TEAM CANADA

Michael C. Chettleburgh, President and CEO, Astwood Strategy Corporation and Author of Young Thugs: Inside the Dangerous World of Canadian Street Gangs
Michael C. Chettleburgh is a recognized Canadian expert on street gangs and President and CEO of Astwood Strategy Corporation, a firm he founded in 1991 which serves clients as the RCMP, Ottawa Police Service, National Crime Prevention Centre, Ontario Ministry of Children and Youth Services, St. Leonard's Society of Toronto, Canadian Training Institute and the Cree Regional Authority, among many others.  An economist by training, he is author of the acclaimed non-fiction book and prestigious Donner Book Prize runner-up, Young Thugs: Inside the Dangerous World of Canadian Street Gangs (HarperCollins Canada, 2007), author of the upcoming book, Gladiator School: Life Inside Canadian Prisons (HarperCollins Canada, April 2011), editor and publisher of Lessons From a Gang Cop, by one the world’s leading gang experts, retired LAPD Detective Sergeant Tony “Pac-Man Moreno, and editor and publisher of the upcoming book, White Noise: A Journey Through Drugs, Gangs and Prison, by former outlaw biker Rick Osborne. Michael is also author and research director of the 2002 Canadian Police Survey on Youth Gangs, published by Public Safety Canada, as is currently leading the research of the 2009 Canadian Street Gang Survey. In addition, Michael is principal investigator of several large government funded programs involving youth gangs, street gangs and youth at risk, including but not limited to: the Evaluability Assessment of Breaking the Cycle gang exit program operated by Canadian Training Institute; the Evaluation of the Youth Options for Success program, Canada’s first ever implementation of the Gang Resistance Education and Awareness Training (G.R.E.A.T.) program; the Evaluation of the Youth Opportunities Strategy and the Youth Challenge Fund, a $65 million program funded by the Ministry of Children and Youth Services and community partners including the United of Toronto. Michael is the country’s foremost media commentator on street gangs and related criminal justice matters, with 500+ national and international media credits including CTV National News, CBC’s The National, Canwest Global Television, CBC Radio One, National Post, Wall Street Journal, the Times of London, Aljazeera and many more.  Michael is also co-founder of the Ozzy’s Garage gang exit and intervention program, where groups of 8 to 12 youth build custom Titan Motorcycle choppers and 60s and 70s era muscle cars with reformed outlaw biker, Rick Osborne. For more information about Michael's company, please visit www.astwood.ca.

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Leena K. Augimeri, Ph.D., Director, Centre for Children Committing Offences & Program Development at the Child Development Institute (CDI), Toronto, Canada.
For the past 24 years this scientist-practitioner’s work has focused on the development of a comprehensive crime prevention model for young children in conflict with the law. The model includes police-community referral protocols, structured professional risk/need assessment tools and gender sensitive interventions. Her work is being recognized and adopted worldwide. She is a noted author, researcher and skilled trainer who is co-founder/developer of the longest evidence based intervention for children under 12 years of age in conflict with the law - the SNAP® Program. She also co-authored the Early Assessment Risk List for Boys (EARL-20B) and Girls (EARL-21G) which have been translated in various languages. The tools are used to determine risk for future antisocial behaviour in young children and corresponding clinical risk management strategies. In addition, she is also known for chairing a task force, which led to the development of Canada’s first police-community referral protocol for children under 12 years of age in conflict with the law which has subsequently been adopted by other communities. She consults to numerous national and international projects pertaining to young children in conflict with the law and is responsible for all national and international development activities pertaining to the noted crime prevention activities. In 2005, she was presented with the inaugural Child Welfare League of Canada’s Outstanding Achievement Research and Evaluation Award and in 2007 elected as a Fellow of the Academy of Experimental Criminology.

