Vice Chair (Serving as Interim Chair) – Debra Foster

Ms. Debra A. Foster is a retired GS-15 Civil Servant of the United States Air Force serving for 36 years. She has over 25 years acquisition program management experience. She was the Director of Enterprise Information Systems Division for the Business and Enterprise Systems Directorate at Maxwell AFB-Gunter Annex, AL where she oversaw the $24B Netcentric Operations-2 contract acquisition, Information Technology Commodity Council, and Oracle and Microsoft Enterprise Software license buys.

She was the Director of the Force Capabilities Directorate at Gunter AFB, AL responsible for a $252M portfolio to include the Deliberate Crisis Action Planning and Execution Segment, Global Force management-Data Initiative, and Logistics Modules.

Ms. Foster served as the Director of Operations in the Operations and sustainment Group at Wright-Patterson AFB, OH, where she was responsible for the Train Organize and Equipment of over 700 personnel. She was the Division Director for operational programs such as Requirements Management Systems, Air Force Equipment Management Systems, Stock Control Systems and many others during her distinguished career.

Ms. Foster holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Management from Central State University, a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from the University of Dayton and completed Air War College. She was granted many awards and citations throughout her tenure as a civilian with the United States Air Force.

Secretary – Dr. Barbara Coles

Dr. Barbara Coles has been a nurse for 27 years in various management and clinical areas to include: Director of Nursing, community health, medical-surgical, ICU, HIV, prison population, home health, research, geriatric, veterans care, and mental health.

Prior to a career in nursing, she served 10.5 years in the United States Air Force as a cost and economic analyst achieving the rank of Major. She is a member of Sigma Theta Tau International, American Nurses Association, and American Psychiatric Nurses Association.

She completed a Bachelor of Science in biology degree from Mac Murray College, a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree from The Johns Hopkins University, a Masters of Art in Health Care Administration from Central Michigan University, and a Doctorate of Philosophy in Nursing from The University of Phoenix. She holds a national certification in medical-surgical nursing with the American Nurses Credentialing Center.

Professionally, she has taught online and classroom courses in community health nursing, nursing leadership, public health HIV/AIDS, mental health nursing, gerontology, and health policy. Other instruction includes doctoral graduate work for the Doctor of Nursing Program (DNP). She is a member of the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) Mental Health Expert Node and a regular book reviewer for Elsevier, Yoost and Sherpath publishers.

Treasurer – Sandra Cowan

Sandra Cowan is a Financial Manager who partners with financial professionals in all aspects of Finance.
Knowledgeable, detail-oriented, and an intellectual leader in the fast-paced manufacturing industry, Sandra has established herself as a powerhouse and an innovative leader and advisor.

Her area of experience and financial acumen include budgeting, forecasting, financial reporting, project management, risk management, payroll, SOX controls and systems implementations.

Sandra has successfully steered a career track as Manager of Finance, Manager of Logistics and Manager of Payroll. Her leadership has expanded beyond the boundaries of a traditional finance executive benchmarking many strategic initiatives that have had positive impact on multiple business units, driving down cost, increasing revenue, producing exceptional results.

Serving financial organizations in US, Canada, PR, and Germany she has acquired a broad understanding of International Financial Reporting Standards through IFRS certification and Risk Management certification.

Among her portfolio of achievements, you will find the following:

• Budgeted/Forecasted Sales of $1.8 billion
• Project Management Texas A & M Lighting project
• PeopleSoft Implementation to General Ledger for Business Unit.
• Supply Chain $7.5 million inventory reduction
• Asset Management/Capital Exp. Appx $47 million
• Spare parts capitalization globally harmonizing the accounting treatment of spare parts by reflecting items as inventory vs expense. Recapitalized $12million.

As a team leader, Sandra is an influential communicator, speaking the language of both the best analytical minds and the most creative strategists. She has shaped a credible executive presence and is credited with playing an instrumental role in her affiliated organizations.

Sandra is admired by her reports, colleagues, and superiors and is respected by her community. She was born and raised in St. Mary’s Pennsylvania where her family was influential in the development of manufacturing in the area providing employment and economic stability to a vast population of the community.

She currently resides in Tampa Florida along with her two highly educated, successful daughters and three grandchildren. Sandra experiences a healthy and active lifestyle including cycling and enjoys visiting the Florida beaches. The energy powering her personal life is equally evident in her aspirations toward her professional career.

CHIEF CRIMINAL JUSTICE OFFICER – ASHLEY BAUMAN

Dr. Velmi Galante is a scholar, author, advocate, and mental health provider. She has extensive experience providing a wide range of services including individual therapy, group therapy, crisis intervention, personality and violence risk assessments, and comprehensive neuropsychological, forensic, and psychoeducational assessment for English and Spanish-speaking populations.

As part of her doctoral degree, she conducted research that focused on exploring the different factors involved in crisis negotiation including hostage-taker typologies, selection and training of negotiators, and the role of psychologists. With recommendations provided for future training,
research, and policy.

She completed her pre-doctoral internship with the Florida Department of Corrections, where she provided assessment and various forms of individual and group treatment to incarcerated individuals. In this setting, she had the opportunity to develop an integrated neurocognitive group therapy curriculum for individuals with schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorders.

Throughout her career, she has focused on helping destigmatize mental health issues by providing psychoeducation, assessment, and treatment to underserved populations. She has worked with individuals and families with a wide range of concerns including, but not limited to
mood disorders, personality disorders, substance abuse, neuropsychiatric disorders, complex trauma, psychopathy, and traumatic brain injuries.

Having worked in various settings including inpatient and outpatient psychiatric settings, community mental health settings, and correctional settings she has a deep understanding of the various obstacles, adversities, barriers, and disparities faced by individuals who encounter the
criminal justice system. She is also aware of the importance of not only addressing the needs of offenders and their families as they reintegrate back into society but also addressing the needs of the victims and communities that they return to and the implications for safety, security, and treatment.

Dr. Velmi Galante is passionate about advocating for restorative justice that helps promotehealing, repair, and transformation for individuals, families, and communities. Having workedwith various multidisciplinary teams of diverse professionals she understands the importance ofcollaboration among various service sectors to help promote change and transformation of our criminal justice system.