Veterans Summit 2023

John Arnold

John J. Arnold is an Assistant Prosecutor in Warren County, Ohio. He has served as the prosecutor for the Warren County Common Pleas Court Veteran's Intervention Court since its inception in 2018.

He served on active duty with the US Army as a Judge Advocate for three years at Fort Hood, Texas. He then continued to serve as a Judge Advocate with the US Army Reserve for 25 years, retiring as Lieutenant Colonel. 

Prior to becoming a prosecutor in Warren County, he served as an Assistant Prosecutor in Hamilton County for 25 years. John graduated from the University of Cincinnati College of Law and was admitted to the Ohio Bar in 1978. He has practiced in military, state, and federal courts, appellate courts in Ohio and the US 6th Circuit Court of Appeals, and successfully argued a case before the United States Supreme Court. 

John and his wife, Donna, have three grown children and live in Loveland, Ohio.

Carrie Bartunek

Carrie Bartunek serves as the Director of External Affairs and Senior Policy Advisor for Attorney General Dave Yost. She is responsible for all external relations and outreach efforts of the office and oversees the office's regional liaisons across the state.

Bartunek also served for eight years for then-State-Auditor Yost, first as Communications Director and then as Senior Policy Advisor for External Affairs. In those roles, she handled media relations and both internal and external communications.

Her experience spans more than 35 years in communications, media relations, publications, and event coordination in both the public and private sector, including city and state government, law enforcement, and K-12 education. 

Bartunek holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from The Ohio State University.

Jill Bucaro

Jill Bucaro is an independently licensed social worker and chemical dependency counselor (LISW, LICDC) and currently serves as the manager of Holistic Defense Services at the Montgomery County Public Defender's Office.

Bucaro graduated from the University of Dayton with a B.A. in International Studies and completed her Master of Social Work at The Ohio State University. Jill brings over 10 years of experience in the field, with prior experience working with adults experiencing homelessness, mental illness, and alcohol and drug addiction.

Jill is a certified Anti-Oppression Informed Practitioner through the Ohio chapter of the National Association of Social Workers, and the recipient of several awards, including the Ohio Public Defender's Office Clara Shortridge North Foltz Award, the University of Dayton's 10 Under 10 Award, the NASW Ohio Outstanding Service Award, and Advocates for Basic Legal Equality's Community Impact Award.

Jill also co-owns and operates her own training and consulting business, Third Wheel Consulting, LLC. In her free time, Jill enjoys reading, hiking, spending time with family and friends, and volunteering in the community.

Jac Charlier

Jack Charlier is the Executive Director of TASC's Center for Health and Justice (CHJ) and Executive Director and co-founder of the Police, Treatment, and Community Collaborative (PTACC). He is a co-founder of the international deflection movement and works to grow and develop the global field of deflection from research to legislation to policy to practice.

CHJ is the U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) COSSUP National Technical Advice center for Law Enforcement Deflection and First Responder Diversion. CHJ was also a founding organization in the first BJA Residential Substance-Use and Treatment (RSAT) National Technical Assistance center focused on jails and prisons.

PTACC is an alliance of 64 national and international organizations and is the global voice of the field of deflection. PTACC's purpose is to grow and develop the field and movement of deflection and pre-arrest deflection/diversion globally, in all its forms and approaches. 

Charlier has authored numerous articles and publications on deflection, including the seminal 2015 Police Chief article Want to Reduce Drugs in Your Community? You Might Want to Deflect Instead of Arrest, which first introduced the concept of deflection. 

Charlier's core expertise is in crime reduction at the intersection of drugs and crime. He is a Global Expert Trainer in Alternatives to Incarceration (ATI) with the US Department of State, Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement (INL) working alongside international organizational partners including ISSUP, Colombo Plan - Drug Advisory Programm (DAPT, UNODC, and Organization of American State (OAS) - CICAD. Charlier is a member of the White House US Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) Emerging Drug Threats Committee. 