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Dr. Anthony Hutchinson, Executive Director, Brampton Neighbourhood Resource Centre (BSc, BSW (Hons), MSW, PhD)
As a former homeless youth and street gang member in Vancouver and Toronto who turned his life around to become a University Professor and now head of the Peel Region’s largest front line human services organizations, Brampton Neighbourhood Resource Centre (serving 110,000 people with more than 80 programs and services across 20 delivery sites), Dr. Anthony Hutchinson’s story of redemption is breathtaking. Anthony was instrumental in establishing two successful programs for gang-involved youth, the ROSE Program and Hoodlinc, and over the course of his career, has worked with hundreds of gang involved youth. “Doc H” is an expert principal evaluator with credits including the evaluation of the African Canadian Youth Justice Program on behalf of the African Canadian Legal Clinic, The ROSE program (Academic Recovery and Gang Exiting Strategy), the Community Impact Assessment for the Special Project on Guns and Gangs in the Greater Toronto Area on behalf of the Director of Crown Operations, and the evaluation of the Community Education and Access to Police Complaints Demonstration Project on behalf of the Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General, among many others.  Dr. Hutchinson has been recognized as one of top three Ontario academics under 40 and has acted as an expert in the Safe Streets, Healthy Communities Task Force, co-chaired by Finance Minister Jim Flaherty and MP Russ Hiebert, providing direct feedback to Prime Minister Stephen Harper. A recipient of many awards, including most recently Planet Africa’s Community Development Award, Dr. Hutchinson will inspire and motivate you to think differently about gangs and gang members. For more information, see Dr. Hutchinson's personal website.

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Rick Osborne (Ozzy) - Director, Mentorship, Astwood Strategy Corporation
Rick Osborne is also one of Canada’s leading gang experts and is Astwood’s Director of Mentorship as well as co-founder and director of Astwood’s Ozzy’s Garage program. Rick’s story has been well chronicled in the media and it is this story of redemption that allows him to speak with unmatched credibility and power with youth involved with gangs or at the margins of gang membership. As a teenager in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Rick was victimized by a group of heroin addicts who injected him, against his will, with a “speedball” containing methamphetamine and heroin. This set him upon a course of drug addiction and in turn, street gang involvement, which ultimately led to his entrance as full patch member into one of the world’s largest and powerful “one-percenter” outlaw motorcycle clubs. As a result of his criminal activity, at age 21 and with Canada’s most wanted status, he entered the federal penitentiary system where he went on to spend 24.5 years of his life in prison across 33 different institutions from coast to coast. In 1993, after breaking free from drug addictions, he began to reform his life and leave behind his gang affiliations, and was one of the few federal inmates in maximum security in Canadian history to earn a University degree (B.A., Psychology, Queens University) while incarcerated. After leaving prison a decade ago, he dedicated the rest of his life to talking to children and youth about the dangers of gangs, drugs and criminal activity and joined Astwood in 2008 to assist the company in designing and delivering effective interventions for youth involved with gangs or at the margins of gang involvement, such as the innovative Ozzy’s Garage program, where groups of 8 to 12 youth can world alongside Ozzy to build custom Titan Motorcycle choppers or 60s and 70s era muscle cars. In 2011, Ozzy’s book, White Noise: A Journey Through Drugs, Gangs and Prison, will be released by Astwood Strategy Corporation.

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The Honourable Marvin G. Morten
The Honourable Mr. Marvin G. Morten is a recently retired Ontario Court Judge (Provincial Division), a position he held from 1993 to 2009. Raised in Toronto’s Kensington Market community, Marvin completed his BA at the University of Western Ontario in 1968 then went on to receive his LLB from Osgoode Hall Law School in 1971. For 20 years, Marvin was an Assistant Crown Attorney with the Toronto and Peel Courts. In 1993 he assisted in developing a Diversion Court in Peel for shoplifters before being appointed a Provincial Court Judge. Mr. Morten is active in the community, and is a board member of the Brampton Neighbourhood Resource Centre and acts as a volunteer advisor to the African-Canadian Christian Network on issues related to reduction of youth violence. Previously he served as a member of the Board of Trustees of Sheridan College, as a governance and social service outreach advisor to Kingdom Covenant Christian Ministries, as a member of the Steering Committee for the Oware Centre, and as a namesake of the Marvin Morten Centre for Youth and Families in Etobicoke. He also helped found a new Rotary Club in Brampton that emphasizes diversity and inclusion among its membership and its activities. Mr. Morten has achieved recognition as Big Brothers and Sisters Mentor of the Year for 2005, and in 2002 the City of Brampton declared him its Citizen of the Year.

