PARSOL STAFF & BOARD
John Dawe, MNA, CNP, RCP, RCP-F (Dallas), PARSOL’s Conference Chair and Managing Director, has been helping organizations build influence, impact, & leadership for more than twenty years. Serving in various organizational roles as strategic planner, change management consultant, outsourced development officer, & numerous interim leadership roles in the c-suite, Dawe has helped organizations nationwide find their voice, amplify it, & get others to share their message. Dawe’s extensive experience in utilizing & growing prospect lists & creating data-driven digital & volunteer-led campaigns has helped organizations build successful fundraising programs. He is a top-ranked conference presenter on leadership & management, nonprofit best practices, digital marketing & fundraising, capacity building, change leadership, & storytelling. He is a justice-involved individual who uses his experience as a survivor & perpetrator of harm to help others with legal consequences live healthy, productive lives. He is a professional writer, a trauma-informed, credentialed recovery coach professional (RCP), & a fan of treatment as prevention. He is a trained CCAR Recovery Coaching curriculum facilitator, holding an RCPF designation. Dawe received a Master of Nonprofit Administration (MNA) Degree with Distinction from North Park University (Chicago) in 2016. He received the CNP (Certified Nonprofit Professional) credential in 2015. At PARSOL, he leads fundraising, financial management, program services, & resource management efforts. At a national level, he serves as NARSOL’s Marketing Director & is a member of the NARSOL Conference Operations Committee.
Randall Hayes (Harrisburg) is the Legislative Director of the Pennsylvania Association for Rational Sexual Offense Laws & Chairperson of the affiliated PARSOL Advocates organization. He is a graduate of the Harrisburg University of Science & Technology & coordinates PARSOL’s on-the-ground efforts in the Pennsylvania State Capitol, coordinating legislative visits, advocacy programs, & volunteer lobbying activities.
Josiah Krammes (Pottsville) is Chairperson and Secretary of the Pennsylvania Association for Rational Sexual Offense Laws Board of Directors, and has served as a board member since its founding. He leads the organization’s legal information, education, & research teams. He is one of the lead content creators for PARSOL’s blog & serves as editor of the PARSOL Quarterly newsletter. He responds regularly to inquiries received via the PARSOL website, phone hotline, & from persons who are incarcerated. He serves as PARSOL’s representative on the steering committee of the National Coalition Against Conviction Registries (NCACR). Josiah holds an associate’s degree in business accounting from the McCann School of Business and Technology.
PARSOL BOARD
Lisa Kessler-Peters (Camp Hill) is mother of three & spiritual mother to many. Lisa is an ordained minister, advocate, speaker, & author of Why I Tried to Die, a Story of Trauma, Resilience, & Restoration & How I Learned to Hide: Unraveling Shame & Rejection. She holds two degrees, a Bachelor of Science in criminal justice & a Master of Science in applied behavioral analysis. She also is a certified recovery specialist, trained as a mentor & in trauma informed practices. Her work includes re-entry, recovery, homeless assistance, restorative justice, & educating others about healing trauma.
Lisa believes her greatest asset is her experience, worth much more than her degrees & accomplishments. Her entire mission is to empower others to know that they can have the same freedom she has received. She is bold & courageous & never wants to forget where she came from & what she has been through. She believes that nothing happens in vain & that all things can be used for our good & the good of others. She believes that we can stop generational abuse & substance misuse if we start loving more & punishing less.
PARSOL ADVISORY BOARD MEMBERS
Stephanie Jerstad, Ph.D. (Lancaster) is Assistant Professor of Criminology in the Department of Sociology at Millersville University of Pennsylvania. Her research & academic practice includes ‘sex offender’ legislation, aging ‘sex offender’ population, housing barriers, corrections, global corrections, re-entry, felony collateral consequences, survey methodology, & mixed methods. She currently teaches courses in family sociology, criminology, police & the courts, modern corrections, & comparative global justice. She received a Ph.D. in Criminology & Criminal Justice from Sothern Illinois University where her dissertation was entitled “Care for the aging: Long-term care facilities’ willingness to accept persons convicted of sex offenses into their care as residents.” Dr. Jerstad is currently publishing “A review of laws addressing access to long-term care facilities for people convicted of sex crimes: Prevention of harms in the context of public health goals” with Dr. Jill Levenson.
