When: Tuesday, August 25th, 2020 from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m.

Where: Join us via Zoom

The Indiana Disproportionality Committee in Collaboration with IUSSW Diversity Committee and the Indianapolis Public Library presents its 18th Community Forum On Eliminating Disproportionality: Sharing Our Progress.

We are cordially inviting entities and individuals addressing disproportionality in the areas of child welfare, education, health, juvenile justice, and mental health, and addictions systems to join us for an opportunity of learning and sharing. We are all working hard to address the issue of disproportionality and we would like to provide a platform for all entities to report to each other and community members. We hope that you will be able to join us.

Presenters

Tatu Brown

Tatu Brown is the Youth Outreach Coordinator at Hamilton Center. Tatu has a unique way of engaging the youth, since he came from a background of drugs and violence in the home. Due to a lack of guidance and bad decisions, he was arrested when he was 26 years old and sentenced to 188 months in prison. He is now inspiring the youth of the community to not go down the path he went. As the Youth Outreach Coordinator, Tatu is able to utilize his passion for working with the kids as well as his experiences to engage with at risk youth. He has been able to start a new mentoring program in Vigo County in partnership with the Vigo County School Corporation. Prior to his current role at Hamilton Center, he worked in the marketing department where he had various roles such as being the event organizer and being the Chair of an annual golf tournament that raises over $40,000 annually.

Joe Diehl

Joe Diehl is the Acting Facilities Manager at Hamilton Center. He grew up living in poverty and raised by a single mother. During high school, Joe engaged in the use of alcohol, but still managed to graduate. In September 2014, he was arrested for reckless homicide. Joe has previously worked as an EMT and aspired to work as a firefighter. His career path came to a halt with his felony conviction. Joe worked odd jobs until his acceptance as a participant in the New Citizen Program.

Melissa Hutchens

Melissa Hutchens was introduced to illegal drugs at an early age. She dropped out of high school and started selling drugs to support her addiction. She and some of her family members were arrested on Federal charges and she was sentenced to 120 months in prison. While being in prison, she was able to focus on rehabilitation and engaging in a healthy lifestyle. While she was in the federal prison camp, she was asked to speak to a group of adolescent girls and share her story in hopes of helping them to not go down the same path. She soon realized that she had a passion for this. Melissa spent the last 26 months of her sentence in a residential drug abuse program and became a mentor to many of the residents. She is now an Access Specialist at Hamilton Center, along with being a mentor in the New Citizens program and has been trained as a Certified Recovery Specialist. She is currently enrolled at Ivy Tech Community College and is pursuing a career in substance abuse counseling.

Stacey Totten, MLD, CHW/CRS-SA

Stacey Totten is the Manager of Recovery Services for the greater Indianapolis area at Hamilton Center. Her passion for connecting the reentry and substance use population to behavioral health services comes from her lived experience. Stacey was convicted of a class A felony for dealing methamphetamine in 2011. She was sentenced to 20 years, however, the judge showed compassion, and her sentence was executed through community corrections instead of serving time in prison. Stacey has earned her certification as a recovery specialist with a special endorsement in substance abuse, a master’s degree in leadership development, and is currently taking courses to become a licensed addiction counselor.

Dr. Gwendolyn J. Kelley

Gwendolyn Kelley, PhD, is an independent educational consultant, and former Research Associate at the Equity Project of Indiana University. While at the Equity Project, Dr. Kelley provided technical assistance to district leadership teams across the state, focusing on reducing disproportionality in suspension, expulsions, and placement practices. She served as a teacher and Curriculum and Instruction Specialist in the Indianapolis Public Schools for a total of 35 years and later taught at Anderson University. Her most cherished awards come from being named five years in a row for Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers, after being nominated by high school seniors that she taught in their primary grades. She earned three degrees from Indiana State University: her BS and MS degrees in Education, and a PhD in Educational Leadership. Her Administrative Certification came from Butler University. Dr. Kelley has served as a mentor at the Marion County Juvenile Detention Center for over 40 years. She also serves on the Indiana Disproportionality Committee, the IDOE Cultural Competency Advisory Council, the Board of Directors for Freetown Village Living History Museum and The board of the Friends of Foya Borma (West Liberia) Hospital. Dr. Kelley is Vice-Chair of the Board of Directors for the Children’s Policy and Law Initiative of Indiana, and she co-chairs planning for the Positive School Discipline Institute. She is also a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.

JauNae Hanger

JauNae Hanger is Founder and President of Children’s Policy and Law Initiative of Indiana. She currently serves on various boards, committees and public policy planning groups for children, including: The Indiana Commission on the Status of Children Juvenile Justice and Cross-systems Youth Task Force, Education Task Force, and Trauma and Resilience Committee; Indiana Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative (JDAI) Steering Committee, JDAI Racial Equity and Inclusion Committee, and JDAI Conditions of Confinement Committee; the Indiana State Bar Association’s Children’s Rights Committee; Psychological Maltreatment of Children Definitions, Standards and Laws Workgroup; the Indiana Coalition for Youth Justice Steering Committee; the Indiana Disproportionality Committee; and the Greater Indianapolis Progress Committee Race and Cultural Relations Leadership Network. She is a former commissioner of the Indiana Commission on Disproportionality in Youth Services in 2008. Since 1996, Ms. Hanger has served as principal/law partner with her husband Richard A. Waples, in their plaintiff’s constitutional law and civil rights practice, Waples & Hanger, in Indianapolis. Ms. Hanger has received awards from the following organizations for her work on behalf of children: Indiana State Bar Association (2004 and 2009); Indianapolis Children’s Bureau (2010); Indiana Chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (2011); Ohio Valley Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine (2012); National Association of Social Workers (2014); and Prevent Child Abuse Indiana (2015). Ms. Hanger is also an Executive Fellow with The Journey, which is funded through Lilly Endowment. In 2020, she received The Indiana Lawyer’s Distinguished Barrister Award. She received a BA (magna cum lade) in 1982 from Indiana University-Indianapolis, and JD in 1991 from Indiana University Maurer School of Law.