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Theresa Campbell- Director of Safe Schools, Surrey District School Board
Theresa Campbell is a recognized national and international expert on School Safety. In concert with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), Theresa has developed comprehensive, multi-disciplinary tools and programs that address substance use, violence, gangs, bullying and other issues. As Manager of Safe Schools for the Surrey School District, Theresa was responsible for the implementation and management of the Safe School Liaison, Substance Use Liaison, and Youth Diversity Liaison positions - unique, evidenced-based, highly successful and comprehensive prevention and intervention partnership programs.  In 2007 she was recognized by the National Crime Prevention Center (NCPC) for her innovation and creativity in crime prevention. Most recently, in August 2008, Theresa was awarded in the United States, the prestigious Frederic Milton Thrasher Award for Superior Service in Gang  Prevention, along with the 2008 Solicitor General Crime Prevention and Community Safety Award of Excellence in recognition of her contribution and commitment to crime prevention and community safety. Currently, she is implementing the NCPC-funded Surrey Wrap program, which targets gang involved youth and their families  in Surrey B.C.

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Pamela Grant, Executive Director, Youth Challenge Fund, Toronto
Pamela has been a Management Consultant since 1995 and has worked with a number of community-based organizations including; the African-Canadian Legal Clinic, CAMH, the Black Coalition for AIDS Prevention, Woodgreen Community Centre and National Action Committee on the Status of Women (NAC). Prior to 1995, she held staff positions as Executive Assistant and Chief of Staff in the Ministry of Community and Social Services and the Ministry of the Attorney General. She also worked in the Office of the Premier on Community Relations and Equity issues as well as with Stephen Lewis and the Black community following the 1992 Yonge street riots. Pamela was employed at the YMCA of Greater Toronto for eight years as Director of Youth Employment Services, Coordinator International and Development Programs, Manager of Multicultural Development, and as a Counsellor working with high-risk youth. She has also been a long-standing volunteer at United Way of Greater Toronto- contributing over 9 years as a member of the Allocations and Agency Services Committee (AASC).

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Larry Morrissette, Executive Director, Winnipeg Aboriginal Youth Housing Renovation Project/ Ogijita Pimatiswin Kinamatwin
Profiled extensively  in the national media, Larry Morrissette is one of Canada’s leading gang exit professionals, with a special expertise working with First Nations and Métis gang members. A community development worker who grew-up with similar experiences as inner-city Aboriginal youth, Larry has dedicated his professional career to helping hardcore members of perhaps Canada’s largest street gang, the Indian Posse, exit the gang life through elder mentorship, re-connecting with Native culture, and the teaching of highly marketable home renovation skills. Larry Morrissette is a teacher, social worker, researcher, and volunteer committed to Aboriginal healing and cultural empowerment. He has experience in community development and cultural ceremonies, and he is a Sun Dancer. Larry has been instrumental in designing, developing, and implementing innovative programs, including a program on bail release. This program became the model for the provincial government’s current Intensive Bail Supervision Program. Larry is also the founder and president of Medicine Fire Lodge Inc., an Indigenous organization involved in cultural revitalization through education and training. He is a past member of the following boards: Native Alcohol Foundation of Manitoba, Aboriginal Council of Winnipeg, Social Planning Council of Winnipeg, Native Education Advisory Committee for Winnipeg School Division #1; Thunder Eagle Society; Coalition on Native Child Welfare (led to the establishment of the Ma Mawi Wi Chi Itata Centre); International Indigenous Peoples Support Network.