Previously, Charlier served in the Illinois State Parole Division and was promoted through the ranks to Deputy Chief. He created the Division's first domestic violence units, human trafficking response teams, and the first women's gender-specific trained officers.

Charlier is a community organizer and civic leader in his hometown of Chicago, having co-founded several successful community initiatives. Charlier is an Eagle Scout and recipient of the Outstanding Eagle Scout Medal. He is a U.S. military veteran and a member of the American Legion and the Military Officers Association of American (MOAA). He played rugby for over a decade, including at the post-collegiate level. He received his MPA from The John Glenn School of Public Policy at The Ohio State University and his BS in mathematics from the University of Illinois at Urbana.

Sean Clark

Sean Clark serves as National Director, Veterans Justice Programs in the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. VA's Veterans Justice Programs include Health Care for Reentry Veterans, which provides outreach and linkage to VA services for Veterans reentering communities after long-term incarceration in state and federal prisons, and Veterans Justice Outreach, which serves Veterans involved with the "front end" of the criminal justice system (police, courts, and jails). Together, these programs are a prevention-oriented component of VA's effort to prevent and end homelessness among veterans, targeting the close relationship between incarceration and homelessness. Their mission also includes facilitating veterans' access to legal services, including by supporting the growing number of free legal clinics operating in VA facilities.

Clark joined the VA in 2007 as a Presidential Management Fellow. He has also served as a Special Assistant United States Attorney in Washington, DC. Clark earned his J.D. from William & Mary School of Law.

Dave Corlett

Sergeant Dave Corlett is an Ohio native and thirty-one year veteran of the Cincinnati Police Department. Sergeant Corlett is the founder of the Military Liaison Group within the department and an instructor with the Hamilton County Mental Health Crisis Teams. Sergeant Corlett has worked with the Veterans Administration and local court system to improve the relations between our nation's military veterans and law enforcement.

Sergeant Corlett's program was recognized by the DOJ and was the winner of the 2021 L. Anthony Sutin award for innovative law enforcement and community partnerships. 

Prior to joining the Cincinnati Police Department in 1992, Sergeant Corlett was a member of the United States Army. Sergeant Corlett was assigned to Alpha Company 1st Battalion 24th Aviation Regiment where he served in Iraq during Operations Desert Storm and Desert Shield.

Sergeant Corlett has instructed at the National Association of Attorneys General, The Ohio Attorny Generals Conference, The Ohio Crime Prevention Association Conference, Hamilton County Crisis Intervention Teams, The Cincinnati Policy Academy, the Hamilton County Sheriff's Department, and several national conferences.

Since retirement from the department in 2023, Sergeant Corlett has continued his work through his consulting firm CopOp and his partnership with Hope for the Warriors.

Greg Crawford

Greg Crawford is the Public Health Advisor, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). Formerly, he was the Justice Involved Veterans Network (JIVN) Project Manager at the National Institute of Corrections (NIC). In addition to having a master's degree in organizational leadership from Chapman University, Greg has extensive leadership and criminal justice experience, which includes more than 20 years working in a misdemeanant probation department and a community-based mental health center prior to joining NIC.

At NIC, Crawford developed the Veterans Compendium Project, which is a series of publications that spans the continuum of justice and focuses on veteran-specific programming in the criminal justice system and the community. The most recent publication focused on reentry for veterans at every point in the criminal justice system.

Crawford is also the network manager for the NIC-sponsored Justice-Involved Veterans Network (JIVN). The JIVN was established in 2016 and is a NIC cross-divisional effort with the jails, prisons, community services, and academy divisions that works collaboratively with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), the Department of Defense (DOD), and the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) Office, along with the representatives from all points of the continuum of justice. The focus and mission of the network is to identify and develop innovative and holistic approaches to assist justice-involved veterans. 

In addition, he serves as an ex-officio member on the Advisory Committee on Homeless Veterans (ACHV) led by the Veterans Health Administration and also on the VA Suicide Prevention, Interagency Policy Committee (IPC) Community Subgroup.

