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Leadership and Board of Directors

The Executive Staff's longevity is shared by much of the staff; over 25% of them have been with the organization 10 or more years.

Mindy S. Tarlow | Chief Executive Officer/Executive Director -

Mindy Tarlow began her association with CEO as a Program Director at the Vera Institute of Justice in 1994, where she managed the successful spin-off of CEO from Vera. Prior to joining CEO, Ms. Tarlow spent close to ten years at the New York City Office of Management and Budget where she rose from Senior Analyst in 1984 to Deputy Director in 1992. Ms. Tarlow guided many criminal justice projects during her tenure in government including co-authoring the Mayor’s Safe Streets, Safe City Omnibus Criminal Justice Program.

Ms. Tarlow is a member of the National Advisory Board of the Vera Institute of Justice National Associates Program and the Prisoner Reentry Institute Advisory Board at John Jay College of Criminal Justice; a founding board member of the Workforce Professionals Training Institute; and a member of the Executive Committee of the New York City Employment & Training Coalition. Most recently, Ms. Tarlow served on the Mayor’s Commission for Economic Opportunity, and the Governor’s Transition Team on Criminal Justice. Ms. Tarlow is also an Adjunct Professor at New York University’s Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service.

Brad L. Dudding | Chief Operating Officer -

Brad Dudding joined CEO in 1994. He oversees CEO’s financial, MIS, transitional job and human resource operations and works closely with the executive director on organizational strategy and management operations. Prior to joining CEO, Mr. Dudding worked at the NYC Office of Management and Budget, under the direction of Mindy Tarlow. Mr. Dudding also served as a Municipal Financial Analyst at the New York State Controller’s Office and was responsible for overseeing the budgets of New York City’s uniformed agencies.

Tani P. Mills | Chief Program Officer -

Tani Mills is responsible for all the program areas of CEO. She began her association with CEO as a Deputy Project Director at the Vera Institute of Justice in 1991. Prior to joining CEO, Ms. Mills held senior administrative positions at the New York City Health & Hospitals Corporation. She was also a Confidential Investigator in the Office of the Inspector General at the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation. She is on the board of the National Association of Workforce Development Professionals, and the National HIRE Network.

Marta Nelson | Director of Policy and Planning -

Marta Nelson leads CEO’s development of policy and new projects and partnerships. She also oversees the Learning Institute, the research arm of CEO, and directs CEO’s provision of technical assistance to other jurisdictions. Before joining CEO, Ms. Nelson worked at the Vera Institute of Justice on a variety of projects to help men and women leaving prison and jail. Ms. Nelson was also a lawyer at the Brennan Center for Justice and the Prisoners’ Rights Project of the New York Legal Aid Society, where she worked to improve access to education for young people incarcerated in New York City jails.

Koren Gaines | Director of Development -

Koren Gaines oversees CEO’s financial development and communications efforts. She joined CEO in November 2007 to expand CEO’s outreach to individuals and corporations; while continuing to develop foundation relationships. Ms. Gaines has been a development professional for over 10 years at local chapters of organizations including: Big Brothers Big Sisters, YWCA and the American Red Cross. Her last position was Development Director for Shared Interest where she also managed the organization’s communications efforts. Ms. Gaines is a member of the New York chapter of Women in
Development.

Loy Mulyagonja | Chief Financial Officer -

Loy Mulyagonja joined CEO in 2004 as Controller and was promoted to Director of Finance in 2006. She is responsible for providing strategic planning, strategic management, and leadership in the areas of financial analysis, financial reporting and corporate compliance. Ms. Mulyagonja has worked in the non-profit accounting field since 1995 and worked in public accounting prior to that. Before joining CEO, Ms. Mulyagonia worked with ERE, LLP as a Senior Staff Auditor as well as with Fiscal Management Associates, LLC an affiliate of ERE as a senior accounting consultant. Ms. Mulyagonja is a certified public accountant, as well as a certified non-profit accounting professional and is a member of the American Institute of CPAs.

Our Senior Staff are comprised of individuals from varied backgrounds and experiences that are experts in their respective fields.

Mary Bedeau | Director of Job Coaching and Employment Retention Services -

joined CEO in 2004 and has developed a comprehensive system to bolster job retention rates among CEO’s clients and oversees job coaching for CEO participants before they are placed in jobs. Her philosophy of continuous staff development and program evaluation has earned recognition in the field of employment training and retention. Previously, she was the Director for Replication Services for the WAY Program for Children’s Village in Dobbs Ferry, New York, and held a senior management position at the Vocational Foundation for more than 10 years. Ms. Bedeau has received a PepNet award from the National Youth Employment Coalition in 1998.

