Biographies
Peter Tomasek is an attorney and serves as the Legal Editor for Interrogating Justice. Peter leads the Interrogating Justice team in developing long-term strategy for the organization and an affiliated nonprofit, How to Justice. He also takes a hands-on role in the writing and editing process for both organizations.
Prior to helping start Interrogating Justice, Peter worked in a variety of writing-focused roles in the legal field. After law school, he worked with the Michigan Court of Appeals as a Research Attorney and Law Clerk. Peter then left the court to join a well-respected appellate group at a 60-lawyer firm in metro Detroit, Michigan.
Peter later moved to North Carolina, where he joined one of the most trusted personal-injury law firms in the state. In that role, he represented people from some of the most under-served communities in the state. He also worked as the Legal Editor for a start-up online news source in North Carolina.
Danie Watson-Goetz
Danie Watson-Goetz is a writer, editor, and social media manager that serves as the Chief Operating Officer for Interrogating Justice. Danie manages the Interrogating Justice team and handles day-to-day operations for the organization.
Before helping launch both Interrogating Justice and How to Justice, Danie lived in Pennsylvania where she worked in the classroom as an adjunct professor at Lackawanna College. She is still currently teaching at Lack as part of their eLearning platform, which is completely online. Danie also served as the Employment Instructor for the flagship Volunteers of America Shelter to Work Program, which was created to assist women obtain employment, housing, and empowerment.
Danie later moved to North Carolina, where she worked as a freelancer, assisting with book promotion, website development, and brand launches. She later took a position as the Managing Editor for North Carolina News Daily, and later as the Content Director for Global Growth.
Danie’s work has always prioritized education and empowerment. Her work in higher education and nonprofits especially drew her to this project because she believes that education is at the cornerstone of reform.
Kristine Bunch
Kristine Bunch spent more than 17 years behind bars after she was arrested and charged with setting a fire that claimed the life of her three-year-old son, Anthony. Although a defense expert testified that the fire was accidental, two experts for the prosecution testified that an accelerant was used and therefore the fire was arson. Jurors believed the prosecution witnesses and found Kristine, then 22 and pregnant, guilty of murder and arson. She was sentenced to concurrent prison terms of 60 years for murder and 50 years for arson. Fifteen years later, the Indiana Court of Appeals reversed the conviction, holding that Kristine was entitled to a new trial because the evolving fire science met the legal criteria for new evidence and because undisclosed ATF evidence directly contradicted the prosecution expert testimony. The Indiana Supreme Court then unanimously affirmed the Court of Appeals decision. Kristine, who had earned undergraduate degrees in English and Anthropology from Ball State University in prison, was released on her own recognizance — 17 years, one month, and 16 days after her wrongful arrest. She walked out of the Decatur County Jail into the arms of her family, who had steadfastly supported her throughout her ordeal. Eight days before Christmas 2012, the prosecution dropped all charges.
Kristine is now the Executive Director of JustIS 4 JustUS, Inc a non-profit organization dedicated to building community connections for every exoneree.
Kristine Bunch has changed the narrative concerning women’s wrongful convictions, compensation for every exoneree and the inclusion of new evidence for innocence claims.
Apoorva Joshi
Apoorva Joshi is a legal professional and serves as a Paralegal for Interrogating Justice. Apoorva is a liaison for legal contracts and agreements along with performing legal research and drafting articles for How to Justice and Interrogating Justice.
She has a diverse background and is skilled in Criminal law, Trial practice, depositions, and comprehensive litigation support. Apoorva has worked as a litigation Paralegal for a few law firms in Massachusetts.
Before joining How to Justice, she worked for the renowned Harvard University’s Law Clinic as a Legal Analyst in the leading project on Student predatory loan practices based in United States.
She also stood first in the University during her JD in India and was awarded a merit scholarship for her LLM at Northeastern University School of Law, Boston.
Apoorva has a passion for the truth and the thirst for justice, committed to uphold and utilize the full strength of the law to help those in need and find trust and solace in our judicial system.
Yojna Garg
Yojna is an experienced Business Coordinator with a demonstrated history of working in the housing industry. Skilled in Project management, Vendor management and Customer Relationship. Strong support professional with MBA focused in Marketing, CRM, and business language including English, Spanish and German.
Mike Mabini
Mike Mabini is a web developer and serves in that role for Interrogating Justice. He is responsible for the development side of everything you see on the website today. Mike has worked in software development for more than a decade and has worked on projects with some of the top IT and media companies in the world. But he felt especially drawn to this project because of his family and community ties.
