an undergraduate, she tutored at SCI-Graterford in Pennsylvania to help inmates work toward obtaining their GEDs. Patricia has prior experience in survey research, criminal background investigating, as well as search engine optimization, content writing, and market research for a couple of small web-based companies. Patricia is a member of the PbS Help Desk team and coordinates special projects including the development of the reentry measurement standards.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
- Clerk / Director of Quality Assurance / Public Information Officer
- Quality Assurance and Public Information Officer for the Alabama Department of Youth Services
Shannon Weston currently serves as the Director of Quality Assurance and Public Information Officer for the Alabama Department of Youth Services (DYS). She has served in this position since 2016 and is responsible for the coordination of the Performance-based Standards initiative. Shannon also serves as the agency's grant manager, special projects coordinator, and is a national certified trainer for the Mental Health Training for Juvenile Justice (MHT-JJ) curriculum.
Shannon previously served as the Grants and Public Policy Coordinator for the Alabama Department of Mental Health for ten years. In this capacity, she was responsible for grant development and project implementation, public policy development, and legislative initiatives. Prior to working for the Dept. of Mental Health, Shannon served as the Executive Director of the National Alliance on Mental Illness of Alabama for three years. Shannon received her Doctorate in Rehabilitation Counseling from Auburn University and her Master's Degree in Rehabilitation Counseling from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Shannon was also a Presidential Scholar and graduated from the University of Alabama Magna Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology and Minor in Business Administration.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
- President
- Principal Researcher
Simon Gonsoulin, the Neglected Delinquent Technical Assistance Center's (NDTAC) director, brings over 30 years of experience in education, special education, and juvenile justice. In addition to his work with NDTAC, Simon serves as the juvenile justice resource specialist for the Technical Assistance Partnership supporting System of Care communities focusing on the needs of youth involved in the juvenile justice system. He is an expert in issues related to juvenile justice education and administration as well as special education administration. Most recently, as the deputy secretary of the Office of Youth Development within the Governor's Cabinet in Louisiana, he served as the lead administrator for the state's juvenile justice system, including its secure care facilities, statewide probation and parole functions, contracted community-based programming and a newly-created stand-alone state agency of juvenile justice. Prior to that, he served as the state director of education for the same office. Simon also has worked directly in schools and classrooms as both an instructor and principal.
Job Titles:
- Chief Development Officer
- Member of the Board of Directors
- Chief Development Officer for Community Solutions
Terri Williams is the Chief Development Officer for Community Solutions, Incorporated (CSI), a private-non-profit agency serving juvenile justice, criminal justice, and child welfare populations.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
- Agency Coordinator for the South Carolina Department of Juvenile Justice
- Director / Interim Deputy Director
Velvet McGowan was appointed as the PbS agency coordinator for the South Carolina Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) in August of 2013 after serving as the PbS field liaison for DJJ. Previous to this appointment, Velvet served as the deputy chief for Security and Operations at DJJ with a security cadre of over 300 security officers. She began her career in 1985 as a juvenile correctional officer with SCDJJ and worked her way thru the ranks from security lieutenant to a major of the Internal Training Unit. In 2004, she was promoted as the facility administrator for the Female Offender Program.
In 2006, she was recognized as the "State Employee of the Year" by the Governor of South Carolina. She is a child's advocate who believes that a positive caring adult can make a world of difference in the lives of our youths. Velvet is a national certified licensed trainer for One Circle Foundation and a certified public manager. She's held state office as the vice president for the South Carolina Corrections Association and is a member of the Correctional Peace Officer Association and the American Correctional Association (ACA). Velvet sees her appointment to the PbS Learning Institute board as a privilege and an honor and looks forward to contributing greatly.