Staff Bios

Christie Donner Director christie@ccjrc.org	Christie Donner is CCJRC's Executive Director and founder. She has over fifteen years of experience working in criminal justice reform advocacy, community organizing, policy research, and lobbying. Christie co-authored Parenting from Prison: A Resource Guide for Incarcerated Parents in Colorado. She is also the co-author of CCJRC's publication Getting On After Getting Out: A Re-Entry Guide for Colorado. She has a bachelor's degree in political science from the University of Colorado, Boulder.
Pamela Clifton Communications Coordinator pam@ccjrc.org	Pam Clifton is CCJRC's Communication Coordinator. She studied psychology and sociology at the University of Colorado and University of Washington. Pam joined the staff at CCJRC because of her desire to see drug laws changed, parole laws reformed, and the warehousing of people in Colorado stopped. She has spent the last four years working as a supervisor for a local fundraising organization that raised money for many non-profit and political organizations around the country. She served seven years in prison in Colorado for a minor drug conviction and successfully completed parole in 2005.
John M Riley Coalition Coordinator john@ccjrc.org	John M Riley joined the CCJRC Board of Directors in 2007 and served as its president from Jan 2009-Dec.2010. John accepted a position with CCJRC as the Coalition Coordinator in Jan. 2011. John retired as the Director of Special Projects from the Colorado Division of Youth Corrections (DYC) after 30 years of correctional employment in Ohio and Colorado. John worked in secure facilities, community correction facilities, assessment units, and as a parole counselor. He was the Director of Foxfire Juvenile Boot Camp, Adams Youth Service Center and Platte Valley Youth Service Centers. He was an advisor on the State of Colorado Personnel's Correctional Services Study of DYC and the Department of Corrections. Additionally, he was the Developmental and Transition Manager for DYC in the development of CO Trails. He is a founding member of the Committee on Minority Youth Equality, former Vice-President of the Colorado Chapter of Blacks in Criminal Justice, and was Chair of the Public Safety Committee for the Inter-Neighborhood Cooperation (INC). John is a Board Member of the Redemption Fellowship, a missionary church of Trinity United Methodist Church for the homeless, drug addicted and "Returning Citizens". John is committed to reducing the use of mass incarceration in Colorado. John's simple goal is to shrink the size of Colorado criminal justice systems and move the savings to treatment, K-12, and college/vocational programming.
Ellen Toomey-Hale Finance & Development Director ellen@ccjrc.org	Ellen Toomey-Hale is CCJRC's Finance & Development Coordinator. She received her Bachelor's Degree in Criminal Justice and her law degree from Temple University Law School. She served for three decades in Colorado's juvenile justice system as a probation officer, deputy district attorney, guardian ad litem, defense counsel, and district court magistrate. She was an adjunct professor at the University of Northern Colorado, Aims Community College, and the Aims Police Academy. She has expertise in child welfare and co-authored, with CCJRC's Executive Director, Parenting from Prison: A Resource Guide for Incarcerated Parents which was published in 2001. She has volunteered with Kairos Prison Ministry at the Denver Women's and Sterling Correctional Facilities. She has an extensive background in nonprofit development, served on many international mission teams, and still believes one person can change the world. She is a passionate child advocate who is intent on improving Colorado's criminal justice system.

CCJRC Board of Directors

Joe Mauro, Denver, Colorado joined the Colorado Criminal Justice Reform Coalition in January of 2005 and is currently the Board President. He joined CCJRC because of his passion for issues surrounding incarceration, re-entry for parolees, and the sad state of our criminal justice system. He hopes that his participation on the CCJRC Board of Directors will make a positive difference on providing justice to all Coloradans. Joe also joined the CCJRC Freedom Fighters this year, finding it a convenient way to give on a monthly basis. Joe manages his own business, JFM Consulting LLC, consulting with non-profit groups to increase their capacity for fund raising of all types. He also serves on the board of directors of City Park Alliance and Howard Dental Center (treasurer). Joe is a 10 year resident of the Whittier neighborhood. He is an avid gardener, a neophyte beekeeper, and enjoys the diversity and colorful nature of northeast Denver.

