Our Leadership Team
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Dr. Dawn Ravella
Founder & Executive Director • CHJ
Dawn is a social worker dedicated to healing individuals and systems for more than 30 years. She has worked on anti-poverty and peace initiatives locally and internationally. She works with individuals and their own healing process, builds supportive community, and encourages people to share their gifts, give back and work for change.Her Doctoral dissertation focused on the transformation of community members who engaged in the Coming Home prison re-entry program. She is a collaborator with Beck Institute for Religion and Poverty at Fordham Graduate School of Social Work and has served as an Adjunct Professor at Fordham Graduate School of Social Service, Yeshiva Wurzweiler School of Social Work, and New York Theological Seminary (at Bedford Hills Correctional Facility). Dawn is a recent graduate of the Institute for Transformative Mentoring for Credible Messengers at The New School.
Dawn also maintains her skills as a Psychotherapist – holistic psychotherapy for trauma, loss, and transition. She recently received a certificate in Traumatic Stress Studies from the Trauma Research Foundation. Her commitment to this work stems from her belief that our own healing equips us to be peacemakers and healers in the world.
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Sequan Prude
Program Director • Coming Home
Sequan has 14 years of experience working with underserved populations. He is a 2020 graduate of the Coming Home Program and has served as the coordinator and co-facilitator of Coming Home since his graduation. Sequan received his Bachelor’s Degree in Behavioral Science (Summa Cum Laude) from Mercy College in 2017. Because of his lived experiences and his communications and management skills, Sequan is able to relate to participants and mentors alike. Our participants feel comfortable speaking to Sequan but also view him as a role model. He bridges the gap in understanding with the mentors who seek his help and advice. Sequan has championed the Coming Home program as an ambassador. -
Caroline Gomez
Associate Director • CHJ
Caroline's interest in social justice began as a young child of political refugee parents. While she has a bachelor's degree in corporate finance and a master's degree in "humanities and social thought," she realized, after volunteering for two years at the Freedom for Immigrants National Hotline, that to make a difference, she would have to return to school and obtain a Master of Social Work—which she is currently pursuing. Caroline has earned numerous yoga certifications and has taught yoga since 2009. In 2022, she furthered her specialization by obtaining a 300-hour Trauma Center Trauma Sensitive Yoga certification. As a social worker, Caroline will combine mindfulness and yoga with her social work practice. -
William Eric Waters
Board Member
William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters, has worked with people impacted by the criminal legal system for more than 20 years. He has earned awards for his work in the criminal legal system, including the Ralph Bunche Bridge Builder Award, which was later renamed the William Eric Waters Bridge Builder Award, and the Esther House Prison Ministry Award. He is the author of four books. He has a master’s degree from New York Theological Seminary and bachelors’ degrees from Albany University and the College at New Paltz. He is a native Brooklynite.
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Sally Baker
PQ Coach (Positive Intelligence)
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Theresa Colyar
Coming Home Facilitator
CHJ Board of Directors
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Dr. Kenneth Ruge
Board President and Treasurer
Dr. Ruge is a seasoned author, therapist, and pastor with a diverse career spanning over two decades. Based in the New York Metropolitan Area, he's been a licensed marriage therapist specializing in Emotionally Focused Therapy. His literary career, starting in 1998 with "Where Do I Go from Here?" and followed by "Soul Mapping" and "The Othello Response," reflects his commitment to guiding individuals through life choices. During his tenure as Lead Pastor at the Reformed Church of Bronxville from 2009 to 2016, Dr. Ruge initiated extensive programming for a membership of 1,100 and created impactful anti-poverty and peace initiatives locally and internationally.
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Dr. Dawn Ravella, LMSW
Vice President
Dawn has dedicated three decades to healing individuals and systems. Her focus on prison re-entry has been transformational for her, program participants, and the larger community. Dawn fashioned the Coming Home Prison Ministry after a Life Skills Program by IAHH, with support from Hudson Link, within The Reformed Church of Bronxville. Dawn’s collaboration with Fordham University and the Beck Institute of Religion and Poverty to research and facilitate replication of the program by other institutions has led to successful iterations of Coming Home. Dawn has been Executive Director of Emmaus House, Harlem, bringing Coming Home alumni together to heal communities with restorative justice, work to end gang violence and gun violence, train alumni, and mobilize community members to participate actively in this work. Dawn has been Adjunct Professor at Fordham University Graduate School of Social Work, and currently teaches at NY Theological Seminary in Bedford Hills Correctional.
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William Eric Waters, MA
Board Secretary
Mr. Waters, aka Easy Waters, has worked with people impacted by the criminal legal system for more than 20 years. He has earned awards for his work in the criminal legal system, including the Ralph Bunche Bridge Builder Award, which was later renamed the William Eric Waters Bridge Builder Award, and the Esther House Prison Ministry Award. He is the author of four books. He has a master’s degree from New York Theological Seminary and bachelors’ degrees from Albany University and the College at New Paltz. He is a native Brooklynite.
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James Addison
Board Member
James Addison is the Interim Director and Operations Manager at the Life Experience and Faith Sharing Association (LEFSA), where he has worked for over 25 years supporting unhoused and formerly incarcerated New Yorkers. A Bronx native and ordained minister, James draws on his own lived experience with homelessness, addiction, and incarceration to guide his leadership and advocacy. "LEFSA gave me my life back," he says. "But not just my life. my family's life, and a little piece of my community too. And that's how the world changes."
His story is featured in Sacred Shelter: 13 Journeys of Homelessness and Healing, and he has spoken at major interfaith events, including St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City. James is passionate about building healing communities rooted in faith, dignity, and justice.
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Dr. Richard Shoup
Board Member
Dr. Richard Shoup is a psychotherapist, consultant, and public speaker with profound expertise in guiding individuals through significant life transitions. His work focuses on helping people explore life's meaning at different stages, navigate career changes, and build deeper intimacy in relationships through marriage counseling.
Dr. Shoup formerly served as Executive Director of The Counseling Center and is currently a director of the Human Resources Consulting Group, where he supports small businesses and nonprofits with team building and conflict resolution. A supervisor with the American Association of Marriage and Family Therapists (AAMFT), he is also an ordained clergy member in the Presbyterian Church, where he evaluates candidates for ministry in the New York area. Additionally, he plays a key role in testing and evaluating candidates for the priesthood in the Orthodox Church in America.