Bridgett Hurley
Bridgett began her career at the Death Penalty Resource Center in North Carolina. She has volunteered with People of Faith Against the Death Penalty and Catholic Prison Ministry. She currently is a member of the North Carolina Bar and a Leadership Training Director with Leaders In the Arena as well as a foster mom.
Erin Masercola
For 30 years, Erin has worked as a teacher, writer, editor, and content director. During her career, she has written practical guidance about legal issues and regulatory compliance, particularly in the health care space. She has also led content teams working in adult education, addiction recovery, and nutrition for families who are food-insecure.
Erin has long volunteered for social justice work, mostly through her church and through interfaith organizations in North Carolina.
Erin grew up in Jamaica and several southern states. She did her undergraduate work at The University of Texas at Austin and her post graduate work at The University of North Carolina. She is proud mom to four young men in their teens and early twenties.
Fred Aaron
Fred Aaron is the Grant Writer for Interrogating Justice, as well as a contributing writer for Interrogating Justice and How to Justice. Becoming a justice-impacted person wasn’t on Fred’s bucket list, but a series of bad decisions and errors in judgment led him to a 14-month bid at FCI Otisville. Prior to that, Fred had practiced law in New York State for over 25 years, including conducting a number of federal and state trials, and assisting nonprofits obtain IRS certification. Fred’s experience with the criminal justice system has given him insights into the need for reform and better opportunities for justice-impacted people. While at Otisville, he completed half of his course work for an MBA in Leadership from Adams State University, which he completed upon release. This gave him firsthand experience with the barriers and hurdles inmates must overcome in order to exercise their right to college and post-graduate classes. Before coming to Interrogating Justice, he worked as a management consultant for a real estate development company and content director for an on-line life simulation game. He also writes freelance articles for the automotive industry. A native New Yorker, Fred currently lives on Long Island with his wife and college aged son and daughter. He holds a Juris Doctor from NYU Law School where he served as the Executive Editor of the NYU Review of Law & Social Change. Fred also has a BA with Honors in Politics from Brandeis University, where he was one of the leaders of WBRS-FM, the college radio station. In his free time, Fred is a social media enthusiast, pop culture junkie, diehard Mets and Rangers fan, and lifelong amateur guitarist.
Thomas Gage
Thomas Gage is a freelance writer, editor, proofreader and tee-shirt designer. He holds a B.A. in English and a Juris Doctorate from the University of New Hampshire. For nearly thirty years, Tom was an attorney-at-law and real estate developer in the seacoast of New Hampshire. He served in the New Hampshire House of Representatives for ten years, 1980-90. In 2018, Tom was prosecuted for a financial crime arising from the botched refinancing of his family home. Convicted of violating a statute he had helped to write, Tom served 20 months in the New Hampshire state prison system. He was released to Stamford, Connecticut where he is serving out the final months of his parole. When he is not writing, editing or designing, Tom works on the I-130 immigration petitions for his wife and stepson and volunteers with a local organization that is resettling Afghan refugees. He loves TV game shows and believes that, if TV personality is the new qualification, Steve Harvey would make a great president.
KEILA RAVELO
Keila Ravelo is a Columbia Law School graduate (1991) and former corporate lawyer. During her extensive legal career, Keila counseled clients on insurance, securities, antitrust and other commercial matters. Most recently, Keila contributes as a freelance legal writer working with nonprofits in the criminal justice and prison reform space. After experiencing her own journey through the criminal justice system as a white-collar offender, Keila also speaks to students and corporations regarding fraud, compliance, and internal controls.
Ronnie K. Stephens
Ronnie K. Stephens is an educator and father of six, with a strong interest in sociopolitical writing. He holds a BA in Classical Studies from the University of Arkansas, as well as an MA in Creative Writing and an MFA in Fiction from Wilkes University. Stephens is pursuing a PhD in English from the University of Texas – Arlington, where his research centers on decolonizing the curriculum and elevating underrepresented voices in American literature. The author of two poetry collections and one novel, Stephens prioritizes social justice and representation throughout his writing and teaching. He believes strongly in using his platforms to push for more equity in the classroom and in the country.