Mardy Wilson, Denver, Colorado has been a Denver native for the past 53 years. She has one daughter, one son in law, and 2 beautiful grandchildren. Her professional work is in the sign and banner industry. Large format banners, marquees, special projects, primarily within the stage/ theater industry, locally and nationally. A long-standing interest in human rights led her to the Colorado ACLU 8 years ago and to CCJRC in 2006. Her years of coordinating and organizing volunteer programs will prove to be an invaluable asset to CCJRC. Mardy is the CCJRC Board Secretary.

Pastor Paul Howard, Denver, Colorado is a University of Colorado educated, 30-year resident of Denver. He is currently the Pastor of Montclair United Methodist Church. Paul was the founding pastor of Redemption Fellowship at downtown's 150 year old Trinity United Methodist Church. Redemption Fellowship offers an inviting, transformational, nurturing spiritual community and an advocacy program welcoming all—especially former offenders. Paul formerly served on the board of directors of Turnabout, Inc., an outreach career and education preparation program for former offenders who are seeking jobs, educational opportunities, dignity and hope. Pastor Paul is an outspoken advocate for former offenders and the homeless in our community and diligently seeks to heighten the awareness of the plight of former offenders in the faith community and bring the church squarely into the discussion and process of criminal justice reform. Paul serves as the Treasurer of CCJRC.

Danielle Haraburda, Denver, Colorado is a public defender in Adams County. She has been involved as a volunteer with a number of non-profit organizations including Mi Casa and the Colorado Progressive Coalition. She is a former board member of Colorado Legal Initiatives Project and a participant in the Lundy Leadership Initiative, a three-year leadership training program for members of the GLBT community.

Lisa Raville, Boulder, Colorado is the Executive Director of the Harm Reduction Action Center, located in a small day shelter in Denver. The Harm Reduction Action Center educates, empowers, and advocates for the health and dignity of Metro-Denver's injection drug users. The Harm Reduction Action Center was instrumental in the passing of the May 2010 syringe exchange legislation. Past work experiences that brought Lisa to her dream job include working as an AmeriCorps member at a CA syringe exchange, an overnight homeless shelter coordinator, training workshops for ex-offenders, and a former campaign manager for a County Supervisor. Passions include, in her spare time, community advocacy, political organizing, reproductive rights, prisoner rights activism, social justice, syringe exchange, homeless rights, ex-offender literacy, and voter registration coordination specifically targeting former felons, the homeless, and women. Originally from Chicago, Lisa holds a Bachelors Degree in Communications & Women's Studies from DePaul University.

Kathleen Lord, Denver, Colorado has represented criminal defendants as a public defender in the state and federal courts since 1988. She was the Chief Appellate Deputy for the Colorado State Public Defender from 1996-2009. She is currently working as an assistant federal public defender in Denver.

Hassan Latif, Aurora, Colorado is a Certified Addictions Counselor Level II, and provides addiction counseling services primarily to people living with HIV and those recently released from incarceration, at It Takes A Village, Inc. in Aurora. After spending almost 20 years in Colorado penitentiaries, he was released in January 2006 and embarked on a career trying to help others avoid prison. He is the Mentoring Coordinator and Case Manager for the Turnabout Program, a Denver organization that provides job training, education and support for recently released ex-offenders. He regularly returns to Colorado correctional facilities to provide support and groups for inmates. Hassan is married to Imani S. Latif and has two children, Sama, 27 and Khansaa, 24.

Mandy Rigg, Lafayette, Colorado is a consultant to nonprofits. In both her professional and volunteer activities, she delights in working with organizations that further civil rights and improve access to essential health and human services for people with few resources. Longtime clients include the Denver Children's Advocacy Center and The Legal Center for People with Disabilities, and she has served on the board of Clinica Family Health Services, a network of community health clinics for uninsured and underserved people, since 2000. Mandy was born and raised in England and worked as an actress in London before a summer theater project in Connecticut changed the course of her life. After living in New York City for eight years, she moved to Colorado, where her first job in the nonprofit sector was with the Colorado Nonprofit Association. Mandy is committed to reforming the current sad state of the criminal justice system and was honored to join the CCJRC Board in 2011.