Crawford's other projects at NIC involve dosage-based probation, pretrial, reentry, and developing a resource library of videos for community supervision officers to use as a guide throughout the community supervision process.

Crawford has received several awards for his work at NIC, including the Bureau of Prisons Mark S. Inch Director's Award, the NIC Director's Award, a Special Commendation from the Attorney General of the United States, and the Arthur McDonald Service and Leadership Award presented by the International Community Corrections Association (now called the International Community Justice Association).

He is a U.S. Air Force veteran passionate about improving the lives of those who served our country.

Lt. William Cunningham

Lt. William Cunningham is the Jail Administrator for the Seneca County Sheriff's Office. Lt. Cunningham served in the U.S. Marine Corp from 1990 until his Honorable Discharge in 1993. A year later, he joined the Seneca County Sheriff's Office as part of a Veteran Administration grant which paid a portion of his salary. He completed police academy training in 1995 and was promoted to lieutenant in 2001. Since 2022, he has worked with Dress Right Dress to help incarcerated veterans access Veterans Administration Services and other resources to facilitate their reentry into the community.

Warren Griffin

Warren Griffin uses his experience as a trial prosecutor to develop and guide creative solutions to the increasingly complicated and demanding technological issues within complex criminal prosecution.

He has served as the lead prosecutor for the Cuyahoga County Veterans Treatment Court for the past three years. He is an Army combat veteran, having deployed to Iraq as a part of Operation Iraqi Freedom for fifteen months from 2006 to 2008. He received the Combat Action Badge and his unit received two unit awards.

Warren also oversees the daily operations of the Information Services department and collaborates with every unit within the office to assist with developing best practices and refining operations. 

Warren is a native of Western New York and a graduate of Notre Dame Law School. He enjoys spending his free time with his wife and three young daughters.

Michael Jackson

Michael Jackson was elected a Cuyahoga County judge in 2012. He started a Veteran Treatment Court (VTC) in 2015 with the support of the other 33 judges. This VTC was the largest in Ohio when Ohio age restrictions caused him to retire in 2019. He received two national awards and many local awards due in large part to his outstanding Treatment Team and other court staff. 

He was a Cuyahoga County prosecutor for six years, focusing on the mortgage fraud crisis, other economic crimes, and assisting the Major Trial Unit for serious felonies. 

Earlier, he had a civil practice that involved trials - business and personal injury, labor law - both union and management, corporate transactions, securities, and bankruptcy. His peers rated him "AV," the highest of professional excellence and the highest levels of skill and integrity. 

Prior to law school, he served four years as a Marine officer with a tour in Vietnam, first as a platoon leader of about 30 Marines and then as a company commander of about 180 Marines. He was awarded four personal decorations for valor, including two Bronze Stars, a citation for his unit, and he received a Purple Heart.

In 2019, he was inducted into the Ohio Military Hall of Fame for Valor based on his service in Vietnam. in 2022, he was inducted into the Ohio Veterans Hall of Fame for his service to the community, including veterans, after leaving the military. 

He is an honors graduate of Chicago-Kent College of Law, Illinois Institute of Technology. His undergraduate degree is from Ohio University.

He is married to JoAnne Jackson, who retired after teaching at Case Western Law School. They have two adult daughters.

Mya Jenkins

Mya Jenkins is a Health Care for Re-entry Veterans (HCRV) Specialist for the Department of Veterans Affairs. She is based out of the VA Northeast Ohio Healthcare System in Cleveland and provides coverage to 14 state prisons and one federal prison. She has been employed by the Department of Veterans Affairs since January of 2008, first working as a social worker in the Home-Based Primary Care Program and HCRV Specialist since 2010. Prior to being employed by the Department of Veterans Affairs as an Assessment Specialist in the Batterer's Intervention Program and Clinical Coordinator in the Treatment Alternatives to Street Crime (TASC) Program. In her role as an HCRV Specialist, Jenkins is responsible for providing outreach and pre-release assessment services, referrals and linkages to medical, mental health, and social services for veterans incarcerated in state and federal prison. She also provides short-term case management services to veterans once they are released to the community. Jenkins received her Bachelor of Social Work as well as her Bachelor's in Criminal Justice from Gannon University and then went on to receive her Master of Science in Social Administration (MSW) from Case Western Reserve University. She is a Licensed Independent Social Worker-Supervisor for the State of Ohio.

