ICJIA VOCA 2021 Institute: Equity in Victim Services (August 2021)

CAROLYNE MILLER ABDULLAH brings experience in working with a variety of informal and formal leaders from all backgrounds and sectors makes it possible for her to offer strategies of ways to bring people together to discover their own solutions. She brings leadership on equity – with explicit, though not exclusive, attention to racial equity – to the fields of civic engagement, democracy reform, and philanthropy. Carolyne’s background includes work with the Legal Services Corporation (LSC) as a paralegal where she designed and conducted "know your rights" forums for the elderly as well as forums on landlord- tenant law for families with low financial assets in Cleveland, Mississippi. She also served in the federal sector for ten years in Washington, D.C., as a program analyst, budget analyst, and management analyst. Carolyne holds degrees (BA, MA) in political science from Alcorn State University and Iowa State University respectively, a public administration (MPA) degree from Penn State University and is ABD in political science (public policy) from the University of Connecticut. Her research involved an exploration of the intersection of public dialogue and deliberation in the area of policing and community building.

GWENDOLYN POINDEXTER WHITING Provides xpert coaching, facilitation, and mediation skills to support training and consulting work of staff and consultants. She is an accomplished consultant who specializes in organizational conflict resolution processes, including teamwork, diversity, cross-cultural conflict resolution, mediation, and facilitation. She has trained extensively in the United States and internationally. Gwen served as a conciliation specialist with the U.S. Department of Justice Community Relations Service on its church burning response team under the Clinton administration. Her work with the United States Agency for International Development has taken her to more than 30 countries. She received her bachelor’s degree in education, and a master’s degree in Public Administration from Virginia Commonwealth University. She was also affiliated with the Institute for Conflict Analysis and Resolution at George Mason University, where she completed coursework and achieved candidacy level in its doctoral program.

GWEN WRIGHT currently assists community and organizational leaders; local and state governments; and other groups develop and implement systems for more effective engagement in collective decision-making. This includes improving communication between government and community residents; strengthening public and higher education programs; assessing diversity, equity, and inclusion social justice initiatives; developing non-profit agendas; creating state-wide reform initiatives; and research. She obtained her bachelor’s degree in Public Administration from Shaw University in Raleigh, North Carolina, and master’s degree in public administration from Baruch College, City University of New York.

Providing Opening Remarks

Delrice Adams is a social service and public health administrator with over 25 years’ experience in management of non-profits and local government agencies. Her areas of expertise include criminal justice, violence prevention and racial equity. Ms. Adams has a wealth of experience in grant administration, program development, community and stakeholder engagement, and policy and planning implementation. Ms. Adams has been appointed as the Executive Director of the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority (ICJIA), nominated by Governor J.B. Pritzker pending confirmation from the Illinois Senate.

As Acting Director of ICJIA, she is responsible for the direction of the agency, determining agency priorities, and administering resources and programs needed to meet agency goals. She will also serve as liaison to the governor, General Assembly, ICJIA Board members, and state and national criminal justice officials and organizations.

Prior to ICJIA, Ms. Adams served as Executive Director of the Cook County Justice Advisory Council (JAC), where she was responsible for overseeing the public safety agenda for Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle. In that role, Ms. Adams was tasked with coordinating criminal and juvenile justice reform efforts in Cook County while preserving public safety and promoting fair and equitable access to justice. Ms. Adams also managed the counties grants for program services to address violence prevention, recidivism reduction and restorative justice.

Prior to Cook County, Ms. Adams worked for the City of Chicago Department of Public Health Office of Violence Prevention and Behavioral Health. As a Public Health Administrator, she oversaw the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) portfolio of Restorative Justice and Violence Prevention Initiatives for the office and coordinated multiple community partners and stakeholders as a committee lead for Healthy Chicago 2.0; the City’s 5-year Strategic Plan. Ms. Adams also served as a Local Office Administrator for the Illinois Department of Human Services, where she developed service delivery strategies and workforce programs to advance welfare reform efforts.

Ms. Adams is a 2019 Chicago United for Equity (CUE) fellow. She is a certified Trauma- Informed Trainer (CDPH, 2018). She is also a trained Circle Keeper. Ms. Adams received her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the University of California at Berkeley and holds a master’s degree in Social Service Administration from the University of Chicago.