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Coordinating Committee

Coordinating Committee's Role

The Coordinating Committee is a leadership body elected by Roundtable membership that provides general oversight of the group and assures that the work of the Roundtable is consistent with its mission and vision.

The Coordinating Committee’s functions include:

  • identifying, recruiting, and informing stakeholders
  • planning and executing Roundtable meetings and forums
  • organizing committees and work groups
  • developing strategies and action plans
  • identifying goals and timelines; ensuring outcomes are met
  • providing fiscal oversight, including identifying and securing funding and other necessary resources

Coordinating Committee Members

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Chair
Melissa Shearer, LBSW, JD
Travis County Mental Health Public Defender

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Vice Chair
Misty Campbell
Austin Community College

Richard Gamboa
Goodwill Excel Center

Julie Guirguis
Integral Care

Robert Lilly
Grassroots Leadership

Lori Mellinger
Lioness: Justice Impacted Women's Alliance

Dr. Charles Moody
Community Coalition for Health

Jennifer Pinkley
The Other Ones Foundation

Jennifer Sowinski
Downtown Austin Community Court

Reyda Taylor
Travis County Justice & Public Safety

Larry Wallace Jr.
Black Men's Health Clinic

Soleece Watson
Anewentry, Inc.

Mandi Jai Zapata
 Texas Civil Rights Project

Interested in Joining the General Membership?

Membership in the Roundtable is open to organizations and individuals who confirm their interest in supporting our mission and work. If you are interested in membership, please contact info@reentryroundtable.org to learn more.

Guests are welcome to join for monthly member meetings, held on the second Monday of each month from 12:30-2pm.

To attend, please register in advance via Zoom.

Member Meeting Summaries

Minutes are available online for past meetings:

Member Interviews:

Reentry Advocacy Project gives that “Safe Place” feeling: An interview with Joe Ramirez

To Know Someone Personally Impacted Was a Wake-up Call for Me: An Interview with Laura Sovine

Laura Sovine, Past Chair, Austin/Travis County Reentry Roundtable Planning Council Director of Operations, Austin Recovery What brought you to this work? While I was in graduate school to be a therapist, my mom married a man with two sons in prison; one was incarcerated in Georgia and the other was in Huntsville, Texas. My mom […]

Success Means Having Room to Fail: An Interview with Kenneth Thompson

Kenneth Thompson, Member and Past Co-Chair, Austin/Travis County Reentry Roundtable Planning Council Fatherhood Program Specialist, Texas Department of Family and Protective Services   How long have you been involved with the Roundtable and what brought you to this work? I have been involved with the Reentry Roundtable since about two years after it began. I […]

Building Alliances is Critical in a Large State like Texas: An Interview with Helen Gaebler

Helen Gaebler, Past Chair, Austin/Travis County Reentry Roundtable Planning Council Senior Research Attorney, William Wayne Justice Center for Public Interest Law, UT School of Law   Tell me about your professional background. I grew up in Wisconsin and attended law school there. After graduating and clerking for a year at the Wisconsin Supreme Court, I […]

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The Austin/Travis County Reentry Roundtable is collaborative promoting safe and healthy communities through effective reentry and reintegration of formerly incarcerated persons and individuals with criminal histories in Austin/Travis County, Texas.

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