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PERA assists justice professionals and individuals directly impacted by the federal Bureau of Prisons’ (BOP). We do this by addressing:
By fostering constructive, but assertive, communication at all levels within the BOP system, we are able to leverage the agency’s own policies and procedures to bring about change.
Our core operating principle is that the most effective first line of response to both shortcomings in care and abuses of authority is to work within the Bureau of Prisons’ system, leveraging its own policies and procedures to bring about change. However, we also use other methods, such as pro-bono attorney referrals and media outreach, when working within the system fails.
We operate using a collaborative model.
We are not a group of detached, high-level administrators seeking profit. Our team is largely composed of individuals with specialized skills who have worked within the BOP, acting in collaboration with people who have lived in or have been impacted by the prison system. We maintain a real-time pulse on the agency and the people who it incarcerates. Disheartened by the agency’s trajectory, we feel that a better-educated justice community, including impacted persons, will result in federal prison reform and transparency.
We provide training and consulting on BOP policy and process, along with case-specific analysis, guidance and/or expert witness testimony. Consulting and training are offered by a dedicated group of former federal prison professionals and related experts drawn from multiple disciplines relevant to sentencing mitigation and post-conviction intervention, including the conditions of incarceration.
We offer case management and education for incarcerated individuals and their loved ones to help them navigate prison challenges; advocate for their rights; and foster positive relationships with staff.
We are developing a multi-faceted education platform that offers live and on-demand webinars and courses on topics such as security classification and designation, physical and mental health care, legal communication, release of records, prisoner discipline, navigation of the administrative remedy process, and educational/vocational programming. Offerings are both generic and custom tailored to different audiences, such as family members, congressional staff and attorneys.
As PERA grows as an organization, we need funding for three major initiatives:
Education Portal: PERA hopes to obtain the funding to develop an educational portal for justice professionals and families, to help them learn the nuances of BOP policy, practices and organizational culture. It will also offer CLEs for attorneys, once we develop a professionally produced curriculum. To this end, we are in discussion with the Trinity Education Group, which will develop the platform once funded.
A prisoner-rights advocate, journalist and nonprofit communicator, Pam manages the organization’s online presence as well as direct-to-prisoner and family advocacy.
Pam began her career as a newspaper journalist (covering crime!), then went on to direct communications for several American and global corporations and nonprofits. Most recently, she directed communications for People Powered, a global nonprofit that promotes participatory democracy. In 2020, she co-founded More Than Our Crimes, which combines storytelling with media and congressional outreach to advocate for individuals in federal prison.
In addition to acting as general counsel for PERA, Cecilia will coordinate its First Step Act initiatives. She was a civil litigator for nearly 30 years, primarily representing corporate clients. That changed, however, when a family member “encountered” the criminal-legal system. She became co-counsel on the case and after learning about the BOP for several years, Cecilia became intensely interested in federal criminal law — and personally experienced the satisfaction of representing people pro bono for post-conviction issues.
Andrea will advise PERA clients and stakeholders on all issues related to mental health. She served in local, state and federal correctional systems in different capacities for 17 years. After 11 years with the federal Bureau of Prisons as a clinical psychologist, Andrea took her knowledge to Florida, where she serves as a regional mental health ombudsman. She has devoted her career to creating opportunities to promote individual growth and awareness among the incarcerated population. Her expertise includes tthe needs of individuals identifying as LGBTQ+, suicide prevention, mental health diagnosis/treatment, substance abuse and re-entry services.
Pete retired from the BOP after a 30-year career, most recently as a supervisory correctional systems specialist.
He received numerous awards during his tenure and was responsible for overseeing the Inmate Records, Mail Room, and Receiving and Discharge departments. Pete’s duties included maintaining and processing intake and release records, including judgement and commitment orders and detainers from other agencies/jurisdictions. He is one of the few people who has a technical working proficiency and training in complex sentence computations, which is somewhat of a lost art. He also was selected to serve on the review teams that audited prisons throughout the BOP system, as well as the Designation and Sentence Computation Center (DSCC). The Program Review Division designated him as its “Sentence Computation Expert.”
The visionary behind the organization’s mission and goals, Jack provides strategic oversight for PERA.
Jack is a nationally recognized advocate and expert witness on issues related to the federal Bureau of Prisons. He worked directly with incarcerated people for over 36 years as a BOP correctional treatment specialist, consultant and advocate. He serves on the corrections committees of the American Bar Association and the National Association of Criminal and Defense Lawyers (NACDL) and testifies on BOP-related issues throughout the country. He has trained federal defenders, judges and advocates through his private company, My Federal Prison Consultant LLC. Jack’s passion is federal prison reform, and he believes much can be accomplished by training advocates and directly impacted people to leverage the existing statutory framework and BOP policy. He is saddened at the BOP’s deterioration from a treatment-oriented entity into an unaccountable system focused more on incapacitation.
