You can check out the schedule Here!

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Pre-Conference Session

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​The Human Side of Justice: Building Self-Awareness, Connection & Impact in Leadership

Featuring Steven Shook, Ph.D.

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Community justice work is deeply human work and humans are complicated.

Every interaction is shaped by personality, values, mindset, emotional intelligence,

and lived experience. In high-pressure environments, misunderstanding these dynamics can

lead to conflict, burnout, communication breakdowns, and missed opportunities for connection

and growth.

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This highly interactive pre-conference experience helps participants better understand themselves and the people they serve through engaging activities, reflection, discussion, and practical application. Attendees will explore how personality influences communication, how values shape decision-making, how mindset impacts resilience and adaptability, and how emotional intelligence strengthens relationships and leadership.

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Workshops

We have confirmed our workshops for this year's conference and are incredibly excited to bring you emerging research, highlight the voices of individuals with lived-experience and hope to connect each of you with practitioners in the field. You can check out the workshop schedule Here!

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Plenaries

We are incredibly excited to announce this year's plenary speakers. Check back soon for our third speaker, as well as what day/time each presentation will  be. 

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Maji Hailemariam Debena, Ph.D.

Dr. Hailemariam is a Mental Health Epidemiologist, a researcher and advocate for

equitable mental health care globally. Her research interests include mental health

care for underserved populations in low-resource settings including within

high-income countries. Her research focuses on developing lay provider or peer

provider-delivered mental health interventions to improve access to mental health

services, improve functioning and reduce mental health symptoms.Her research is

guided by understanding barriers to mental health care that are disproportionately

experienced by underserved populations including perinatal women, rural residents,

and justice-involved individuals in low-resource settings.

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Ian Silver, Ph.D.

                                           Ian A. Silver PhD is a Quantitative and Public Health Criminologist in the Center for Legal Systems                                                 Research at Research Triangle Institute with an expertise on public health issues related to Youth                                                     Justice, Corrections, and Pretrial. Dr. Silver is a highly published applied statistician and public health                                             researcher with 10 years of experience in executing experimental and quasi-experimental research,                                                 statistical modeling, and data visualization. He specializes in translating complex data into actionable                                             insights for stakeholders across health, policy, and criminal justice sectors (see Adolescent Health                                                   Policy Briefs and Criminal Justice Policy Briefs). Dr. Silver has mentored and taught students and staff                                             members for 7 years, teaching them the process of executing large research projects (e.g., the                                                         National Pretrial Reporting Project), publishing academic research and practitioner focused research,                                             and conducting statistical analyses.