Dr. Paul Elam, Project Manager, Public Policy Associates, Inc.

Paul Elam, Ph.D., has more than 15 years of experience working as a team builder and is recognized for his ability to assist government, academic, community, and philanthropic organizations with pressing sociological issues. His work has included extensive research on disproportionate treatment of African American youths in the child welfare and juvenile justice systems.

Dr. Elam is currently the project director for an evaluation of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation's investments in Michigan.  The 30-month assessment of more than 115 grants will provide the Foundation with valuable information about the progress grantees have made in achieving their goals.  The evaluation will will include site visits, focus groups, technical assistance, database design and analysis, and strategic planning.  It will also assess the grants through a racial equity lens.

Dr. Elam has wide experience and competency in research and analysis, program and policy development, grant administration and contract compliance, and university partnership building.  He was project manager for the Michigan Child Welfare Improvement Task Force, principal investigator for the Ingham County Youth Risk Factor analysis, principal investigator in an overview of the Wayne County Juvenile Detention Facility; and evaluator for the Ingham County/City of Lansing Community Coalition for Youth Title V Juvenile Delinquency Prevention Program.

Dr. Elam is managing a project with the Michigan Department of Human Services, Bureau of Juvenile Justice and the Michigan State Court Administrator’s Office to help state and local governments prevent and control juvenile delinquency and improve the juvenile justice system.  This project involves helping to develop and implement strategies to deinstitutionalize status offenders, separate juveniles from adults in institutions, remove juveniles from adult jails and lockups, and reduce disproportionate minority contact.

In addition, Dr. Elam worked with the Kellogg Foundation to develop a systematic process for identifying and engaging students of color in Michigan’s new economy.  This project was designed to ensure that students of color have equitable opportunities for securing employment in the new economy.

Dr. Elam also worked with the Michigan Department of Corrections and the Michigan Council on Crime and Delinquency on the Michigan Prisoner ReEntry Initiative.  He worked with these partners to implement a statewide model that connects recently released prisoners with the resources necessary for a successful reintegration into society.

Prior to joining PPA, Dr. Elam worked as the grants and program coordinator for the City of Lansing Human Relations and Community Services Department.  He has been successful in securing more than $15 million dollars in federal, state, and private contracts and grants to develop and maintain human services in the City of Lansing, Ingham County, and the State of Michigan.  Dr. Elam has also worked with several city, county, and state coalitions to help develop community- and school-based programs.

Dr. Elam has also worked as a research and teaching assistant at Michigan State University in the Departments of Urban Affairs, Criminal Justice, and Family and Child Ecology, where he assisted professors with the study and instruction of crime, juvenile delinquency, research methodology, multiculturalism, demography, urbanism, and multicultural communication.  He has also worked as an institutional research analyst at Lansing Community College where he assisted with studies on student retention, enrollment forecasting and trends, institutional program effectiveness, and student satisfaction. 

He has a Doctorate in family and child ecology with minors in criminology, community services, and measurement and methods; Master’s degree in criminal justice and urban studies; and bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from Michigan State University. Also notable: Executive Committee member of the American Society of Criminology's Division on People of Color.

Philip Walker, Director Of Training, Flint STRIVE

Mr. Phillip Walker was born and grew up in and around Flint, Michigan.  Phillip Walker has been in management for over 25 years in various capacities in the auto industry and later in human services in the Genesee County Probation Department.  He has also owned businesses which added to his insights into essential qualities employees hiring and motivation.  2007 Mr. Walker started his own non-profit agency, a 501c3 known as Champions/A youth Initiative focused on youth violence prevention, education and a “safe zones” on weekends for safe fellowship.  Mr. Walker later joined Flint Strive as Co-director and trainer.  He currently serves as regional director of training.

STRIVE is a nationally recognized workforce initiative that focuses on individual and community empowerment through employment.  It serves both youth and adults with impairments as well as criminal history. Flint Area STRIVE is the number one STRIVE of the 25 affiliates in the nation.  With half of the organization’s clients ex-offenders, STRIVE achieved a placement rate in 2010 of 87 percent in a very difficult economic climate. 

Mr. Walker sits on the Amachi Advisory Board of Big Brothers and Big Sisters, is a member of the Bowling Green Alumni Association, A Powers Alumni parent and supporter and sits on the National Law Project of Genesee County.  He attended and graduated from Luke M. Powers Catholic High School were he was an athlete playing football and weight lifting.  He  attended Bowling Green University where he studied mechanical engineering.  He is proud of his college football teams 11-0 record.  He also won The Mac Football conference title.

