CJC Advisories

RESEARCH ADVISORIES

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Allen Azizian, PhD, Fresno State University Assistant Professor 

 

Dr. Azizian received his PhD in Psychology from State University of New York, Stony Brook. After postdoctoral fellowships at Scripps Research Institute, Molecular and Integrative Neuroscience, and then University of California, Los Angeles, Integrated Substance Abuse Programs, he joined the faculty at University of Southern California as an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Psychology (nontenure track).  He then moved to Department of State Hospitals – Coalinga where he worked in assessment, treatment, and administrative, including Chief of Psychology, capacities. In 2009, he was awarded a Fulbright research and teaching award to lecture at Yerevan State Medical University, Armenia.  He has published frequently in scientific journals and presented in national and international conferences. His clinical and academic interests are threefold: sex offender laws, prevention of sexual abuse, reintegration, and community supervision of sex offenders.  Dr. Azizian is a research and clinical member of the Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers. He is also a valued board member of the Community Justice Center, serving since its start in July, 2020. 

Kim Kras, PhD, San Diego State University Assistant Professor 

 

Kimberly R. Kras, Ph.D. (she/her), is an Associate Professor in the School of Public Affairs at San Diego State University, where she teaches in the Criminal Justice and Public Administration programs. She earned her Ph.D. in Criminology and Criminal Justice from the University of Missouri-St. Louis, following a career with the Missouri Division of Probation and Parole. Dr. Kras also holds a Masters in Criminal Justice and Criminology and Bachelors in Psychology from the University of Missouri-Kansas City. Dr. Kras’ research examines the lived experiences of people experiencing reentry from prison and their process toward desistance. Dr. Kras also considers how community corrections organizations and their staff employ evidence-based practices to help (or hinder) the reintegration of system-impacted people. Recently, Dr. Kras has been working with community-based organizations to understand the role of employment and support in desistance, as well as a project that examines the community management of individuals convicted of sexual offenses. Dr. Kras’ work has been published in Criminology, Justice Quarterly, Criminology and Public Policy, Criminal Justice and Behavior and Crime & Delinquency. She also serves as the Co-Editor of Perspectives (journal for the American Probation and Parole Association), Associate Editor of the journal Victims & Offenders, and holds affiliations with the Global Community Corrections Initiative (UMass Lowell) and the Center for Advancing Correctional Excellence (George Mason University). In addition to her scholarly work, Kim also volunteers with the San Diego Circles of Support and Accountability (COSA) program, which assists individuals returning from long periods of incarceration who need community support. She also serves as part of the COSA Research Advisory. 

Kelly Richards, PhD, Queensland University of Technology, Associate Professor 

 

Kelly is a criminologist in the QUT Centre for Justice whose research examines young people’s (especially Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people’s) experiences of the youth justice system. She has an extensive research track record in the areas of restorative and innovative justice practices, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander justice-related matters, and sexual offending.  Kelly holds a PhD and a BA (First Class Honours) in criminology from Western Sydney University (WSU), as well as a Graduate Certificate in Academic Practice from QUT. Prior to joining QUT in 2013, she worked in the nongovernment and government sectors, including five years as a senior researcher at the Australian Institute of Criminology (AIC).  From 2008 – 2012, Kelly was a Visiting Fellow in the Centre for Restorative Justice at the Australian National University. In 2010 she was named ACT Government Office for Women Audrey Fagan Churchill Fellow, and in 2020 she was awarded a Fulbright Senior Scholar Award. Kelly’s recent research includes: working with Indigenous Elders to document their innovative practice in reintegrating people who sexually offend; working with Indigenous Elders and researchers to identify the desistance narratives of Indigenous men who have sexually offended; working as the lead Chief Investigator on an Australian Research Council Linkage Project examining the experiences of young women (including Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander young women) with the youth justice and community services sector across Australia; and, working with victim/survivor communities to document their needs during offender reintegration; and working with youth and disability service providers to improve interactions between young people with cognitive impairments and the police. 

