• When did you first get involved in AVP? I attended the 2018 AVP-MD Annual Gathering before I ever participated in an AVP workshop Then I experienced the magic of AVP at my first workshop at MCI-W and I was hooked for life. 

• What’s your favorite thing about AVP? Seeing participants have ‘light bulb’ moments when they learn something new or realize that change is possible.

• What do you do as your ‘day job’? Since getting involved with AVP and serving as adjunct faculty for the University of Baltimore's Second Chance College Program at Jessup Correctional Institution, I have decided to pivot my career toward teaching, re-entry work, and social justice. I'm looking forward to my next chapter.

• What do you like to do in your free time? I love to garden, journal, make art, and spend time with my dogs.

• When did you first get involved in AVP? I became a facilitator in 2014.

• What’s your favorite thing about AVP? The community building. I love how transformative just one weekend can be. On Friday night, we sit around the circle and are all strangers and then by Sunday, everyone is so talkative and it truly feels like a family.

• What do you do as your ‘day job’? I work for Baltimore City Public Schools as a District Volunteer Engagement Specialist where I oversee volunteers & partnerships. Prior I worked for a mentoring advocacy program, The Choice Program, working with youth involved in the juvenile justice system.

• What do you like to do in your free time? I enjoy spending time with my two sons, Kingston (4) & Zion (2). I also enjoy playing volleyball and spending time in places that are warm and near water.

• When did you first get involved in AVP? I first started attending AVP workshops and co-facilitating them in 2017.

• What’s your favorite thing about AVP? Working with talented and committed volunteers inside and outside of prison.

• What do you do as your ‘day job’? I work as a consultant in organizational and professional development, often using experiential modalities quite similar to AVP, and also strategic planning, operations, program management and project manager. I am currently transitioning the focus of my work to the reentry space.

• What do you like to do in your free time? I love to dance, hike, swim, get out in nature, play games, learn about anything, and spend time with family & friends.

• When did you first get involved in AVP? I attended my first AVP workshops via Zoom in 2021 and then began facilitating at MCIW in 2022.

• What’s your favorite thing about AVP? My favorite thing about AVP is watching the participants realize value in the program and in themselves.

• What do you do as your ‘day job’? I'm semi-retired but work as a personal and organizational development coach.

• What do you like to do in your free time? What is free time? I’m busier now than I was when I worked full time!

• When did you first get involved in AVP? Around 18 years ago when a friend introduced me to the program at Patuxent Institution.

• What’s your favorite thing about AVP? Being a part of a team and witnessing the transformational and healing power of AVP!

• What do you do as your ‘day job’? I'm retired from my freelance photography business so anything I want.

• What do you like to do in your free time? Ride my bike and motorcycle, hike, and chase the grandkids around.

• When did you first get involved in AVP? I’ve participated in three AVP cycles. I was first introduced in 2008 by inside facilitators, continued at Patuxent Institution in 2014, and later experienced AVP at MCI-J in 2022. Over time, AVP helped deepen my understanding of calm, honest communication and the power of nonviolent choices.

• What’s your favorite thing about AVP? The transformation that occurs when people feel safe enough to open up. Through intentional interaction, defenses drop, trust grows, and genuine camaraderie forms—something essential to humanity.

• What do you do as your ‘day job’? I’m the Sustainability Manager at the Langston Hughes Community and Business Resource Center, where I teach sustainable living through community mentoring, agriculture, and a focus on mental, spiritual, and physical well-being.

• What do you like to do in your free time? I focus on life work—creating resources that support healing, strengthen moral well-being, and help improve the conditions that affect our communities.

• When did you first get involved in AVP? I was first introduced to AVP in early 2019. I attended my first workshop in June 2019.

• What’s your favorite thing about AVP? For me, the core of AVP practice is a commitment to human dignity, the individual’s capacity to act for one’s self and others in community, based on rationality and moral conscience.

• What do you do as your ‘day job’? I am a member of an adjudicative team for specialized claims. I develop evidence and apply regulation and policy in order to make appropriate determinations.

• What do you like to do in your free time? I live in the middle Potomac valley, along the C&O canal. I spend a lot of time walking along the River and portions of the trail systems associated with the Appalachian Trail and the Tuscarora Trail.

• When did you first get involved in AVP? I was introduced to AVP by Gerry Fitzgerald, a dear friend and member of Friends Meeting of Washington, DC. I was part of a group of 6 people who founded AVP-DC in Gerry’s memory.

• What’s your favorite thing about AVP? The personal growth as I worked through the AVP courses to become a facilitator. The people I’ve met and the deep experiences I’ve had (thus far all via Zoom) have been remarkable.

• What do you do as your ‘day job’? I’ve had 3 major careers. The first was in the food service industry, the second was tour guiding in Washington, DC, and at the ripe age of 54, I became an elementary school teacher in Fairfax County Public Schools.

• What do you like to do in your free time? Ride my bike and motorcycle, hike, and chase the grandkids around.

• When did you first get involved in AVP? 1996 at MD House of Correction in Jessup (now demolished).

• What’s your favorite thing about AVP? Sitting in a circle—no big “me’s” little “you’s”.

• What do you do as your ‘day job’? Retired statistician from Maryland Department of Human Resources in 2004. Previously sociology prof. at Towson and in the mid-west.

• What do you like to do in your free time? Boating on Chesapeake Bay, playing senior tennis, hiking in the woods.