Jennifer Bryan | Director of Research and Organizational Development -

leads collaborative, multi-method research projects to gain a deeper understanding of the issues facing people as they strive to rebuild their lives and work after incarceration. In the spirit of social-action research, Jennifer uses research to develop real-time recommendations for improving CEO’s programs in partnership with participants, practitioners, policymakers and academic partners. Before coming to CEO in 2006, Ms. Bryan held positions with urban justice and policy research institutes including the Vera Institute of Justice and the Center for Urban Research and Policy at Columbia University. Jennifer is completing a PhD in Sociology at Yale University. A chapter of her work was published in Wounded City: The Social Effects of the World Trade Center Attack on New York City. New York: Russell Sage Foundation (2005). She also published articles in peer-reviewed journals including the Journal of Crime and Justice, the American Journal of Criminal Justice, and Crime, Law and Social Change: An International Journal. Jennifer holds a M.A. and M.Phil in Sociology from Yale University, a B.S. in Administration of Justice, a B.A. in Psychology, and a Criminology Certificate from Rutgers University.

Thailia Elcock-Bowen | Director of Human Resources -

administers compensation, benefits and performance evaluation programs, manages the orientation process for new CEO employees and oversees the Intake Department. Ms. Elcock-Bowen practiced law from 1992 to 1996, providing legal counsel to indigent clients. She began her career with CEO in February 1997 as a Lifeskills Educator where she conducted orientation and Life Skills training course. In September of that year, she became the Assistant to the Executive Director and eventually served as a Program Coordinator where she helped to bring new programs on line. Ms. Elcock-Bowen earned her undergraduate degree in Africana Studies from Cornell University, and received her law degree from Vermont Law School.

Nigel Pieters | Director of Information and Technology -

Nigel joined CEO in 1996 as a Network Administrator, where he initiated the development of CEO’s first Network for Information Gathering Evaluation and Learning (NIGEL System), a case tracking system. In 1996, he was promoted to Director of Information and Technology to lead in operating and maintaining computing and telecommunication equipments for over 150 CEO employees. Prior to joining CEO, he was the Network Adminitrator and Computer Instructor at East Harlem Council for Community Improvement for four years. Mr. Pieters serves on the Board for the Hanson Place Development Corp., and Abundant Life Community Services, Inc.

Roy Pinson | Director of Field Operations -

Roy began his career with CEO in 1982 as a Site Supervisor, where he managed one of the many transitional work sites. After 2 years, he was promoted to a Senior Site Supervisor and since 1986, has been managing the day-to-day operations of CEO’s transitional work sites throughout the New York City area. Prior to joining CEO, Pinson worked at Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company for almost 10 years and has experience in the construction industry.

Alba Rivera | Director of Participant Services -

oversees CEO’s Young Adult and Responsible Fatherhood Programs. Rivera’s expertise includes curriculum development, job training and counseling hard- toserve populations. Before joining CEO, she directed programs for at-risk youth and young adults at other organizations, managing several units at Jobs for Youth, focusing on job support programs, computer assisted education, internship programs, educational programs for high school dropouts, and literacy support programs. She has also conducted many educational and training programs that operated under the auspices of the Arawak Consulting Corporation, the first Puerto Rican consulting firm in New York City.

Sandi Rosenthal | Director of Workforce Development -

joined CEO in 2006 to manage the Job Development unit, and to help develop and maintain employer partners. Prior to joining CEO, Rosenthal was a Consulting Director at TARP Worldwide, a Founding Partner of the customer service transformation consulting firm, Customer Focused Solutions and the Director of Operations for C3i, an organization that creates, manages and enhances customer management and analytical solutions for the life sciences industry. Her experience also includes the role of Managing Director at TeleSpectrum and executive positions with consumer products companies Clairol, Colgate-Palmolive and CRM technology organizations, including Hyperion Solutions.

Miriam Trokan | Director of Customer Services -

Miriam joined CEO in 1999 to direct CEO’s Customer Service Department, working externally to follow up with employers to ascertain their level of satisfaction with CEO, improve services and troubleshoot problems. Internally, the unit works to enhance services to participants and job developers. Prior to joining CEO, she served as a marketing and public relations executive at American Express and other companies for 20 years, and handled the tourism accounts of Puerto Rico, Jamaica, Cayman Islands, I LOVE NY and other large accounts. Before that, Ms. Trokan was on the staff of a New York City Congressional office and taught history at two New York City high schools, the Borough of Manhattan Community College and Mobilization for Youth.

Tim Williams | Director of Transitional Employment Services -

As the Director of Transitioanl Employment Services, Tim Williams oversees 200 workers at 35 worksites throughout the five boroughs. Mr. Williams began his career with CEO in 2003 with the launch of a largescale multi-agency initiative on Rikers Island. Prior to joining CEO, he worked with the Vera Institute of Justice on a prisoner reentry demonstration project. Mr. Williams also developed and managed several programs concerning intimate personal violence in both community and jail settings. Mr. Williams has a research background, both as the MacClure Fellow for the Study of International Affairs based in Mexico, and at the Highlander Center in Tennessee. Mr. Williams received a Masters of Science in Social Work from the University of Tennessee.