Mary Louise Frampton, JD, UC Davis Professor of Law Emerita 

 

Mary Louise Frampton joined UC Davis as the Director of the Aoki Center for Critical Race and Nation Studies in January 2017. She taught in the areas of restorative justice, structural inequality, law and social justice, legislative advocacy, and professional responsibility. She has co-taught courses on critical race theory and participatory action research in low-income communities in the Central Valley. Professor Frampton led the Thelton E. Henderson Center for Social Justice at Berkeley Law for more than a decade. She was a UC Berkeley Chancellor’s Public Scholar and an Association of American Law Schools (AALS) National Bellow Fellow.  Frampton’s research interests are focused on the use of restorative justice as a tool to dismantle the school to prison pipeline, reduce the over-incarceration of people of color in the criminal justice system, and heal divided communities. She is engaged in research projects in juvenile justice systems and schools in the Central Valley and in the community of Greensboro, North Carolina. She was a co-founder of the Community-University Research and Action for Justice, a collaborative effort of UC academics and community activists in the San Joaquin Valley to alleviate poverty. Her publications include After the War on Crime: Race, Democracy, and a New Reconstruction (NYU Press).  For 30 years, before joining Berkeley Law in 2001, Frampton was a civil rights attorney focusing on employment discrimination. 

PROGRAM ADVISORIES

CJC Advisories exist to ensure the integrity of processes, programs, and services within the Community Justice Center, specifically for VORP (youth diversion) and COSA (adult reentry) programs. The Advisories meet regularly to strengthen relationships, offer guidance and insight, and advance the work of CJC Programs. This includes regular reporting and accountability for measurable program outcomes.

  1. Linda Gleason, Executive Director Fresno Cradle to Career  
  2. Meredith Wiley, Policy Consultant at the Children’s Movement Fresno 
  3. Ron Claassen, Community Member, Founding Director of VORP in Fresno
  4. Lisa Smittcamp, Fresno County District Attorney
  5. Traci Fritzler-Kirkorian, Assistant District Attorney at Fresno County   
  6. Galen Rutiaga, Chief Deputy District Attorney at Fresno County 
  7. Antoinette Taillac, Fresno County Public Defender
  8. JoAnna Edwards, Chief Defense Attorney Public Defender at Fresno County 
  9. Rosalinda Acosta, Deputy Chief Probation Officer at Fresno County 
  10. Astrid Apodaca, Assistant Deputy Chief Probation Officer at Fresno County 
  11. Joy Thompson, Deputy Chief Probation Officer at Fresno County 
  12. Paco Balderrama, Chief of Police, Fresno
  13. Joe Garza, Chief of Police, Reedley
  14. Honorable Judge Dolas, Fresno County Superior Court 
  15. Honorable Judge Cullers, Fresno County Superior Court 
  16. Honorable Judge Gottlieb, Fresno County Superior Court  
  17. Pastor B. T. Lewis, Office of Community Affairs, City of Fresno  
  18. John Swenning, Restorative Justice Coordinator at Kings Canyon Unified School District
  19. Sheri Wiedenhoefer, Community Justice Center Executive Director  
  20. Seya Lumeya, VORP Director at Community Justice Center  
  1. Lisa Smittcamp, District Attorney, Fresno County District Attorney Office 
  2. Traci Fritzler, Assistant District Attorney, Fresno County District Attorney Office 
  3. Antoinette Taillac, Public Defender, Fresno County District Attorney Office 
  4. Kirk Haynes, Chief of Probation, Fresno County 
  5. Paco Balderrama, Chief of Police, Fresno
  6. Margaret Mims, Fresno County Sheriff
  7. Michelle LeFors, Inmate Services Director, Fresno County Jail 
  8. Susan L. Holt, Fresno County Department of Behavioral Health 
  9. Carmen Maroney, Community Relations Manager, Valley State Prison
  10. Lynne Ashbeck, Senior Vice President of Community Engagement, Valley Children’s Healthcare
  11. Emma Hughes, PhD, Criminology Department, Fresno State University 
  12. Jennifer Leahy, Director, Project Rebound, Fresno State University 
  13. Andrew Winn, Insight Garden Project 
  14. Rochelle Trujillo, CEO Fresno Site Director 
  15. Amanda Nugent Divine, Chief Executive Officer, Kings View Behavioral Health Systems 
  16. David Gottlieb, Superior Court Judge, Fresno Superior Court 
  17. Kirk Sherriff, Chief U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of California 
  18. Kevin Mitchel, Federal Public Defender, Eastern District of California 
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