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Orlando Bowen, Executive Director, One Voice One Team
A former member of the Toronto Argonauts and Hamilton Tiger-Cats Football Clubs, Orlando Bowen is the Executive Director of One Voice One Team, a non-profit youth leadership development organization that uses sport and community awareness to teach leadership and life skills to young people at risk including those involved with street gangs. He is the creator of the Get “S.W.O.L.E.”™ Leadership Development program and was a finalist for the Canadian Football League’s Tom Pate Award, presented to the athlete that demonstrates outstanding commitment to his community and team. Orlando was the Education Legacy Chair on the City of Hamilton’s Commonwealth Games Bid Team and led a research team that resulted in the creation of one of Ontario’s sport academy institutions. “Bo”, as his teammates affectionately call him, can be seen on the big screen as co-host of the TV fitness series, The Art of Building Bodies, and formerly as an actor in TV shows such as Darcy’s Wild Life, Paramount Pictures, the Sum of All Fears and the hit ESPN series Playmakers. Orlando attended Northern Illinois University (N.I.U.) on a full athletic scholarship and excelled as an athlete, captaining the football team in his senior year, at the same time obtaining a Bachelor of Science (Business Marketing) degree and a Master of Science (Management of Information Technology) degree.

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John Sawdon, Executive Director, Canadian Training Institute
John Sawdon is a leading Canadian expert in street gangs, conflict resolution, crisis intervention, trauma support, workplace safety and violence prevention. In 1983, he founded the Canadian Training Institute to provide training, research and consulting assistance in these areas to justice and human services organizations, and in 2004, established the country’s most successful gang exit program, Breaking the Cycle, which has helped 150-plus young people from Toronto’s most dangerous communities leave their street gang. John is also a faculty member with Hunber College (Advanced Crisis Intervention) as well as George Brown College (Crisis Intervention and Prevention). For more information, please see the Canadian Training Institute website or the Breaking the Cycle website.

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Andrew Bacchus, Vice President, Astwood Strategy Corporation
Andrew Bacchus is Astwood’s Vice President and plays a leading role in the company’s gang intervention programs as well as project leads several large process and impact evaluations including our evaluation of the Youth Challenge Fund and the Youth Opportunities Strategy. Andrew is one of the country’s top gang experts with special expertise in gang exit/renunciation. A former leader of the notorious Vice Lords gang in Toronto’s Jane-Finch community,  Andrew has worked with gang involved and affiliated youth in the City of Toronto and across the country for more than a decade. After leaving behind the gang life in the late 90’s, he worked for seven years as a Community Worker for Youth Clinical Services in Toronto’s Jane-Finch community, then four more as Case Manager and Project Manager for the country’s acclaimed gang exiting program, Canadian Training Institute’s Breaking the Cycle Project, where he mentored youth and designed and delivered customized interventions to help more than 160 young men and women leave their gangs in favour of a better life.  His work at the gang front-lines has been widely featured in the media including Canada AM, CTV, Global News, CP 24, Much Music, Crew TV, Toronto Life, Globe and Mail, Toronto Star, Toronto Sun, Eye Magazine, National Post, LA Times, Ottawa Citizen, Ottawa Sentinel, CHRY and CBC Radio, among others.  Andrew is also a much sought after public speaker on the topic of youth gangs in Toronto, and has spoken at many conferences including:  PREV Net’s National Anti Bullying Conferences, Canadian Safe School Network Conferences, Crime Prevention Ottawa Conference, National Aboriginal Youth Gang Conference, and many more. He has also delivered awareness programs to more than one hundred schools in Toronto and continues to mentor young people caught up in the gang life in his community of Rexdale.

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Mark Dailey, Anchor, CITY News Tonight, CITY TV
Born and raised in Youngstown, Ohio, Mark attended the law enforcement program at Youngstown State University. Mark began his broadcasting career in 1968 in radio and television while still attending high school. He also had a parallel career in law enforcement working as a civilian dispatcher and eventually a sworn part time police officer in his local suburban police department. His career took him to Detroit as a radio anchor and crime reporter for two years before he arrived in Toronto. Mark was a radio reporter/anchor at CHUM Radio, founding news director at Q-107 radio and served as assignment editor, producer, crime reporter and eventually late night news anchor at CITY TV in Toronto. He has covered stories ranging from race riots, the Kent State University anti war shootings and other numerous crime stories, natural and man-made disasters. He was the first to break the SARS story in Toronto. Mark has won numerous awards for his work and most recently chronicled his own personal battle with prostate cancer on television. He has also lectured and taught journalism and broadcasting classes and media relations courses at the Toronto, Ontario and Canadian police colleges.