Tam Alexander
Tam is a media producer for How to Justice She owns the Snowman Network and is a co-host and the creator of Snow Files, a serial podcast featuring a deep dive into the wrongful conviction of Jamie Snow – a current client of the University of Chicago’s Exoneration Project. She is an activist and advocate for prisoners as well as legal and legislative criminal justice reform. and has co-organized numerous online and offline campaigns in support of the innocent imprisoned. She serves on the Board of Injustice Anywhere, is the co-founder of the non-profit Justice for Illinois Wrongfully Convicted, and is a correspondent for Wrongful Conviction News. Tam has a BS in Network Security & Forensics and a MS in Education and has conducted numerous workshops on cyber security, online competitive intelligence, and online scams. She also served as president of the FBI Infragard (Knoxville & Memphis, TN), and was the 2007 recipient of the FBI Director's Community Leadership Award.
Devin Coleman
Devin D. Coleman is a communicator (written, speech, visuals), author, and public speaker whose work embodies the art of turning tragedy into triumph. Born and raised in Jacksonville, FL, Devin’s life took an unexpected turn while attending Florida A&M University. An act of poor judgment landed him in prison his senior year. It was during this time that Devin chose to redirect his life by harnessing his talent for writing. He subsequently published his first volume of poetry titled Prisoner to Poet: Thoughts of an Incarcerated Soul. Upon his release, Devin completed his college education in 2008, graduating with a 3.7 GPA in Organizational Management.
He serves his community in various ways by utilizing his skills and passion for civic engagement. Devin served as an Executive Board Member of the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition (FRRC), Volunteer Board Member for the Duval Regional Juvenile Detention Center Advisory Council, and the Client Advisory Board (CAB) of Jacksonville Area Legal Aid. Devin currently serves on the Nurse-Family Partnership Florida Expansion Advisory Committee and FL Child Abuse Prevention Advisory Council.
Devin’s mission is to stimulate fatherhood engagement while using his story to provide a roadmap for recovery from mistakes. This passion has created opportunities for Devin to speak at various events across the nation. For more information, visit www.devindcoleman.com.
Julia Vitale
Julia Vitale is a recent early graduate from University of Richmond working as a content writer for Interrogating Justice. She received two degrees with cum laude distinction: a B.A. in PPEL (Philosophy, Political Science, Economics and Law) and B.A. in English Literature.
Born and raised just outside of Los Angeles, California, her passion for social justice began with personal experiences at home. To follow through with her passion to give everyone an equal voice, she held four non-profit organization internships while in school. At those internships, she jumpstarted campaigns raising around $10 million for homeless persons, presented data for legislative bills and co-wrote speeches for advocates at the Virginia General Assembly, and implemented a brand new click bait system to reach international audiences.
Now a graduate, she strives to cut through biases and find the truth behind systems in place to end injustices others face in her professional and daily life.
Stephen Raburn
Keila Ravelo is a Columbia Law School graduate (1991) and former corporate lawyer. During her extensive legal career, Keila counseled clients on insurance, securities, antitrust and other commercial matters. Most recently, Keila contributes as a freelance legal writer working with nonprofits in the criminal justice and prison reform space. After experiencing her own journey through the criminal justice system as a white-collar offender, Keila also speaks to students and corporations regarding fraud, compliance, and internal controls.
Richard McDonald
Richard McDonald is the Director of Corporate Development for Global Arena, specializing in US based Mergers & Acquisitions. Richard has a background in Human Resources, Corporate Development, and is currently writing his first book Unshackled: Breaking the Chains of Addiction, Abuse, and Anger which is scheduled to be released in April 2023, which is the five year anniversary of Richard’s freedom from the chains of Oxycontin. Richard holds master’s degrees in human resources and finance from Colorado Technical University. Prior to going to prison, Richard was a Human Resources Director for a global manufacturing company. Richard spent over a year and a half in custody of the BOP. During his time at FPC Montgomery, Richard discovered the benefits of intermittent fasting, eating healthy, and staying physically active which resulted in him losing 70 pounds in eight months (still 30 pounds to go!). Since being released, he has worked as a writer and news liaison at Interrogating Justice and now serves on the Board of Directors for Interrogating Justice and How to Justice. Richard wrote a series of articles entitled “I’ve been in your shoes” which can be found on the How to Justice Website. Richard resides in New York City, and in his free time, he enjoys spending time with his three daughters, walking endlessly throughout Central Park, and catching live performances in NYC. His favorites are Broadway shows, comedy shows, and live music. Richard is an active member of Progressive Prison Ministries, which is a networking and support group for the white collar justice community. He attends their weekly meetings, networks with other members, and has presented to the group. Richard has a passion for assisting people who are preparing for prison. He offers his perspective and counsel free of charge to anyone who might need them.
