Our Staff

Our Full-Time Staff

Rebecca Ginsburg (She/Her/Hers)

EJP’s current director is Rebecca Ginsburg, a University of Illinois faculty member. As a graduate student at the University of California, Berkeley she taught in the college program at San Quentin State Prison and became convinced of the necessity of providing quality education programs to incarcerated individuals. After arriving at Illinois as an assistant professor in 2006, she began working with a group of fellow Illinois faculty, graduate students, and community members to found EJP. She has a Ph.D. in architectural history from Berkeley and a J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School. Though not employed by EJP, she works full-time on its behalf.

Jamie Hines (She/Her/Hers)

Operations Director Jamie Hines has been with EJP since 2015. She joined as Operations Manager, and became Director of Operations (later Operations Director) in 2017, in recognition of the expansion of our campus office and its operations under her leadership. Jamie also teaches Public Speaking at Parkland College and has an MS in Communications Studies from Illinois State University.

Ashton Hoselton (She/Her/Hers)

Policy and Research Director Ashton Hoselton joined EJP in 2022 to provide strategic leadership in the development, execution, and evaluation of EJP’s policy initiatives and campaigns. Ashton formerly taught in California prisons with the Prison Education Project. She has a BA in Neuropsychology and Holistic Healing from Pitzer College and a JD from Georgetown University Law Center.

Teneko James (She/Her/Hers)

Teneko James joined EJP as its Assistant Academic Director in 2022. She oversees a range of EJP’s academic activity at the prison, including managing members, coordinating classrooms and schedules, and creating a positive college experience. Teneko previously worked as a READI reentry specialist for the Heartland Alliance. She has a BA in counseling from Trinity International University, and an MDiv from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School with a focus on pastoral counseling.

Lee Ragsdale (She/Her/Hers)

Reentry Guide Initiative (RGI) Director Lee Ragsdale began her work with EJP in 2010 as an instructor in the Language Partners Program. In 2017 she introduced RGI’s second guide for people facing deportation and in 2020 co-coordinated a reentry guide for those being released during the pandemic. Lee has a BA in English from the University of California, Berkely, and MAs in Spanish and English Linguistics from the University of Illinois.

Academic Director TBA

Other Staff

Michael Brawn

Prison to Gown Pathway Manager

Mollie Hosmer-Dillard

EJP Writer

Katie Fizdale (She/Her/Hers)

Assistant to EJP Director

Manpreet Kaur Gurtatta

RGI Outreach and Distribution Coordinator

Jess Rogovin (they/them)

RGI Writing and Research Coordinator

The EJP director is guided by an Advisory Council that assists in setting policy and strategic planning. The chair of the Advisory Council is Helen Neville and its members are:

Charlotte Bauer

Assistant Dean, Graduate College, University of Illinois

Edmund Buck

Youth Development Coach, UCan, and EJP alumnus

Carla Hunter

Associate Professor, Psychology, University of Illinois

Greg Jahiel

Social Worker, READY School, Champaign

Melissa Keeble

Chaplain, Carle Hospital

Sophia Manuel

READI Chicago Re-entry Program Manager

Helen Neville

Professor, Educational Psychology, University of Illinois

Stephanie Thurston

Post-Doctoral Fellow, Department of Religion

David Todd

Proprietor, Groomfly and EJP Alumnus