Who We Are

Operations Manager

Dan has been the Operations Manager for the John Howard Association since 2008, using his knowledge in office administration coupled with his strong organizational and interpersonal skills. He graduated from Northern Illinois University with a B.S. in Human Resource Management and a minor in Psychology. Prior to working at JHA, Dan worked in the retail, corporate, and distribution management fields.

Community Engagement Manager

Fatima joined JHA as Community Engagement Manager in 2024, bringing valuable experience in project management and a deep commitment to social impact. Fatima is also currently employed by From Prison Cells to PhD as project manager, where she collaborates to dismantle barriers and champion the transformative power of education and opportunity. Previously, she worked at Ballot Ready (as Scrum Master and Project Coordinator) and Chicago Fresh Meats, Inc. (in accounting).

Fatima is currently pursuing her undergraduate degree in Business Administration with a concentration in non-profit management from Southern New Hampshire University, and plans to obtain her MBA post-graduation.

Director of Development

Rebecca joined the John Howard Association as Director of Development in 2016. Prior to JHA, Rebecca worked in Development for both UCAN and Adler University, and provided fundraising counsel through GIVEndeavors. Additional nonprofit work experience includes the Y-ME National Breast Cancer Organization and Cancer Research UK.

Rebecca started her career in advertising, working with firms including FCB, element79partners, and Y&R. She earned her Bachelor's degree from Northwestern University in Evanston, IL and her MBA from INSEAD in Fontainebleau, France. Rebecca is a member of the Association of Fundraising Professionals.

Prison Monitor

Katie joined JHA in 2021 as a Prison Monitor. Prior to JHA, Katie worked as a legal fellow with the ACLU of Illinois’ Correctional Reform Project, where she developed a strong commitment to improving conditions for those incarcerated in correctional facilities. At the ACLU, Katie was involved in class action litigation involving access to healthcare for those incarcerated in Illinois state prisons, and assisted in monitoring conditions in Illinois youth centers. Katie then joined a private law office, where she worked on plaintiff-side litigation in employment discrimination and sexual harassment cases.

She earned her undergraduate degree from The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio in 2014 and her J.D. from University of Michigan Law School in Ann Arbor, Michigan in 2017.

Community Advocate

David joined JHA to support community engagement. After spending 29 years in prison due to a wrongful conviction, he pursued a career in community outreach, youth mentorship, and advocacy. He has worked with the city of Rock Island, Illinois; the Greater Mississippi Valley chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI); Heart of Hope Outreach; Lives of Legacy; Project Now; Christian Care; and Augustana Prison Education Program (APEP). As one of APEP’s inaugural students, he enrolled at Augustana’s main campus after his release and graduated in 2024 with a degree in psychology. He is currently enrolled in the community counseling master’s program at Western Illinois University.

Prison Communications Manager

Nora joined the JHA staff as an intern in 2023, and became the Prison Communications Manager in 2024.

Previously, Nora worked for Southside Together Organizing for Power on their communications team, and for Sunshine Enterprises in program evaluation and data management. She earned her bachelor's degree in Public Policy and Criminal Justice from Arizona State University in 2021, and her master's degree in Public Policy from the University of Chicago in 2024.

Community Advocate

Anthony joined JHA in 2024 to support community engagement. As a former system-impacted professional, he has pursued a career in community outreach, violence prevention, case management and advocacy. He is also a licensed barber, a skill he uses to mentor youth who frequent the Bronx Kuts Barbershop in Matteson, IL where he volunteers on the weekend. 

Anthony graduated from Lewis University with an associate’s degree, and is currently enrolled at Northeastern Illinois University in the Urban Community Studies bachelor’s program.

Associate Director

Gwyn joined JHA as the Director of Prison Monitoring in 2012 after first acting as a volunteer. Prior to joining JHA, Gwyn practiced law in a boutique civil litigation firm. There she represented whistleblowers in cases involving multimillion dollar corporate fraud in government contracts and partnered with State and Federal investigators and prosecutors to recover penalties and misspent taxpayer funds, primarily in the healthcare and military sectors.

Other areas of her legal practice included plaintiff-side complex litigation, class action, civil rights cases, and criminal defense work. She serves on the Northwestern University Institutional Review Board and is active in several national professional associations advancing independent oversight, transparency and accountability, and improvements in law enforcement and corrections policies and practices.

Gwyn is a Department of Justice-certified Prison Rape Elimination Act Auditor for both adult and juvenile facilities. She earned her B.A. from Reed College in Portland, OR and her J.D. from Northeastern University School of Law in Boston, MA.

Executive Director

Jennifer Vollen-Katz is the Executive Director of the John Howard Association of Illinois. She leads JHA’s prison monitoring and policy reform work, as well as the organization’s efforts to increase transparency and hold government accountable for the conditions of confinement and treatment of the people who are incarcerated in Illinois. Prior to her role as Executive Director, Jennifer was the Director of the Juvenile Justice Project at JHA, monitoring the state-run juvenile facilities, and championing efforts to both reform the system and close facilities. Before joining JHA, Jennifer was a lecturer in law and a clinical supervisor at the University of Chicago Law School, Mandel Legal Aid Clinic, Federal Criminal Justice Project. She was also a staff attorney with the Federal Defender Program, where she represented indigent defendants in federal criminal cases in the Northern District of Illinois. She earned her Bachelor's Degree from St. Lawrence University, Canton, New York; her law degree from the Georgetown University Law Center, Washington D.C.; and her MSc in Criminal Justice Policy from the London School of Economics and Politics, London, England.

Jennifer has been appointed to and is active on several Advisory Boards, Commissions, Committees, Councils, and Task Forces, including:

• State Advisory Board to the Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice, past Chairperson and current board member, 2012- present

• Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority, former board member, Chairperson of the Appeals Committee, Budget committee member, 2013-2020

• Illinois Juvenile Justice Leadership Council, member, 2015-present

• Salvation Army Advisory Board, member, 2016- present

• Board of Advisors of the Chicago Lawyer Chapter of the American Constitution Society for Law and Policy. 2016-19

• Federal Defender Program Advisory Board, member, 2017-present

• Governor Pritzker’ Criminal Justice Reform Transition Committee, member, 2018

• Chicago Bond Fund, Advisory Board member, 2018-present

• Governor Pritzker’s Reentry Housing Task Force, member, 2019

• Illinois Reentry Council, member, 2020-present

• Protection of Individuals with Disabilities in the Criminal Justice System Task Force, member, 2022-23

• State Advisory Board to the Illinois Department of Corrections, member, 2023 – present

• Illinois Commission on the Children of Incarcerated Parents, member, 2024