Staff
"The Times, They Are a-Changin' ... " - Bob Dylan
JPI will name its new executive director Wednesday, June 19, 2013.
Peter Leone, Ph.D., Acting Executive Director
Peter Leone is a professor in the Department of Counseling, Higher Education, and Special Education in the College of Education at the University of Maryland. During his professional career he has been a clinical and out-patient teacher of adolescents with behavioral disorders, a teacher trainer, and researcher. A primary focus of his scholarship and related activities is academic competence and entitlement of individuals with disabilities in juvenile and adult corrections. He served as Director of the National Center on Education, Disability, and Juvenile Justice, a federally-funded research, professional development, and technical assistance project, from 1999 to 2006. Dr. Leone has also served as special master, monitor, and consultant to juvenile and criminal justice agencies and the courts in more than 20 states. He serves as co-chair of a monitoring and support team overseeing education reforms at a large juvenile correction facility in California. His current research and related activities involve analyzing the effects of referrals to the juvenile courts from the public schools in several states. He received his B.A. in history and his M.A. in special education from the University of Iowa, and completed his Ph.D. at the University of Washington.
Paul Ashton, Research and Grants Coordinator
pashton@justicepolicy.org | 202.558.7974 x304
Prior to joining JPI, Paul spent time as a sexual assault victim advocate and conducting research examining intimate partner violence in the LGBT community. Paul’s experience with victim issues led him to author JPI’s white paper: Moving Toward a Public Safety Paradigm: A Roundtable Discussion on Victims and Criminal Justice Reform. He is also the author of Gaming the System: How the Political Strategies of Private Prison Companies Promote Ineffective Incarceration Policies. Paul has also served on the policy committee of the Delaware HIV Consortium – working to educate the Delaware State Legislature on the need for increased funding to address homelessness and HIV. Paul received his Bachelors in Criminology from The Ohio State University and a Masters in Criminology from the University of Delaware.
Spike Bradford, Senior Research Associate
sbradford@justicepolicy.org | 202.558.7974 x313
Spike Bradford is a data analyst, project manager, and educator with experience in criminal justice, drug policy and public health. Prior to joining the JPI team, Spike lived in Kenya and Zambia where he taught English and applied his data analysis skills to public health issues, especially related to women’s health. Spike’s work at JPI includes: Working for a Better Future: How Expanding Employment Opportunities for D.C.’s Youth Creates Public Safety Benefits for All Residents, For Better or For Profit: How the Bail Bonding Industry Stands in the Way of Fair and Effective Pretrial Justice, and Crime, Correctional Populations and Drug Arrests Down in 2011.
Spike has also worked at the Department of the Attorney General of Hawai`i to evaluate a variety of criminal and juvenile justice initiatives and oversee the collection of data for the Uniform Crime Reports. Spike holds a Master of Education from Bowling Green State University and a Master of Arts from the University of Hawai`i.
Zerline Hughes, Director of Communications
zhughes@justicepolicy.org | 202.558.7974 x308
Zerline interacts with media and helps execute JPI's communications strategy. She helped produce "Blocking the Exit," a short documentary on the parole process in Maryland for people serving life sentences. Prior to joining JPI, Zerline was the Communications Manager for The Sentencing Project, a national nonprofit focused on criminal justice reform by way of research and advocacy. Zerline has also worked as a public relations consultant, newspaper reporter and freelance writer for publications including the Boston Globe, Baltimore Sun, Ventura (Calif.) County Star and Dance Magazine. Zerline earned a Bachelor of Arts in journalism and photography from Howard University and a Master of Science in Communication Management from Simmons College.
Adwoa Masozi, Communications Associate
amasozi@justicepolicy.org | 202.558.7974 x306
As the Communications Associate, Adwoa helps develop strategies that increase the reach of JPI’s work. Adwoa began organizing at the age of nine in her hometown of East Orange, NJ, by starting a food program feeding 75 homeless families in the city, which later spread into Newark. Presently Adwoa serves as a member of Supporting Prisoners and Acting for Radical Change, a Washington, DC-based group that offers political education and support to incarcerated and formerly incarcerated men and women in the Washington Metropolitan area. Prior to joining JPI, Adwoa worked as the graphic designer, internship coordinator, and office manager at the Institute for Policy Studies. She is pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Graphic Communications at the University of the District of Columbia.
Melissa Neal, DrPH, Senior Research Associate
mneal@justicepolicy.org | 202.558.7974 x303
Melissa Neal comes to JPI after 2 years as an evaluations researcher conducting evaluations and developing performance monitoring frameworks for federal programs addressing child welfare and courts handling child abuse and neglect cases. Prior to that, she worked in Northeast Tennessee to co-found a not-for-profit agency providing services to women in prison and women re-entering the community after serving time in prison. She received a Doctorate of Public Health degree from East Tennessee State University where she studied the impact of parental incarceration on children’s educational performance. She received her undergraduate degree in Biology from Elon University in North Carolina.
Kellie Shaw, Operations Coordinator
kshaw@justicepolicy.org | 202.558.7974 x302
Kellie ensures that the JPI office runs smoothly by overseeing the day-to-day operations of the office. She comes to us with many years of experience including work as Service Administrator for Canon Business Solutions, Inc. and Webster Fredrickson & Brackshaw, LLP, both in Washington, D.C. Her operations experience also includes a position as Legal Secretary at Bryan Cave, LLP in New York City, and work in administration at Ashcraft & Gerel, LLP in Washington. She is also currently pursuing her Bachelors in Communication Studies, with a minor in Marketing, at the University of Maryland University College, College Park.
Keith Wallington, Project Manager
kwallington@justicepolicy.org | 202.558.7974 x310
Prior to joining JPI, Keith worked as an organizer for the Alliance for Retired Americans, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the health and economic security of older Americans. As a field organizer, he helped to build and charter states to the national Alliance and educate the public about the health and economic concerns of older Americans. After working as an organizer, he served as the Director of Community Outreach for the Alliance for Retired Americans where he helped build the organization through group affiliation. Keith also worked as a field organizer for Fight Crime: Invest in Kids (FCIK), where he recruited and educated top law enforcement officials about the importance of early education and evidence-based programs as proactive investments to fighting crime including meetings with Congressman John Spratt (SC), U.S. Budget Committee Chairman, to discuss investments in education as a way of reducing future crime. Keith graduated from American University with degrees in Biology and Psychology.