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Jam Johnson, Executive Director, neighbourhood basketball association, Toronto
Growing up in Montreal, playing basketball, anywhere and anytime the opportunity presented itself was a way of life.  Hard work, creativity and self-promotion, eventually landed Jam scholarships to two Division 1 colleges in the United States.  But after seeing the violent end to so many of his childhood friends, Jam gave up his dream of playing in the NBA, and instead, chose to apply his talents within his community. However, harsh financial realities resulted in Jam using his natural charisma to become a full-fledged, street-smart hustler with a network of drug-dealing friends numbering in the hundreds. Selling drugs and teaching and recruiting people how to become drug-dealers and users became his second ‘career’. A dramatic escalation in violence and increased competition prompted Jam to decide to get out of the drug game and commit himself fully to youth work and recreation.  His personal experiences inspired him to focus on teaching youth how to stay away from the deadly world of drug-dealing, violence and death by empowering them with the leadership tools to make better life-choices and work towards attaining what they truly desired in life. Throughout his journey which led him to Toronto in 1989, Jam has had to fight the powers that be that refuse to acknowledge the truth about what it will take to make systemic changes that will have a long-term impact on at-risk youth.  He is a founder of the acclaimed H.O.O.D.L.I.N.C. (Helping Out Others Develop Life in Neighbouring Communities) Youth Organization and R.O.S.E. (Real Opportunities For Success in Education) program and in 2008, Jam established his own registered charitable organization, neighbourhood basketball association, to address the serious issues affecting at-risk youth and those involved with street gangs.

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TEAM USA

Dr. Irving Spergel, Professor Emeritus, University of Chicago School of Social Services Administration.
Dr. Spergel is one of the world's leading gang program researchers. Dr. Spergel earned his A.B. in Social Sciences in 1946 from City College of New York, an A.M. in Social Work in 1952 from the University of Illinois, and a Ph.D. in Social Work in 1960  from Columbia University. His interest in research on gangs developed while working with gang youths from 1952  to 1960, as part of the New York City Youth Board. The Board was one of the earliest organized responses to youth gangs. Through its street worker program, the organization worked to reduce gang tensions by building long-term relationships with members, and by providing constructive, alternative activities. Over the span of his career, Mr. Spergel has written more than 100 books, articles, monographs, and other publications. Perhaps the best known among them are, Racketville, Slumtown, Haulburg: An Exploratory Study of Delinquent Subcultures, and 1995’s, The Youth Gang Problem: A Community Approach, which is a leading work in the field. Most policy and programmatic responses to gang activity focus on either law enforcement or youth development. A major contribution of Mr. Spergel’s work, known as the “Spergel Model,” is its call for a coordinated approach that encompasses law enforcement, community groups, schools, social service agencies, and governmental organizations. This inclusive gang prevention, intervention, and suppression program is based on Mr. Spergel’s national assessment of youth gang policies and programs. The U.S. Department of Justice has endorsed the Spergel Model, testing the program in more than 20 cities around the country over the last decade. The National Youth Gang Center uses the model as a central component in its work. A test of the model in Little Village Chicago, showed a 40 percent reduction in serious violence for the 200 program youths, compared to an equivalent sample of non-participating youths, from the same gangs over a five-year period.

