Pinkerton Fellowship Initiative

Pinkerton Fellowship Initiative:

The Pinkerton Fellowship Initiative is a collaboration between the Pinkerton Foundation and the John Jay College of Criminal Justice to contribute to the development of the youth justice community in New York City. Under the auspices of the Prisoner Reentry Institute and in partnership with the Research and Evaluation Center , the program supports the operational and research capacity of participating nonprofit community-based organizations while contributing to the development of talented students who are equipped to assume positions of responsibility in the youth justice field.  The Fellowships involve intensive year-long placements beginning Summer 2012 and running through Spring 2013.

The Pinkerton Fellowship Initiative has two tracks:

• Pinkerton Community Fellows are undergraduate students who are placed in direct service roles in some of the most distinguished youth serving agencies in New York City.
• Pinkerton Graduate Research Fellows  are advanced graduate students working collaboratively to strengthen the evidence orientation and analytic capacity of participating agencies.

Pinkerton Community Fellows 2012-2013

Nicole Marie Alexander

Nicole Marie Alexander is a Pinkerton Community Fellow majoring in “Social Problems” through the CUNY Baccalaureate for Unique and Interdisciplinary Studies program. She is a graduate of the inaugural class of the New York Needs You fellowship and a recipient of the Thomas W. Smith Academic fellowship. She is a Ronald E. McNair scholar and her research is entitled “Getting Older and Starting Over: the Struggles Elderly Ex-offenders Face Reentering Post-Recession America.” As a Pinkerton Community Fellow, Nicole is working at the Center for Court Innovation: Harlem Youth Court where she serves as a facilitator for the new class of youth court trainees and leads workshops for the youth court participants.

Dominique Andalcio

Dominique Andalcio is a senior student in the B.A. program in Criminal Justice at John Jay College. Dominique is interested in working with the incarcerated and formerly incarcerated populations. In the past, Dominique partnered with the Innocence Project to create awareness about wrongful incarceration using various forms of visual media. Dominique is currently placed at the Osborne Association’s Fatherhood Initiative. Dominique looks forward to continuing her education in criminal justice after she graduates in May of 2013.

John Bae

John Bae is a Pinkerton Community Fellow placed with the Center for Alternative Sentencing and Employment Services (CASES), and a BA/MA student majoring in Criminal Justice.  At CASES, he works with the college transition program, providing academic support and mentoring to the students.  Previously, he has participated in the NYS Prison to College Pipeline as part of the initial cohort of students from John Jay College selected to attend classes in the correctional facility, and as a mentor for students with the College Initiative. He plans to go to law school and upon completing his degree, hopes to work with community-based organizations bringing about reform to the education and criminal justice systems.     

Janer Cordero

Janer Cordero is a Pinkerton Community Fellow placed at the Center for Court Innovations: Bronx Community Solutions (BCS).  Janer works with staff to support the administrative viability and daily operations management of the Adolescent Diversion Program (ADP), assisting with tracking and evaluation of ADP data, and administering direct services by conducting ADP intakes (interviews) along with the intakes of the BCS general population.  Prior to the Pinkerton Fellowship, Janer was a Fiscal and Administrative Assistant for the Prisoner Reentry Institute, and a volunteer for the Prison to College Pipeline program at Otisville Correctional Facility.  Currently, she is a member of John Jay’s Student Election Review Committee.  Janer will graduate with a BS in Legal Studies, and a minor in Public Administration.  After graduation, she hopes to pursue a graduate level educational program in areas that are related to psychology and criminal justice.

Alex Griffith

Alex Griffith is a Pinkerton Community Fellow majoring in English and pursuing a minor in Public Administration at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. Prior to becoming a Community Fellow, Alex worked as a research assistant and mentor at the Urban Male Initiative at John Jay College providing personal, academic, and professional support to program participants. He is currently a member of the Dean’s List, and also a recipient of the College Educational Milestone and Thurgood Marshall Scholarships. Alex is currently placed at exalt youth as a Program Coordinator where he works directly with court-involved youth, ages 15-19, to support and enhance their employability and professionalism.

Sarah Guillet

Sarah Guillet is currently a senior at John Jay College and an Honor’s Program student. Sarah is enrolled in the CUNY Baccalaureate for Unique and Interdisciplinary Studies program, where she is pursuing her duel-concentration major, International Human Rights and Cultural Anthropology. Sarah was an executive member of the Amnesty International Student Chapter at John Jay and is an active member of the Phi Eta Sigma Honors Society.  She is a recipient of the Thomas W. Smith Academic Fellowship and the Harriet Brows Scholarship for Social Change from CUNY BA.  As a Pinkerton fellow, Sarah is placed with the Lasting Investments in Neighborhood Connections (LINC) of the Children Aid Society, where she co-leads a work crew of youth during the LINC summer program.  She will also be developing a small group of LINC youth who will form and implement advocacy projects based on their issues and interests.

Mehdi Mahraoui

Mehdi Mahraoui is a first-generation, Moroccan student majoring in Public Administration at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. He is a Pinkerton Community Fellow, an Undergraduate Peer-counselor, a member of the PHI ETA SIGMA National Honor Society, recipient of the Thurgood Marshall Scholarship, and a BA/MA student. Currently, Mehdi is placed at the Osborne Association where he assists in coordinating programs for children with an incarcerated parent in hopes of transforming lives, communities, and the criminal justice system.

Sabrina Pestel

Sabrina Pestel is a Pinkerton Community Fellow and majoring in Economics at John Jay College. She previously obtained an Associate of Law Studies in the French West Indies. Sabrina’s concern with increasing ecological awareness recently won her the first place prize of the John Jay Earth day Essay Contest. Her proposed plan to educate children about preventing water waste gave way to the consideration of creating a program called John Jay Green Ambassador. Placed at the Osborne Association, Sabrina is actively participating in the development of their youth programs which provide support and services to children with a currently or formerly incarcerated parent or caregiver.

The Fellowship Team

Melissa Pognon, project coordinator for the Pinkerton Fellowship Initiative.

Kendra Gentry, research director for the Pinkerton Graduate Research Fellows

Ann Jacobs, the director of John Jay’s Prisoner Reentry Institute and the principal investigator for the Pinkerton Fellowship Initiative.

Jeffrey Butts, the director of the Research and Evaluation Center at John Jay and co-principal investigator with the Pinkerton Fellowship Initiative.

Michael Maxfield, a professor at John Jay College, faculty research coordinator with the Research and Evaluation Center.

Janice Johnson Dias, is an assistant professor at John Jay College and serves as the academic coordinator for the Community Fellows.

For more information, please contact:

Melissa Pognon, Project Coordinator of the Pinkerton Fellowship Initiative

or

Kendra Gentry, Research Director of the Pinkerton Fellowship Initiative