An expert witness with a specialty in prisoner discipline, Dawn oversees all case-management programs and services.
Dawn recently retired from the BOP after a 25-year career as a correctional treatment specialist. She has always believed in allowing incarcerated people to earn second chances, and developed a re-entry curriculum that she implemented to assist individuals on her caseload. Her responsibilities included training new case managers and she also served as an alternate discipline hearing officer (DHO). Dawn is treatment-focused and worked with all populations during her service, including those in minimum-, low-, medium- and high-security units.
In addition to managing the day-to-day operations of the organization, Paul assists in training and recruiting like-minded people with the skills needed to grow PERA.
Paul recently retired from the BOP as an associate warden and thus is aware of the agency’s management inadequacies. He brings many ideas to the table regarding accountability and transparency. Paul came up through the ranks as a correctional treatment specialist and case management coordinator. He worked predominantly in high-security penitentiaries, where he was responsible for correctional programs, services and treatment. Paul also has extensive expertise in gang-related issues, complementing his managerial and leadership skills. He served in the U.S. Army as an infantry officer, retiring in 2014 as a major. He is a veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
In his capacity with PERA, Steve will focus on immigration issues and post-conviction support. Before retiring, Steve practiced law for over 40 years, including work as a public defender for Pike County, PA, and guardian ad litim for children and youth services. He has long had a passion for advocacy.
Dr. Turner-Foster provides medical guidance and support for PERA’s training and case management services.
Nicoletta recently retired from the federal Bureau of Prisons as clinical director at FCI Fort Dix, New Jersey, where she provided direct care to adults in custody and was responsible for overseeing all clinical care provided at the institution. She began her career as an instructor of medicine at Cooper University Medical Center in Camden, New Jersey. She went on to establish a private practice as an internal medicine physician at state’s Burlington Medical Center.
An associate professor of criminal justice at Bloomsburg University, Dr. Benefiel has 24 years of experience working in federal corrections and retired when he was an associate warden. He has worked at nine federal prisons and was one of the first officers at the ADX prison in Florence, Colorado. Roger understands the importance of education to rehabilitation and is pioneering initiatives to deliver higher education within the BOP in Pennsylvania.
Pat has been a practicing criminal defense attorney since 1998 and has served as a member of the Criminal Justice Act (CJA) Panel in D.C. Superior Court. She is currently on the D.C. appellate panel. Pat is also a member of the U.S. District Court CJA Panel in Maryland and is licensed in D.C., Maryland and New Hampshire. Pat served as president of the District of Columbia Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (DCACDL) from 2007 to 2013 and is currently chair of the NACDL Corrections Committee.
Steve has practiced law for over 40 years and recently retired after serving for over two years as Pike County commissioner in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. He also served the county as a public defender and guardian ad litim for children and youth services. Steve is on the boards of United Way and Choosing Integrity.
Marti began her career as a BOP corrections officer. She excelled within the Correctional Programs Division and retired after a 29-year career in which she filled executive positions at FCI Otisville, FCI Danbury, MDC Brooklyn and MCC New York, where she retired as a warden. Marti understands the need for better accountability and transparency at all levels of management and is passionate about case management programs and services.
Brian served seven terms in the New York State Assembly. He was also elected president of the 1 million-member New York City chapter of the AFL-CIO. Brian is currently employed by the FEDCAP Group, and has expertise in workforce development, education, health and economic development.
Hampton is chair of the PERA board of directors and executive director of Choosing Integrity. He has been involved in implementing BOP reentry programming since 2009 – first at USP Canaan in Waymart, PA, and for the past five years at the Pike County Correctional Facility (PCCF). It was during this latter tenure that he developed “Choosing Forgiveness” and “Choosing Integrity,” two 12-week courses for incarcerated men and women. Hampton’s formal professional background is in Christian ministry, and he served as a pastor and denominational official with the Moravian Church in America for 28 years.
Andrew is an experienced psychotherapist in private practice in Honolulu. He is a licensed marriage and family therapist, providing treatment to individuals, couples and families. Andrew is a nationally sought-after and recognized authority in the fields of corrections, white-collar crime, mental health, family systems and addiction.
Diane was honored by the American Health Council in its “Best in Medicine” list for her outstanding contributions to the medical field. She recently retired from the BOP as chief clinical officer for the Northeast Regional Office, where she was charged with administrative oversight but also delivered direct clinical services throughout the northeast United States. She began her career in the Army and served in the Persian Gulf.