American Probation and Parole Association
Aaron Montgomery is Chief Strategy Officer of Mission Lane, a Forbes Top 50 FinTech and Co-Founder of CarLotz (NASDAQ: LOTZ) a disruptive innovation in the used automotive retail market. Prior to CarLotz he was a consultant at McKinsey & Co. and a sales executive at Kiva Systems, a robotics company that was acquired by Amazon in 2012.
In addition to his work at Mission Lane, Aaron is also an author, speaker, and instructor. He recently finished his first book Suspend Your Disbelief as a giveback to the next generation by sharing stories from his life and career He currently teaches Leadership and Strategy at The PowerMBA a platform that is designed to democratize access to executive education, and is a 3X Inc. 5000 honoree (2018, 2019, and 2020), a 2X finalist in EY's Entrepreneur of the Year Program (2015, 2019), and was named Executive Partner of the Year by the Society of Human Resource Managers (SHRM) in 2013.
Aaron holds an A.B. in Economics from Harvard University and an MBA from Harvard Business School. He has served on the boards of the United Way of Greater Richmond and Petersburg and Junior Achievement of Central Virginia.
As Director of Corrections, Precythe is responsible for the 20 adult correctional facilities, six community supervision centers, a community release center, and more than 40 probation and parole offices across the State of Missouri. This includes approximately 11,000 staff, 63,000 probationers and parolees, and more than 23,500 inmates.
Precythe brings over 32 years of service as a Corrections professional into her role as director. Before becoming the second woman director for the Missouri Department of Corrections, Precythe served as the Director of Community Corrections in the North Carolina Department of Public Safety.
Anne L. Precythe began her career with the Division of Community Corrections in North Carolina as a Probation/Parole Officer in Duplin County in 1988. During her career in North Carolina she served in many capacities and was appointed the first female Director of Community Corrections in 2013.
Anne has served on various councils and commissions throughout her career. She was a long-standing member of the North Carolina Probation/Parole Association and continues to support the Correctional Peace Officer Foundation. In 2015, Anne was appointed by United States Attorney, Eric Holder, and reappointed by United States Attorney, William Barr, in 2020 to the National Institute of Corrections Advisory Board, representing all of Community Corrections across the country. In 2018, Director Precythe was elected to serve on the Executive Committee of the Correctional Leaders Association and in 2020 she was elected to serve as President of the Association. In 2019, Director Precythe was also appointed to the Council of State Governments Justice Center Advisory Board. Director Precythe was nominated and approved by her peers to serve as a member of the Inaugural Class of the Council on Criminal Justice in 2020.
Anne is married with two married daughters and four grandsons.
Genevieve is the Executive Director of the Dave’s Killer Bread Foundation. She drives creation and growth of national efforts to expand employment opportunities for people with criminal backgrounds. On a given day you’ll find her sharing expertise with a group of hiring professionals, meeting with government agencies to advocate for hiring people with criminal backgrounds or collaborating with Second Chance Employers around the country to recruit more businesses into the fold.
In addition to producing multiple Second Chance Summits around the country, she’s participated in the Center for American Progress and Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives task forces, is a member of the Council on Criminal Justice, presented at the Inc 5000, SXSW, International Corrections & Prisons Association, partnered with the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM) to launch the Getting Talent Back to Work Toolkit, and joined hundreds of other companies across America on the Fair Chance Business Pledge and at the White House in 2016 and again 2019.
Kemba Smith Pradia went from college student to drug dealer’s girlfriend to domestic violence victim to federal prisoner; and 1994 she was sentenced to 24. 5 years in federal prison. Kemba’s case drew support from across the nation.
Often labeled the “poster child” for reversing a disturbing trend in the rise of lengthy sentences for first-time, non-violent drug offenders, Kemba’s story was featured on a variety of television shows and in several publications. The support prompted then President Clinton to commute her sentence in December 2000, after having served 6. 5 years in prison.
Today, Kemba is a wife, mother, public speaker, advocate, consultant and author of Poster Child. She has worked with senior officials at The White House, the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, Members of Congress, and has led trainings for Federal and State Probation organizations across the country. She has received numerous awards and recognitions for her courage and determination as a motivational speaker and advocate. In 2019, Kemba was appointed to the Virginia Parole Board by Governor Ralph Northam. Prior to her appointment, she served on the Virginia Criminal Sentencing Commission and held the position of State Advocacy Campaigns Director with the ACLU of Virginia.