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Father Gregory Boyle, Executive Director, Homeboy Industries
Fr. Gregory Boyle – best known as Fr. Greg by all who meet him -- was born in Los Angeles, one of eight children. His father, a third-generation Irish-American, worked in the family-owned dairy in Los Angeles County and his mother worked to keep track of her large family. As a youth, Fr. Greg and several of his siblings worked side by side with their father in the dairy. After graduating from Loyola High School in Los Angeles in 1972, he decided to become a Jesuit and was ordained a priest in 1984. He received his BA in English from Gonzaga University; an MA in English from Loyola Marymount University; a Master of Divinity from the Weston School of Theology; and a Sacred Theology Masters degree from the Jesuit School of Theology. Prior to 1986 Fr. Boyle taught at Loyola High School and worked with Christian Base Communities in Cochabamba, Bolivia. He was appointed as Pastor of Dolores Mission in the Boyle Heights neighborhood of Los Angeles in 1986 where he served through 1992. He then served as Chaplain of the Islas Marias Penal Colony in Mexico and Folsom Prison, before returning to Los Angeles and Dolores Mission. Homeboy Industries traces its roots to “Jobs For A Future” (JFF), a program created in 1988 by Fr. Greg at Dolores Mission parish. In an effort to address the escalating problems and unmet needs of gang-involved youth, Fr. Greg and the community developed positive alternatives, including establishing an elementary school, a day care program and finding legitimate employment for young people. JFF’s success demonstrated the model followed today that many gang members are eager to leave the dangerous and destructive life on the “streets.” In 1992, as a response to the civil unrest in Los Angeles, Fr. Greg launched the first business (under the organizational banner of JFF and Proyecto Pastoral, separated from Dolores Mission Church): Homeboy Bakery with a mission to create an environment that provided training, work experience, and above all, the opportunity for rival gang members to work side by side. The success of the Bakery created the groundwork for additional businesses, thus prompting JFF to become an independent non-profit organization, Homeboy Industries, in 2001. Today Homeboy Industries’ nonprofit economic development enterprises include Homeboy Bakery, Homeboy Silkscreen, Homeboy Maintenance, Homeboy/HomegirlMerchandise, and HomegirlCafé. As Executive Director of Homeboy Industries and an acknowledged expert on gangs and intervention approaches, Fr. Boyle is a nationally renowned speaker. He has given commencement addresses at several prestigious universities, as well as spoken at conferences for teachers, social workers, criminal justice workers and others about the importance of adult attention, guidance and unconditional love in preventing youth from joining gangs. Fr. Greg and several “homies” were featured speakers at the White House Conference on Youth in 2005 at the personal invitation of Mrs. George Bush. Fr. Greg is also a consultant to youth service and governmental agencies, policy-makers and employers. Fr. Boyle was a member of the State Commission on Juvenile Justice, Crime and Delinquency Prevention and is currently a member of the National Leadership Council of the Iris Alliance Fund, and serves on the Advisory Boards for the Loyola Law School Center for Juvenile Law and Policy and the National Youth Gang Center. He has received numerous accolades and recognitions on behalf of Homeboy and for his work with former gang members, including the California Peace Prize. On September 17, 2007, Fr. Greg received the “Humanitarian of the Year” Award from Bon Appétit magazine during their 10th Annual Awards Ceremony in New York. He also received the Caring Institute’s 2007 Most Caring People Award, and was recently honored with the 2008 Civic Medal of Honor from the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce. 2008 marked the 20th Anniversary of the work Father Greg began. Homeboy Industries, now located in downtown Los Angeles, is recognized as the largest gang intervention program in the county, and has become a national model. His story is chronicled in the best selling book by Celeste Fremon, G-Dog and the Homeboys, and Father Greg's book, Tattoos on the Heart, will be released soon after the Summit. See more information at the Homeboy Industries website.

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Abdul Malik Aziz, Co-Chair, National Exhoodus Council, Philadelphia, USA
A former gang leader and drug dealer from Philadelphia who spent 14 years of his life behind bars, Malik Aziz is founder of the National Exhoodus Council (NEC), a nationwide campaign comprised of formerly incarcerated individuals who have emerged from the criminal, drug or gang culture and are now coordinating community-based prevention, intervention and re-integration programs in more than 50 U.S. cities. Mr. Aziz is a vocal political and community activist, has served in the administration of the past three mayors of Philadelphia and has been instrumental is forging an alliance with the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives (NOBLE) to address and prevent youth gang violence and crime and ensure the successful re-integration of formerly incarcerated people in America. Since founding Exhoodus, Malik and his team have worked with thousands of at risk and gang involved youth, informing them of the dangers of gangs and a criminal lifestyle and providing the tools they need to make healthy decisions. He is a certified Conflict Resolution and Peer Mediation Trainer and a member of the National Gang Research Center.  He has received many community awards and citations as well as immense gratitude from former offenders who have successfully reintegrated into society with Aziz’s help.

