10-Year Retrospective Video
August 31, 2010
This video was created in celebration of our 10 year anniversary gala in October 2007. It gives an overview of our beginnings and our priorities for the future of juvenile justice reform.
JJPL Staff
August 31, 2010
Dana Kaplan, Executive Director
Carol Kolinchak, Legal Director
Sonji Hart, Finance Director
Bridgette Butler, Youth Advocate
Sarah Covert, Policy & Media Coordinator
Chandra Grayson, Receptionist/Office Manager
Kelly Orians, Coordinator for Campaign to Abolish Juvenile Life Without Parole
Natalia Ventsko, Youth Advocate
Wesley Ware, Lead Youth Advocate
John Williams, Staff Attorney
John S. Williams, Staff Attorney
August 31, 2010
Since joining the staff in June 2008, John has worked to improve the conditions of confinement in juvenile facilities in Louisiana. John recognizes the role that we all play in protecting children and communities and he pushes for systemic reform of the state’s juvenile justice system. Showing his dedication to academic pursuits as well as improving the lives of young people, John’s most recent scholarly publication was the Impact of International Human Rights Law on Internally Displaced Gulf Coast Citizens published in the spring 2008 edition of the Mississippi Law Journal. Prior to becoming a Staff Attorney at JJPL, John was the Legal Director at the American Civil Liberties Union of Mississippi and also served as an Assistant Attorney General in Arkansas. John clerked for former Arkansas Supreme Court Justice the Honorable Ray Thornton. John holds degrees from Xavier University of Louisiana and Alabama State University. John received his law degree from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock William H. Bowen School of Law. John is licensed to practice law in the state and federal courts of Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi.
Wes Ware, Lead Youth Advocate
August 31, 2010
As the Lead Youth Advocate, Wes has been advocating for the rights of incarcerated youth and the creation of community-based alternatives to incarceration. He monitors the conditions of three secure care facilities in Louisiana, coordinates the investigation of federal litigation against New Orleans’ youth detention facility, and coordinates the LGBT HIV Project. Wes serves on the Advisory Committee for the Equity Project, a national initiative to ensure that LGBT youth in juvenile delinquency courts are treated with dignity, respect and fairness. Prior to coming to Louisiana, Wes worked on adult criminal justice issues at various social justice organizations in Georgia. A native Southerner, Wes is a graduate of Georgia State University.
Natalia Ventsko, Youth Advocate
August 31, 2010
Natalia works as a youth advocate, youth organizer and attorney at JJPL. Originally from San Francisco, California, Natalia is a consistent voice in JJPL’s fight to challenge the way the state handles young people in prisons. A consummate advocate, her past experience working with youth involves working as a youth organizer with the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, facilitating a mentorship program in her role as a community service coordinator for the A.P. Tureaud chapter of the Black Law Student Association, at Loyola College of Law and serving as a child advocate in individual cases. Natalia has received a BA in Social Work from San Jose State University in 2006 and her Juris Doctorate from Loyola College of Law, New Orleans in 2009. Natalia has been a member of the Louisiana Bar since 2010.
Kelly Orians, Coordinator, Campaign to End Juvenile Life without Parole
August 31, 2010
In a unique partnership between Citizens for Second Chances and JJPL, Kelly directs the Campaign to end Juvenile Life without Parole in Louisiana. She is committed to ending this abhorrent policy and in undoing oppression in all forms. Prior to joining the staff in 2008, Kelly worked as a Field Director for United States Congressional Campaigns throughout the Southeast. As a student organizer at her college, she worked around issues of racism, sexism, classism and homophobia. Kelly also sat as Chair of the Women and Gender Studies Student Advisory board working to develop the Women and Gender Studies Program on the Boulder campus. Kelly was also awarded an Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program Grant to finance her research in Brownsville, Brooklyn NYC studying issues of Juvenile Delinquency and public housing policy as it related to the lives of mothers living in Public Housing. Kelly was awarded her bachelors degree with summa cum laude honors from the University of Colorado at Boulder.
Chandra B. Grayson, Receptionist/Office Manager
August 31, 2010
Chandra joined the JJPL team in February 2008. As a receptionist Chandra, ensures sure that each person feels welcome in the building. The ultimate purveyor of kindness, Chandra also makes sure that the staff has enough resources in the office at all times & that the building is operating properly. Chandra graduated from Central High School in Omaha, NE. After graduating moved to Jackson, MS and worked in the restaurant industries for many years as an Assistant Manager. Following her work there, she transitioned into the nonprofit world, joining the staff at the Mississippi Coalition Against Sexual Assault in Jackson, MS, while attending two semesters at Jackson State University. Chandra also began to volunteer as a victim counselor at Catholic Charities. Later, Chandra later moved to Kenner, LA and attended the University of New Orleans until Katrina hit the area.
Sarah Covert, Policy & Media Coordinator
August 31, 2010
Sarah is a native New Orleanian proud to be supporting reform in her home state through her work at JJPL. Prior to joining the staff in July 2009, Sarah worked for the Ms. Foundation for Women, serving two years in the main office in NY as Program Associate for Health, Safety, and Youth and then being appointed Southern Strategy Coordinator based in New Orleans, in which she expanded the foundation’s networks in the Gulf South, assessed the feasibility of a Women’s Policy Institute in the region, and supported grantees on the ground. She has also worked as a Teach For America Recruitment Fellow. Sarah received a B.A. in Women’s Studies and a B.S. in Psychology from the H. Sophie Newcomb Memorial College of Tulane University.
Bridgette Butler, Youth Advocate
August 31, 2010
Bridgette, a native of New Orleans, works specifically on our Schools First and Youth Organizing initiatives. Throughout her career, Bridgette has demonstrated a passion for youth development and a commitment to creating opportunities for young people to grow into successful adults. Before joining the staff in June 2008, she was a Youth Advocate and a Case Manager at the Youth Empowerment Project, a Family Counselor with OYD court-involved youth and a Counselor for youth with Emotional Behavior Disorders at Roosevelt Middle school. Bridgette is a member of the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated and holds a Bachelor of Arts and Masters Degree from Xavier University.
Sonji A. Hart, Finance Director
August 31, 2010
Sonji A. Hart is the Finance Director at the Juvenile Justice Project of Louisiana. Sonji is at the heart of the JJPL’s operations, ensuring that JJPL maintains effective and efficient financial operating systems to support the program work. Sonji is responsible for the financial management of JJPL funding including, payroll, accounts payable, accounts receivable, financial reporting, grant reporting, tax reporting and personnel management. A dedicated team member, Sonji also shares input and feedback to the program staff to help develop our program areas. Prior to becoming the Finance Director at JJPL, Sonji was employed for 13 years at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). Sonji received her B.S. in Accounting from San Francisco State University.