Sharon L. Kennedy

Sharon L. Kennedy was elected Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Ohio in November 2022. She is the eleventh Chief Justice and the second woman to serve in the role. Chief Justice Kennedy first joined the court as a justice in 2012, having been elected to fill an unexpired term. She was elected to her first full term in November 2014 and re-elected in November 2020.

Prior to her term on the Ohio Supreme Court, Chief Justice Kennedy served at the Butler County Court of Common Pleas, Domestic Relations Division beginning in 1999. From 2005 until December of 2012, Chief Justice Kennedy served as the administrative judge of that division. During her time as administrative judge, she improved the case management system to ensure the timely resolution of cases for families and children. Working with state legislators she championed a "common sense" family law initiative to reduce multiple-forum litigation for Butler County families.

When Butler County faced tough economic times, Chief Justice Kennedy organized concerned elected officials in a county-wide Budget Work Group. Seeing the need to bring private sector financial know-how to the government, she worked to create the Advisory Committee to the Budget Work Group. Chief Justice Kennedy served as the facilitator and led discussions between county officials and private sector leaders to analyze county finances, study and implement cost saving measures, and present business driven fiscal policy to the county commissioners.

In 1991, after obtaining her law degree from the University of Cincinnati College of Law, Chief Justice Kennedy ran a small business of her own as a solo practitioner. While in private practice she served the legal needs of families, juveniles, and the less fortunate. As special counsel for Attorney General Betty D. Montgomery, Chief Justice Kennedy fought on behalf of Ohio’s taxpayers to collect monies due the State of Ohio. As a part-time magistrate in the Butler County Area Courts, Chief Justice Kennedy presided over a wide array of civil litigation and assisted law enforcement officers and private citizens seeking the issuance of criminal warrants for arrest.

Chief Justice Kennedy began her career in the justice system as a police officer at the Hamilton Police Department. She was assigned to a rotating shift, single-officer road patrol unit working to protect and serve the citizens of the City of Hamilton. From the routine, to the heart-pounding, to the heart-breaking, she has seen it all. During her time as an officer, Chief Justice Kennedy also worked undercover operations, implemented crime prevention programs, and later, as a civil assistant, assisted in drafting police policy and procedure for the Accreditation Program.

Throughout her career, Chief Justice Kennedy has served on numerous boards, developed and facilitated programs to address the needs of young people, and worked with judges across the state. As a dedicated jurist she has received multiple awards of recognition including: The AMVETS Department of Ohio 2018 Past Department Commanders' Civil Servant of the Year Award; The National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution Silver Good Citizenship Medal, May 5, 2018; Leadership Ohio Community Leadership Award, 2016; The University of Cincinnati College of Law Nicholas Longworth, III Alumni Achievement Award, May 17, 2014; Northwest High School Distinguished Alumnus Award, April 25, 2014; named one of 13 professional women to watch by The Cincinnati Enquirer, March 17, 2013; Excellence in Public Service, June 2009; Judge of the Year, 2006; Above the Fold Award, 2002; and the Furtherance of Justice Award, 2001. Justice Kennedy was also featured in Trends in the Judiciary: Interviews with Judges Across the Globe, Volume II, published by CRC Press in February 2015.

