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Breathe. Reset. Lead: Enriching Work and Life through Mindfulness in Community Corrections
SESSION INFO
Tuesday, March 3, 2026
3:15 PM - 4:45 PM
Session Type: Workshop
Community corrections professionals face ongoing exposure to stress, threat, and vicarious trauma that can lead to compassion fatigue and burnout—undermining personal well-being, mental and emotional health, and professional performance, making staff wellness a critical priority for every agency. This experiential Mindfulness-Based Wellness & Resiliency (MBWR) workshop introduces science-backed, evidence-based tools to enhance health, communication, and self-regulation. Participants will practice job-relevant techniques that strengthen physiological balance, self-leadership, and emotional regulation, enabling staff to operate more effectively under pressure. Evaluations of MBWR show measurable reductions in stress, fatigue, and reactivity, along with gains in focus, sleep quality, and overall resilience. These practices support healthier workplace culture, improved morale, and sustainable performance for individuals and teams throughout community corrections. Applicable to professionals at all levels, the session connects emerging neuroscience with practical strategies that enrich daily life, strengthen communication, and foster a culture of resilience and well-being.
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SESSION PRESENTERS
John MacAdams
Senior Trainer and Program Manager, Center for Mindfulness in Public Safety
John MacAdams, CMT-P, is an IMTA-certified professional mindfulness teacher and faculty member with the Engaged Mindfulness Institute. For more than 25 years, he has taught mindfulness internationally. For the past nine years, he has served as Senior Trainer and Program Manager with the Center for Mindfulness in Public Safety. He trains community-corrections, law-enforcement, custody, probation and parole, border-patrol, and clinical-care professionals across the U.S. and Canada in Mindfulness-Based Wellness & Resiliency, Mindfulness-Based Emotional Intelligence, and Leadership Resilience programs. John also volunteers as a senior chaplain with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department—Men’s Central Jail and Twin Towers Correctional Facility—providing mindfulness instruction within the nation’s largest jail system. A former film-industry professional, he now applies the same discipline to athletic training, having completed more than 18 short-course triathlons since 2017.
Mr Robert J. Ohlemiller
Deputy Commissioner, IN Department of Correction
Robert J. Ohlemiller Robert J. Ohlemiller is a retired criminal justice professional with 42 years of experience in corrections, parole, and community supervision. During his 32-year career with the Indiana Department of Correction, he served as a prison counselor, parole officer, and administrator, including more than 15 years as deputy commissioner overseeing community corrections and parole services. In that role he collaborated with local judges and officials to expand problem-solving courts and other community-based programs. From 2005 to 2016, Robert served as director of jail programs for the Marion County Sheriff’s Office in Indiana. Since retiring in 2016, he has focused on teaching mindfulness-based wellness for law enforcement and community corrections. Certified as a mindfulness teacher through the Engaged Mindfulness Institute, he volunteers with the Center for Mindfulness in Public Safety and co-hosts the Mindful Public Safety Hour, a weekly national forum for justice professionals since 2020. Robert earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Notre Dame and a master’s in public administration from Ball State University, where he served as adjunct faculty. He completed leadership training through the National Institute of Corrections and has presented nationally, including at the 2024 APPA Training Institute in Indianapolis.
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