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Terrell “TJ” Johnson, President & CEO, National Exhoodus Council, Memphis
At age 15, Terrell Johnson had made more than a half a million dollars selling drugs in Memphis. At age 19, Terrell - considered one of the city’s toughest street gangster and drug kingpin -  was facing a 35 to life prison sentence for drug trafficking. However, four years later after his release, he decided to dedicate his career to working with youth to help them avoid the many mistakes he made. Today, TJ is a successful family man, business man, and advisor to community and government leaders. He is President and CEO of the National Exhoodus Council and President and Founder of Wake-Up Youth Foundation, a charitable organization that  educates young people about the responsibility of living productive lives and the dangers of  gang violence and drugs. Since turning his life around, Mr. Johnson has counselled thousands of young marginalized and racialized youth across America, and is a highly-sought after and compelling speaker.

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Antoinette Jackson, Gang Interventionist and Counsellor, Philadelphia, USA
Ms. Jackson is a former member of the Jamaican Shower Posse gang in Philadelphia, one of Jamaica’s most notorious drug dealing crime organizations with spin off posses throughout North America. After spending more than four years in prison, Antoinette returned to society a changed women and in 6 years since her release has completed 4 degrees and 2 certifications, educated herself on restorative practices and behavioural analysis, and is currently working on a graduate degree in clinical and counselling psychology. Today, she counsels and mentors high risk females, female gangsters and formally incarcerated females in the Philadelphia area, and in collaboration with the National Exhoodus Council, is reaching out to young women across the country who are at high risk of gang involvement.

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Lisa Taylor-Austin, Gang Expert Witness and Psychotherapist,  USA
Lisa Taylor-Austin is a court approved criminal street gang expert witness in 14 states and is a Licensed Professional Counselor in Connecticut, a Licensed Mental Health Counselor in New York, a Nationally Certified Counselor and a National Forensic Evaluator. She began her career working with gang members of some of the most notorious gangs in California (Santa Monicas, V13, Culver City Boyz, Helms Street, Crips and Pirus) and has over the course of her career worked with over 2,000 gang members in a mental health and trauma counselling, conflict resolution,  and gang exit/renunciation role. Frequently quoted in the American media, Lisa’s particular expertise is the culture, psychology, language and structure of criminal street gangs in the United States. For more information, see Lisa's website.

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Jack A. Cole, Executive Director, Law Enforcement Against Prohibition
Jack Cole knows about the war on drugs from several perspectives. Cole retired as a Detective Lieutenant after a 26-year career with the New Jersey State Police. For twelve of those years Cole worked as an undercover narcotics officer. His investigations spanned the spectrum of possible cases, from street drug users and mid-level drug dealers in New Jersey to international "billion-dollar" drug trafficking organizations. Cole ended his undercover career living nearly two years in Boston and New York City, posing as a fugitive drug dealer wanted for murder, while tracking members of a terrorist organization that robbed banks, planted bombs in corporate headquarters, court-houses, police stations, and airplanes and ultimately murdered a New Jersey State Trooper. After retiring, Cole dealt with the emotional residue left from his participation in the unjust war on drugs by working to reform current drug policy. He moved to Boston to continue his education. Cole holds a B.A. in Criminal Justice and a Masters degree in Public Policy. Currently writing his dissertation for the Public Policy Ph.D. Program at the University of Massachusetts, his major focus is on the issues of race and gender bias, brutality and corruption in law enforcement. Cole believes ending drug prohibition will go a long way toward correcting those problems. A national and international speaker, Cole has taught courses to police recruits and veteran officers on ethics, integrity, moral decision-making, and the detrimental effects of racial profiling. He has spoken about drug policy: in colleges and universities; on many radio programs; and at conferences across the United States; and he has addressed the European Parliament, in Brussels, Belgium, on the subject of US drug policy. Cole is passionate in his belief that the drug war is steeped in racism, that it is needlessly destroying the lives of young people, and that it is corrupting our police. Cole's discussions give his audience an alternative perspective of the US war on drugs from the view of a veteran drug-warrior turned against the war. For more information, see Jack's profile on the LEAP website.

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