James Kennelly

James Kennelly is the Network Homeless Coordinator (NHC) for the VA Healthcare System serving Ohio, Indiana, and Michigan (VISN 10). The Network Homeless Coordinator serves as the primary contact within the Network for VHA homeless programs. As Network Homeless Coordinator, his responsibilities and duties are to provide coordination and oversight of VISN-wide and national VHA homeless, justice-involved, and other assigned mental health programs or initiatives for the Network. He serves in an advisory capacity to the Network Director thru the VISN 10 Chief Mental Health Officer regarding service needs, resource allocation, proposed program development and/or enhancement to meet the needs of homeless and justice-involved veterans across Ohio. Kennelly received a Master of Social Work from The Ohio State University in 1997 and a Bachelor of Arts majoring in Sociology from The Ohio State University in 1992. He is a recognized Licensed Independent Social Worker-Supervisor in the State of Ohio since 1999.

Gina Kicos

Gina Kicos is an independently licensed social worker and currently serves as a Veterans Justice Programs Specialist for the Dayton VA Medical Center.  Gina works with justice-involved veterans within the Greene County Common Pleas Veterans Treatment Court as well as reentry planning for veterans who are incarcerated in the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections. 

Kicos graduated from the Anderson University with a B.A. in Mathematics and Sociology and the University of Michigan’s School of Social Work with a Master's Degree in Social Work.  Gina has worked in the field of clinical social work for 20 years and has been at the Dayton VA for the past 11 years specializing in working with veterans with severe mental illness, substance use disorders, and justice involvement. 

Prior to working at the VA, Kicos worked in community mental health and crisis services in North Carolina and Ohio.  Kicos graduated from the Department of Veterans Affairs VISN 10 Leadership Development Institute in 2019 and completed the Department of Veterans Affairs VAMC Veterans Justice Programs National Exchange Program earlier this year.  She currently serves as the coordinator for the Ethics Consultation Service for the Dayton VA Medical Center and has served as the LGBTQIA Veteran Care Coordinator.  Kicos is a military spouse and has volunteered with the Key Spouse Program for the 178th Medical Group, Ohio Air National Guard. 

Jeffrey C. Manske

Judge Jeffrey C. Manske currently serves as the United States Magistrate Judge for the Western District of Texas, Waco division. Judge Manske received his appointment as a U.S. Magistrate Judge on August 1, 2001, and was reappointed to a third eight-year term on May 3, 2017. In addition to his duties supporting the U.S. District Court, Judge Manske presides over the Magistrate Court at Fort Cavazos, Texas, where he has worked closely with U.S. Army leadership, active-duty soldiers, and veterans for twenty-two years. His responsibilities while presiding over Magistrate Court include, but are not limited to, pre-trial felony matters and misdemeanor offenses committed by civilians on Fort Cavazos, as well as presiding over misdemeanor DWI offenses involving active-duty soldiers.

Judge Manske was also instrumental in the creation of the Fort Cavazos Veteran's Treatment Court in December 2015, becoming the first federal Veteran's court operating on a U.S. military base. The Fort Cavazos VETS Court operates bi-monthly in a round table setting with each Veteran participant receiving one-on-one Veteran Mentor support. In September of 2017, Judge Manske was honored to present on the Fort Hood Veteran's treatment court model at the WWCLE in Charlottesville, Virginia. Since 2017, Judge Manske has been a consultant with the National Association of Drug Court Professionals (NADCP) and is currently working on implementing a Mental Health Treatment Court in the Waco Division of the Western District of Texas. In the spring of 2022, Judge Manske traveled to Taiwan as a representative of the NADCP and presented on the United States Treatment Court Model. Judge Manske is also a member of the Taiwan Association of Drug Court Professionals.

Matt Molinski

Lieutenant Colonel Matt Molinski is assigned as the J9 for the Ohio National Guard, directing the organization’s resilience, prevention, and human performance efforts for nearly 16,000 soldiers and airmen. This recently formed directorate coordinates programs across both the Ohio Army and Air National Guard to improve the wellness and wellbeing of service members.

