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Name, Organization, City |
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Latasha Ellis Community Based Services Omaha, Nebraska Latasha is a community youth coach for Community Based Services in Omaha, Nebraska. She has been in this role for five years and is committed to the youth on her caseload. She assists them in being successful by navigating the daily challenges they experience. She is passionate about their educational outcomes and works with community resources to ensure they can meet their educational outcomes. |
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Carl Greiner, M.D. Concord Mediation Center Omaha, Nebraska Carl is a retired physician now working for the Concord Mediation Center in Omaha, Nebraska, as a mediator in juvenile justice. He has particular interest in compromised decision making in adolescent defendants. He had previously assessed older adults for competency to manage finances. |
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Maeve Hemmer RISE Omaha, Nebraska Maeve is a community navigator with RISE, an Omaha, Nebraska, based nonprofit that has a mission to break the generational cycles of incarceration. She graduated from the University of Nebraska at Omaha with a bachelor’s degree in political science and is now pursuing a master’s degree in public health at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. In her work at RISE, she uses her education and experience to provide reentry support to individuals incarcerated at the Nebraska State Penitentiary and Reception Treatment Center. Maeve has a passion and vision for helping our community facilitate transformative justice that supports all people toward achieving and maintaining holistic wellness. |
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Mark Kiepke Arise Youth Center Rapid City, South Dakota Mark has been working with at risk youth for the last 20 years. He has been with Lutheran Social Services of South Dakota for 17 years working to provide services for youth in the community and the treatment level. While at Lutheran Social Services of South Dakota he has worked in a psychiatric residential facility, foster care program, and now the director of the Arise Youth Center (Alternative to Detention in Rapid City, South Dakota). Prior to these roles, he worked in youth corrections in the state of Colorado for two years and a youth treatment facility in Colorado for two years. Mark graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice from the University of South Dakota in 2004. |
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Verla Little Northern Hills Diversion Deadwood, South Dakota Verla is the juvenile detention alternatives initiative/diversion program coordinator for Northern Hills Diversion in South Dakota. Verla graduated from Black Hills State University with a major in Biology. She attended South Dakota State University as a graduate student working on her master's degree in botany with an emphasis on germination ecology. She began her career in law enforcement as a communications officer (dispatcher) and progressed to reserve officer, patrol officer, and corporal. Verla loved working with youth and advocating for justice involved youth. As a D.A.R.E Officer she worked with youth in the schools of Spearfish and their teachers. In July 2022, Lawrence County Teen Court offered her the opportunity to work part-time with youth in Lawrence County. In April 2023, Verla retired from 26.5 years in law enforcement to work full-time with justice involved youth in the Northern Hills of South Dakota. Verla is passionate about restorative justice for youth and advocating for justice involved youth to have opportunities for improving their situation. |
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LaDonna Strong Community Based Services Omaha, Nebraska LaDonna is a community youth coach and family support worker with Community Based Services in Omaha, Nebraska. She primarily works with the North Omaha high-risk and gang population. LaDonna has 24 years of experience of working with a diverse population, including high-risk youth and families, with eight years of experience as a specialized gang juvenile probation officer. |
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Shayla Trausch Nebraska Children’s Home Society Hastings, Nebraska Shayla is a family permanency specialist with the Families Forever program of the Nebraska Children’s Home Society. She assists families formed through guardianship and adoption in navigating the struggles and joys that come along with this process. Shayla enjoys spending time and watching her own 16-month-old boy grow and learn. When she has a spare moment, she relaxes by painting. |
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KaCee Zimmerman Children and Family Services Grand Island, Nebraska KaCee has been in the field of social work for over 25 years. For the last 17 years she has worked for the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services as a supervisor and administrator for Adult Protective Services, Children and Family Services, and Office of Juvenile Services. Currently she oversees all Children and Family Services out of the Grand Island and Hastings offices. A part of her administrative duties includes being part of the Crossover Implementation Team for the State of Nebraska. KaCee holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Colorado – Boulder. |