Women in Criminal Justice Conference

We have a great group of speakers this year. They include:

Jeralita Jeri Costa's passion is SERVICE. Over the past 35 years, Jeralita has served as an executive director of a state-wide crime victim organization, a crime victim advocate, an elected state senator and legislator, and a governor-appointed parole board chairperson. Her personal journey has also led her to become a Reiki master, spiritual counselor, and ordained minister. Jeralita has led and served on a number of criminal justice related task forces and committees and provided training on criminal justice, crime victims, women's issues, transformation, and leadership in the United States and abroad. Jeralita is a transformational coach and a soul-centered entrepreneur who supports and empowers individuals and teams to find their passion, live on purpose and lead from the heart in whatever role they serve. Her highly acclaimed experiential workshops and presentations provide participants with tools that enlighten, inform and entertain.

Thecia Jenkins has over twenty years experience in the field of social services sector providing life skills education, program development, and human resources management. She is a graduate of Texas Woman's University with Bachelor's Degree in Government/Sociology. She has certifications in Diversity Management, Behavioral Consulting and Life Coaching.

Tena M. Pate currently serves as the Chair of the Florida Parole Commission and is in her second six-year term as a Parole Commissioner. Appointed to the Commission by Governor Jeb Bush and the Florida Cabinet in 2003, she has been reappointed subsequently by Governors Crist and Scott and the Florida Cabinet to a term ending June 30, 2016. As Florida's first Victims' Rights Coordinator, and as a result of her experiences in both the Executive and Judicial branches of government, Ms. Pate has been exposed to many aspects of the criminal justice experience, gaining insight into both criminal behavior and victims' issues. Ms. Pate also serves on the Florida Supreme Court's Innocence Commission, the Attorney General's Domestic Violence Fatality Review Team, the Leon County Child Abuse Death Review Team, and is a member of Leadership Florida's Class XXX.

Sylvia Latapie, M.A., is a trainer with the Harris County Juvenile Probation Department and an adjunct criminal justice professor with the University of Phoenix. She has worked as a certified Juvenile Probation Officer for over 17 years in various areas including administration, intake, court and field services. Sylvia, a native of Sugar Land, attended Southwest Texas State University and received her undergraduate degree in Psychology and a Masters of Art degree in Criminology from the University of Houston.

Victor Gonzalez has more than 20 years of experience working with high-risk youth, including 15 years spent working directly with youth involved with Houston-area gangs. This work included substance abuse intervention, recreation, and various prevention programs. For six years, Victor worked as a gang intervention specialist and program manager for the Association for the Advancement of Mexican American's Barrios Unidos Youth Program, the only state-funded gang intervention program serving the heavily gang-impacted East End. He currently serves as the Director of Program Services for the Mayor's Anti-Gang Office in Houston, Texas, and is in charge of supervising the delivery of service for all 7 programs in the Mayor's Anti-Gang Office, assisting with policy recommendations for the city and development of gang intervention specialists in the office. Victor also works as a consultant throughout Houston, the state of Texas, and the U.S. on gang intervention and prevention strategies.

Craig Corder currently serves as a Training Specialist for the Texas Juvenile Justice Department. He provides motivational training at the state and national level on numerous topics including Wellness, Strength-Based Employee Management, Strength-Based Supervision of Juveniles, Self-Development Techniques, Presentation Design and Delivery, Suicide Prevention and Intervention and all aspects of Texas Juvenile Probation Officer Basic Certification Training.

Charlotte Stallings is a former Vice President of Investment Strategies and a Spokesperson for American Express. Charlotte is passionate about teaching individuals how to shape their futures. With wit and humor, she generates warmth and inspires any audience to effective action.

We will also have our popular Leadership Panel with Leaders from across the United States and the field of criminal justice.

Sign-in/Registration will be on April 10, 2012, from 3:00 pm to 5:00 pm and on April 11, 2012 from 7:00 am to 8:00 am.  The confernece will begin on April 11, at 8:00 am and conclude at 12:00 pm on april 13, 2012.

For the Women in Criminal Justice conference, for every 3 paid registrations from one Agency, a fourth registration is free.