Dr. Theresa Robertson, Ph.D., LPC (York) is a licensed therapist in Pennsylvania & Maryland. Her clinical work involves assisting individuals with improving emotional & spiritual well-being through therapeutic interventions such as compassion-focused therapy (CFT), Internal Family Systems (IFS), & psychedelic-assisted therapy. Dr. Robertson has presented her compassion focused therapy research findings at professional conferences in the U.S. as well as abroad. She is co-founder of PARSOL & has been active in advocacy & research concerning successful community reentry for persons returning from prison. Her current research interests involve exploring the safety & effectiveness of psychedelic medicines for treating a variety of mental health disorders including depression, anxiety, & PTSD. Dr. Robertson is also vetted by B4U-ACT to provide collaborative & holistic treatment for minor-attracted persons (MAPs).
Jennifer Weeks, Ph.D., LPC, CAADC, CMAT, CSAT-S (Plymouth Meeting) is the founder & director of Sexual Addiction Treatment Services, an out-patient treatment program for out of control sexual behavior. She has almost 20 years’ experience treating individuals who commit sex crimes & all aspects of addiction, trauma, & sexual addiction. During that time she has assembled a staff of caring, compassionate professionals to assist in her goal of helping her clients heal. She graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Purdue University. She obtained her master’s degree in Psychology & her Ph.D. in Psychology from The University of Georgia. She is a Certified Sexual Addiction Therapist/Supervisor, Certified Advanced Alcohol & Drug Counselor, Licensed Professional Counselor & Clinically Certified Sex Offender Treatment Specialist. She is a recognized expert witness in the forensic specialty of sex offenders & sexual compulsivity. She frequently provides expert testimony in both county & federal courts. Dr. Weeks is a faculty member of the Northeast Counterdrug Training Center Polygraph Program & Odin Intelligence where she trains law enforcement & probation/parole officers on sexual offending. She is also an adjunct professor at Moravian University where she teaches in the Graduate Clinical Counseling program.
Based in Plymouth Meeting, PA, Dr. Weeks regularly provides continuing education to other therapists, attorneys, & presents at national conferences. Dr. Weeks is the author of the blog, Dr. Jen’s Recovery Readings as well as the prevention book, The New Age of Sex Education: How to Talk to Your Teen about Cybersex & Pornography in the Digital Age.
PLENARY SPEAKERS
State Rep. Emily Kinkead (D-20) (Pittsburgh) sits on Appropriations, Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Human Services, Judiciary, and the Committee on Committees in the Pennsylvania House. She also chairs the Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Corrections. Emily has spent her time in office committed to being a voice for justice, equity, & diversity. Before entering public service as a legislator, she tackled some of our society’s most challenging problems – disability rights, campaign finance reform, gerrymandering reform, climate change, advocacy for HIV+ individuals, immigration, & criminal legal system reform. Emily also worked in the legislative policy office at the National Institutes of Health & provided legal aid to vulnerable individuals facing eviction. She earned biology and political science degrees at Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania and law from the University of Pittsburgh Law School. Deeply dedicated to addressing disparities in the law, Emily co-chairs a program through the Women in the Law Division of the Allegheny County Bar Association to end bias in the legal profession. She currently serves on the boards of ALCOSAN, the Pennsylvania Prison Society, Scenic Pittsburgh, and the State Council for Interstate Juvenile Supervision.
Robert Reed, Esq. (Philadelphia) is the Executive Deputy Attorney General for Special Initiatives at Office of Pennsylvania Attorney General. He serves as chair & staff lead for the Pennsylvania Reentry Council. Determined to address the recidivism crisis directly, then-Governor Tom Wolf & then-Attorney General Josh Shapiro (now Governor) created the Pennsylvania Reentry Council (PARC) in 2021, a historic & unprecedented undertaking bringing together reentry stakeholders from around the Commonwealth to identify issues facing returning citizens & to develop & implement solutions.