Along with being an advocate for criminal justice reform, Kemba is the founder of her 501 (c) 3, The Kemba Smith Foundation. Ultimately, Kemba knows that there is a lesson in each experience in life, and she has embraced her experience, learned from it, and is now using that experience to teach others.
Born in Boise, Idaho; attended North Idaho College and College of Idaho; graduate NW Ag Credit School - Washington State University; graduate Pacific Coast Banking School - University of Washington; graduate - General Banking, American Institute of Banking (AIB); Canyon Highway District #4 Commissioner - Chair; ten years in private sector — president of engineered wood products and commercial development company; 30 years in banking — corporate and executive management; member First Church of the Nazarene; serve on the Economic Outlook & Revenue Assessment Committee, the Credit Rating Enhancement Committee, and the Idaho Public Safety Communication Commission; spouse: Arlene; two children; six grandchildren.
Dr. Brian Lovins is a Principal for Justice System Partners (JSP). He earned his Ph.D. in Criminology from the University of Cincinnati. He is currently President-Elect for the American Probation and Parole Association (APPA). Prior to JSP, Dr. Lovins worked for Harris County CSCD as the Assistant Director. He was tasked with developing and implementing agency wide change plans to drive increased successful completion rates. In addition, he has the Associate Director for the University of Cincinnati’s Corrections Institute—the School of Criminal Justice’s training and research department. He has developed a state-wide juvenile risk assessment (Ohio Youth Assessment System: OYAS) and adult risk assessment (Ohio Risk Assessment System: ORAS), as well as validation of a series of pretrial risk assessments. Dr. Lovins has been invited to present to over 200 agencies and routinely trains agencies in the principles of effective intervention, risk assessment, and the delivery of cognitive-behavioral interventions.
Hope Cooper is the Deputy Secretary of Juvenile and Adult Community Based Services. She oversees the Juvenile Services Division, to include the only juvenile correctional facility in Kansas, the Community Corrections Division, the Parole Services Division, and the Interstate Compact Unit. She serves as the Commissioner for both adult and juvenile Interstate Compact for the State of Kansas as well as serving as national Vice-Chair for the Interstate Commission for Adult Offender Supervision. Hope has served in various capacities within the Kansas Department of Corrections (KDOC) since her start in 2008 to include Program Consultant, Director of Community Corrections Services, and Warden at the state’s only female facility, Topeka Correctional Facility. Prior to joining KDOC, Hope worked for a juvenile treatment center for adolescent girls as a therapist, the Target Corporation, and as a Federal Probation Officer.
Hope is a member of American Probation and Parole and the Association of Women Executives in Corrections. She maintains her certification in the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator. Hope earned her bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice and Psychology along with a master’s degree in Community Counseling from Chadron State College. Hope has a passion for people being the best version of themselves and believes every person has worth and is capable of change.
Dr. Gregory Dillon serves as the director for the Brazoria County Community Supervision and Corrections Department. He earned a Doctorate of Counseling from Texas Southern University and is a Licensed Professional Counselor - Supervisor. Dr. Dillon has worked in the field of community supervision for 22 years and is the current APPA Region 12 (Texas) Representative. He also serves on the Texas Probation Association Board and Texas Probation Legislative Committee. He is an advocate of evidenced-based practices on the local, state, and national levels and is passionate about the need for transformational change in the field of community supervision and corrections.
Michael W. Nail is the Commissioner of the Georgia Department of Community Supervision. In this role, he is responsible for leading one of the nation’s largest community supervision agencies and is responsible for the supervision of over 200,000 adult felony offenders. With over 30 years of experience, he is a nationally recognized subject matter expert in the areas of corrections, probation, and parole. He currently serves as the President of the National Association of Probation Executives (NAPE). Mr. Nail holds a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice, Master of Public Administration, and is a graduate of the Georgia Law Enforcement Command College.
Mr. Amir Ghannad is an international leader in management development, author of The Transformative Leader, and co-founder of The Ghannad Group.
Mr. Ghannad has dedicated his life to assisting emerging leaders worldwide. He equips them with the skills, tools, and mindset necessary to transform workplace cultures and deliver breakthrough results.
Visit The Ghannad Group’s website to learn about his great work.