Entering military service in 1996 with the 10th Mountain Division, Fort Drum as a combat engineer, Lieutenant Colonel Molinski joined the Ohio Army National Guard in 1998. After graduating from Bowling Green State University in 2004 with a B.S. in dietetics, Lieutenant Colonel Molinski was commissioned from Reserve Officer Training Corps as an engineer officer. He has earned Master’s degrees from both Bowling Green State University and the U.S. Air Force War College.

Lieutenant Colonel Molinski has commanded at the platoon, company, and battalion level as an engineer officer. Additional branches and functional areas include public affairs officer, logistics branch officer, and inspector general. He has served in a variety of staff and leadership assignments at the battalion, brigade, and state level. These include battalion administrative officer, battalion executive officer, brigade S4, brigade S3, construction and facilities management officer, brigade administrative officer, deputy brigade commander, and Ohio National Guard Homeland Response Force deputy commander. Operational experiences include deployments to Iraq and various domestic response missions serving Ohio’s communities.

He and his family live in Galena, Ohio.

Jeremy Parkins

Jeremy Parkins, Air Force, served active duty from 1997-2005 and then Reserves until 2007. Deployed with the 391FS for Operation Enduring Freedom after 9/11/01, including Operation Southern Watch. Additional support roles included indirect supply support for efforts during Operation Iraqi Freedom. After returning home Parkins had his own struggles with transitional hardships that led to some justice involvement. After years of struggling and not understanding what he was experiencing, he began working to "right my own ship.”  He used the G.I. Bill to go straight through a high school diploma to receiving a Master's Degree in Justice and Security Administration along with a Bachelor's in Criminal Justice.  

Parkins began his criminal justice career working in juvenile detention centers and then decided to work with adults. While working as a case manager for a halfway house, he began focusing efforts and attention on veterans that shared similar stories with him. As he began receiving promotions and eventually became a director he noticed these efforts and activities worked in Toledo, Columbus, and Chillicothe Ohio. In 2015 he conceptualized the Dress Right Dress organizational ideas, and in 2017 left his job and began his quest to assist justice-involved veterans.

Glen Ramdhan

Glen Ramdhan has been an Assistant Prosecuting Attorney for the past 14 years.  From 2015-2021 he volunteered to serve as one of the prosecutors for the Cuyahoga County Veterans Treatment Court and was the lead prosecutor from 2017-2021.

He is currently assigned to the Major Trial Unit, Special Victims Section, where he primarily prosecutes sexual assault, child endangering, patient abuse, and elder abuse crimes.  He also has experience in prosecuting homicide, assault, drug, property, financial, and other felony matters.

Dave Yost

Dave Yost became Ohio’s 51st Attorney General on January 14, 2019, bringing to the office his extensive experience rooting out fraud, holding the corrupt accountable and reforming government.

Yost earned his undergraduate degree from The Ohio State University and law degree from Capital University. After working as a Columbus Citizen Journal reporter, he began his public service career as Delaware County’s Auditor and Prosecutor. As Prosecutor, he won the first-ever capital case in Delaware County and took down the largest drug ring in county history.

He became Ohio’s 32nd Auditor of State in January 2011 and spent the next eight years fighting fraud, rooting out corruption and “skinnying down” government. In two terms, he helped convict 170 corrupt public officials and uncovered $30 million in stolen and misspent public funds. At the same time, he promoted efficiency by identifying potential savings of $287 million for governments and school districts.

Through his leadership and at his urging, the General Assembly twice enhanced charter school accountability.

In November 2018, Yost won statewide election as Attorney General, an office in which he pursues his mission of doing big good by protecting Ohio’s citizens and aggressively fighting corruption. Major focuses of his administration have included battling the opioid epidemic, standing up for victims of human trafficking, solving cold-case homicides and sexual assaults, and shielding Ohio consumers from scammers and robocallers.

He and his wife, Darlene, make their home in Franklin County. They have three adult children and three grandchildren.