GUEST PRESENTERS & PANELISTS
Brenda Jones (Colmar Manor, MD) has been involved in registry reform organizing since September 2009. She started by looking for support but quickly saw the magnitude of the pain & despair of others affected by draconian sexual offense laws. When a high-profile murder in Maryland sent lawmakers scurrying to pass tons of tough-on-sex-offenders laws, Brenda dove in headfirst and, as she says, “I have never looked back.” Brenda has been executive director FAIR (Families Advocating Intelligent Registries) in Maryland since its inception in 2010 & has served as NARSOL executive director since 2012. Under her leadership, NARSOL has increased transparency, launched an ever-growing membership program, built a robust state affiliate network, & continues to advocate through legislation, litigation, education, & activism.
Jordan Kauffman (Lancaster), Executive Director of New Person Ministries in Lancaster & Reading, PA, grew up in Lancaster County & graduated from Millersville University with a degree in sociology. Afterwards, he lived for four years in Philadelphia, working at various nonprofits, then went on to earn his M.A in Organizational Leadership from Eastern University. Jordan has always been passionate about improving unjust systems with a strong emphasis on grace & authenticity for those on the margins. After being introduced to NPM founder John Rush at a prison re-entry conference in 2014, he started at New Person Ministries as a case worker. Shortly after John’s retirement, Jordan was chosen to be the Executive Director.
Carrie Kurtz (Lancaster) passionately served as the Director of Reentry Planning and Coordination for the Lancaster County Reentry Coalition (LCRC) for 4 ½ years desiring to see the fulfillment of the mission, “serving to cultivate community engagement, collaboration, coordination, and capacity building to ensure that all individuals who transition from prison or jail have the opportunity to successfully return to their communities”. Her primary responsibility was collaborating and coordinating the efforts of people with lived experience, major agencies and organizations in providing opportunities for successful reentry starting at commitment through stabilization back into the community. She created and facilitated Impact Teams that addressed the major barriers. She facilitated the functions of the LCRC such as continual evaluation of reentry needs as well as guiding the LCRC in identifying, setting & achieving collaborative & coordinated strategic priorities. She continues to participate in several local and statewide reentry, trauma and housing focused committees. She is currently the interim co-chair of the PARC Housing Subcommittee. Carrie’s has over 20 years’ experience in the social service field. Prior to LCRC, she worked at Water Street Mission for 12 years as the Director of Residential & Shelter Services, Director of the Community Homeless Outreach Center (a day center) and as a counselor. She has a bachelor’s degree in business administration / marketing. She is a SAMHSA certified Trauma Informed Response Trainer for those involved in the criminal justice system as was as a Certified Facilitator for Seeking Safety (evidence-based approach to trauma & addiction).
Amber Vlangas (Katonah, NY) is a founding member & Executive Director of Restorative Action Alliance. Amber is an organizer, human rights activist, survivor of sexual harm, & advocate of re-imagining how we address crime & seek justice in our society. Amber facilitates & participates in Restorative Peer Support Circles for people impacted by crime & the criminal legal system, & vicarious restorative justice processes with those incarcerated & on community supervision. She is a certified mindful & meditative art teacher & sound healer. She strongly believes in the power of human connections & effective storytelling to create positive change.
Amber started her professional career in the United States Marine Corps & has over 24 years of experience in marketing, fundraising & public relations for various nonprofit & public organizations. She is a frequent speaker & panelist for presentations that explore the collateral consequences of criminal justice involvement & conviction registries, & the co-host of the podcast, Amplified Voices.
Jason Wasserman, MBA (Katonah, NY) is an Executive Board member currently serving as President of the Restorative Action Alliance. He earned a B.S. degree at Tufts University & an M.B.A. at Columbia Business School. He has worked in leadership roles at Fortune 100 Companies & in smaller start-ups. Jason devotes significant time to volunteering, including serving as President of the Board of his Synagogue & mentoring small business owners. Jason is a firm believer that people are capable of change & he became personally involved with advocacy related to criminal justice in 2018 due to lived experiences. In 2020, he co-created the podcast Amplified Voices to share real-life, in-depth stories of fellow humans impacted by the criminal legal system.