Aileen Keays, M.S., is the Project Manager for the Children with Incarcerated Parents (CIP) Initiative at the Institute for Municipal and Regional Policy (IMRP). As a Project Manager, Ms. Keays works closely with leaders of Connecticut’s criminal justice agencies, community members, not-for-profits, advocates and legislators to promote effective public policy through research, consultation, project management and program evaluation.
Since 2008, Ms. Keays has managed the Institute’s CIP Initiative, overseeing several projects related to parental incarceration. This includes supervising the delivery of services to children and families dealing with parental incarceration, as well as the evaluation of these services to determine their effectiveness in alleviating negative consequences of parental incarceration while enhancing the youths’ and families’ positive attributes. In addition, Ms. Keays provides technical assistance to the Commission on Racial and Ethnic Disparity in the Criminal Justice System which, through statutory charge, is “dedicated to eliminating racial and ethnic disparity in the criminal justice system.” Furthermore, during 2011 to 2013, Ms. Keays was a member of the Connecticut Judicial Branch Access to Justice Commission that seeks to support and pursue the Judicial Branch’s goal of providing equal access to justice in Connecticut’s criminal justice system.
Previous to her employment with the IMRP, Ms. Keays worked at the University of New Haven’s Crime Victim Study Center while earning her Masters degree in Forensic Science with a concentration in Advanced Investigation. Prior to attending graduate school, Ms. Keays worked in the social services field in various capacities, including managing a group home for developmentally disabled adults and another for mentally ill adults. She also worked as a Foster Care Social Worker in Detroit, Michigan as a well as Youth Services Officer at the Connecticut Juvenile Training School. Ms. Keays completed her Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology with a minor in Criminal Justice at the University of Connecticut.
In spite of Ms. Keays’s extensive involvement working on behalf of and with those affected by incarceration, she found herself completely unprepared for the effects of having a loved one incarcerated when it encroached into her life. The experience will forever impact her work for, and with, those affected by incarceration.
Irvine Peck’s-Agaya, is the Program Administrator for the Children with Incarcerated Parents (CIP) Initiative at the Institute for Municipal and Regional Policy (IMRP). She plans, organizes, and coordinates the daily operations of the department.
Ms. Peck’s-Agaya’s commitment to advance equitable, inclusive public policies and restorative justice practices have largely been influenced by her experience with an incarcerated loved one at a young age. She co-founded Transforming, Reinventing, And Prospering (T.R.AP.) House, a business incubator seeking to help former incarcerated individuals establish legal ventures in Hartford, CT as an undergraduate student at Wesleyan University. At T.R.A.P. House, Ms. Peck’s-Agaya utilized social entrepreneurship and teaching as forms of progressive, humane, and research-based solution to recidivism. Her Bachelor’s degree is from Wesleyan University and she has a Master’s in Higher Education and Student Affairs from the University of Connecticut. While in graduate school, Ms. Peck’s-Agaya served on several committees including Anti-Racism Professional Development Committee and facilitated Race and Equity dialogues within the Office for Diversity and Inclusion.
Ms. Peck’s-Agaya is from Limoges, France, but finds her roots in Gabon and Haiti. Fluent in French and Haitian Creole, she was educated in Boynton Beach, Fl and currently resides in Hartford.
Andrew Clark is the Director of the Institute for Municipal and Regional Policy (IMRP) at Central Connecticut State University. Mr. Clark is currently head of the IMRP project team administering competitive grants that aim to provide positive interventions for children of incarcerated parents. In addition, Mr. Clark is Acting Executive Director of the Connecticut Sentencing Commission, which seeks to review current and proposed legislation to promote effective, balanced, and responsible criminal sentencing policies. He is also Project Director for a grant from the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration that is being utilized to implement the state’s Alvin W. Penn Racial Profiling Law. This project has been titled the Racial Profiling Prohibition Project. Mr. Clark is also assisting in the implementation of the Results First Initiative in CT.
Prior to coming to CCSU, Mr. Clark worked at the Connecticut General Assembly from 1999-2005. He served as clerk of the Appropriations and Transportation Committees, and deputy clerk of the Finance, Revenue, and Bonding Committee.
Amjad Khan is a Financial Analyst at the Institute for Municipal and Regional Policy (IMRP) at Central Connecticut State University. Mr. Khan assists with the financial administration of IMRP grants, contracts and legislative appropriations. Additionally, Mr. Khan oversees data management and entry for the Children with Incarcerated Parents Initiative.
Mr. Khan is originally from Tanzania, East Africa and came to the United States for university. Before graduating from CCSU in 2005, Mr. Khan worked as a Student Worker at CCSU’s Grants Office, which maintains revenue and expenditure records for federal, state and local grants and prepares financial reports and statements for all external grant awards. After completing his Bachelors degree, Mr. Khan went on to work for a Manufacturing Company in Istanbul, Turkey and returned to the United States as a permanent resident in October 2008.
James M. Conway, PhD, is a professor of Psychological Science at Central Connecticut State University. He has been head of the evaluation team for the IMRP’s Children with Incarcerated Parents Initiative since 2008, evaluating a variety of interventions for CIP. His research is also focused on children of incarcerated parents, e.g., on community-level factors affecting children and families.
Dr. Conway has a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from SUNY Binghamton and received his PhD in Industrial/Organizational Psychology from the University of Connecticut. He has been on the faculty at CCSU since 1998, and prior to that was on the Psychology faculty at Seton Hall University for six years.
Internship
Samantha Hawes is a MSW student at Sacred Heart University. She will be assisting IMRP’s CT Children with Incarcerated Parents Initiative (CTCIP). Samantha has experience working with various populations in the mental health field, including adults with developmental disabilities and children and families in various settings. Samantha currently serves as owner and program director of a CT-operated agency that provides direct services to children and families, including supervised visitation, therapeutic support, support staff, and temporary care. Samantha hopes to further continue learning and growing through her work at the Institute, as well as bringing her professional and personal insight to CTCIP.