Under Philip Walker's leadership, Flint STRIVE has the following grants: PRI/ REXO/ Prisoner reentry, Pathways out of Poverty, The Hud Homeless Grant, Core STRIVE ( for everyone) A summer youth program where students job shadow professionals ( Flint has a Sixty percent dropout rate for African American Males) STRIVE has a Jet ( Welfare to work program ) which has also been extremely successful. Walker has also trained specialty programs such as the Flint Health Employment Opportunities Program teaching prospective medical students job readiness to become the new face of health care. Phillip has also trained The Flint GO project drawing students from the roughest most impoverished zip codes in Flint, MI (renewal communities) and teaching job readiness and college preparation.

Mark Lowis, LMSW, MSW, MINT, President MML Consulting

Mark Lowis has extensive experience in the public and private sector for mental health and substance abuse services.  He offers assistance to agencies and facilities in the design, development, and management of the following areas:

·         Utilization Management ·         Quality Management ·         Utilization Review ·         Clinical Supervision ·         Staff Development and Training ·         Clinical Chart Review and Performance Monitoring ·         Contracts and Services Analyst

Mark has provided leadership and consultation in Utilization Management (UM) and Quality Management (QM) to various agencies and at the state level over the years.  He has helped agencies reduce their dollar amount of loss for non-certs and denials by helping to improve Utilization Review (UR) processes and staff trainings.  Mark is a member of the Motivational Interviewing Network of Trainers (MINT) and provides training and clinical supervision in this evidenced based practice.  Additionally, Mark provides team building activities and training that help to increase the partnerships between functional departments, management, and contractors in the field of mental health and substance abuse.  Mark has a great deal of experience designing and developing performance measurement systems for maintaining the standards of accrediting bodies, as well as systems for continuous quality improvement, contracting, and services analysis.

Sobem Nwoko, President, Joyfields Institute

Mr. Sobem Nwoko is Founder and President of Joyfields Institute for Professional Development serving the human services fields.  The company is the world's leading training, staff development and programs evaluation company for evidence-based programs and supports.  Evidence-based programs are programs shown through research and documentation to produce their intended outcomes.

Prior to founding the company 10 years ago, Mr. Nwoko spent 15 years working at major corporations in various senior management roles, including Vice President of Marketing, Chief Technology Officer and Chief Operating Officer.  He managed customer sales and service operations and was responsible for over 350 employees.

As president of Joyfields Institute, Mr. Nwoko has focused attention on evidence-based human services models for solving business challenges and has worked to bring the best experts, teachers and practitioners together to share what has been learned.  Mr. Nwoko has built Joyfields Institute into go-to resource public and private agencies look to for these practices.  The company serves over 400 agencies located in all 50 US states and 11 countries and has trained over 2000 professionals.  The company's public and private programs are delivered via on-site and online workshops and conferences.

Mr. Nwoko did his undergraduate studies at University of Maryland where he studied Mass Communications.  He did post-graduate studies at Towson State University.  He is also a student and coach graduate of Dale Carnegie Training.  He is married with 2 lovely daughters.  The family lives in the Atlanta, GA area of the USA.

Robert Vander Kamp, Inmate Services Division Manager, San Diego County Sheriff’s Department

Robert Vander Kamp is the Manager of the Inmate Services Division of the San Diego County Sheriff's Department.  He has oversight of correctional counseling, educational, vocational, psych-social and mental health services, chaplaincy programs and jail support services, in the County's 7 detention facilities serving a population of 5,000 inmates.

Mr. Vander Kamp represents the Sheriff and the Department in the County's re-entry efforts and has contributed in the development, implementation, and maintenance of the California State Senate Bill 618 Prison Re-entry Program, the County's Local Jail Re-entry Program, the Parolee Re-entry Court Program and the Veteran's Treatment Court.

Mr. Vander Kamp has 25 years of experience in Project Management and Program Design in large organizations including fiscal responsibility, facilities management, data collection and management, data interpretation and information dissemination.

Mr. Vander Kamp has a Bachelor of Arts Degree from the California State University in San Bernardino in Psychology with a field of study in Behavioral, Counseling and Clinical Psychology.  He has attended the Police Executive Research Forum's Senior Management Institute for Police, contributed in the Stanford Law School Executive Sessions on Sentencing and Corrections.  He is currently also serving as President of the California Jail Programs Association and sits on the Advisory board of the Joyfields Institute for Professional Development.

** Agenda Subject to change