OUR TEAM
Jodi Hocking (she/her)
Founder/Executive Director
Impacted family member
Jodi Hocking has spent almost a decade of her career organizing new unions across the country- most notably supporting low income workers in their fight for a living wage in the state of NY. When her partner was incarcerated after a parole violation she was infuriated at the lack of justice in what she had thought was a “justice system”. She realized that she could use her professional skills to organize other people who were impacted by the criminal legal system in Nevada to fight for change; that decision has forever changed her life, and was the birth of Return Strong!
Her hope for Return Strong was to build effective reentry programs for impacted people in Nevada and to expand communities' perception of incarcerated people beyond “guilt and innocence”. She knew doing something was better than doing nothing- and began organizing impacted families to advocate for change within NDOC. After successfully building a collective of families, Jodi was quickly able to begin learning about the injustices within NDOC from incarcerated people themselves, revolutionizing their accessibility to self-advocate. While it began as being a “voice to the voiceless”, she now has had the honor of creating space and avenues for incarcerated people to use their own voice. And people are listening. Jodi now spends her time as an activist alongside incarcerated people and their families, using an equity lens to build true justice for the most marginalized and vulnerable populations within Nevada’s prison system.
STAFF
Korie Clegg (she/her)
Assistant Director & Director of Development
Impacted family member
Korie Clegg is a Masters’ Level Social Worker for Return Strong and has been working collaboratively with founder, Jodi Hocking (who also happens to be her mother), to develop an evidenced based re-entry program for people in Nevada. Throughout her education, Korie has spent years researching issues that impact incarcerated people and their families in hopes of becoming part of the solution to the injustices created by the criminal legal system in the United States. Education paired with the personal impact and devastation that occurs when a loved one is incarcerated sparked a passion for work with incarcerated people and their families to restore communities and dismantle systems of mass incarceration. Korie approaches work through the lens of racial equity and trauma informed practices and is excited to be a part of The Stoop, launching in 2023.
Nicholas Shepack (He/Him)
Board Chair
Nevada State Deputy Director of Fines and Fees Justice Center (FFJC)
Nick Shepack started working on the rights of the incarcerated and their families as an intern for the ACLU of Nevada while working on a Masters Degree in Social Work at the University of Nevada, Reno. After graduation Nick accepted a full time position with the ACLU of Nevada where he took the lead on Solitary Confinement reform working with Unlock the Box the National Campaign to End Solitary Confinement. Nick began his work with Return Strong when the Nevada Department of Corrections began garnishing 80% of money deposited on the books of incarcerated individuals. Through this work with Return Strong and partnering with the Fines and Fees Justice Center to decriminalize minor traffic offenses during the 2021 Nevada legislative session Nick developed a passion for working to ensure that the criminal legal system does not financially drain those caught in the system or their loved ones. As the Nevada State Deputy Director of FFJC Nick is dedicated to reducing the cost of incarceration from pretrial to post release. Nick is also a member of Social Workers Against Solitary Confinement's steering committee where he continues to push for humane alternatives to isolation. As the chair of the Return Strong Board he will ensure that impacted individuals are front and center on any decisions that impact them or their loved ones.
THE BOARD
Denise Bolanos (she/her)
Vice Chair, Digital Organizer
Impacted Family Member
!Hola! Denise has been with Return Strong since it’s inception- serving in a variety of different roles including: volunteer, activist, a founding board member, and now, a Community Organizer. Denise’s husband was wrongfully convicted over ten years ago and is in the Nevada Department of Corrections. Denise found Return Strong while actively searching for a resource that would help her navigate Nevada's convoluted corrections department. Initially, her intention was to be able to be an advocate for her husband's mental, emotional and physical well being while going through a lengthy appeals process. Over 2 years later, their appeals process is still ongoing and so is the critical work being done by Return Strong to be a voice for thousands of individuals incarcerated in the state of Nevada. Denise continues to engage as an activist for Return Strong, and bring the perspective of impacted voices into the conversation.
Sarah K. Hawkins
Board Secretary
Chief Deputy Public Defender - Homicide Team
Sarah K. Hawkins has dedicated her career to tenacious, client-centered advocacy. She has accomplished this in multiple arenas by teaching general and adult basic education in juvenile and adult correctional facilities, working as a public defense paralegal before heading to law school, publishing Cognitive Bias in Forensic Pathology in the Journal of Forensic Science, and conducting national CLE presentations for colleagues. Sarah graduated law school with honors, then began her work at Clark County Public Defender’s Office. She has been with the Public Defender’s Office for better than a decade. Sarah is currently a Chief Deputy Public Defender litigating homicide cases, including capital cases. She serves on the National Association of Criminal Defender Lawyers (NACDL) Diversity Committee; the Board of Directors for Nevada Attorneys for Criminal Justice; and is especially honored to serve as a Board Member and elected Secretary for Return Strong!
Mark C. Bettencourt, Jr. (he/him/his)
Board Treasurer
Community Organizer and Impacted Family Member
Mark has served the Nevada community working with under-served populations as both an educator and grassroots organizer for a decade. Three of his immediate family members have experienced incarceration and the horrors of the American legal system, leading him to work within the realm of legal system reform professionally and to join Return Strong!
Nick Presseley (he/they)
Board Member
A formerly incarcerated activist and a veteran, Nick was able to completely transform his life over the past decade. Since 2014, he’s been working on electoral politics, legislative initiatives, and issue advocacy for candidates and organizations alike across the country. He is committed to bridging the urban/rural divide and winning power for marginalized communities everywhere. Mostly focusing his career on progressive issues like criminal justice reform and addressing poverty, Nick joined the board in May 2022.
Nicole Williams (she/her)
Board Member
Impacted Family Member
Nicole Williams serves on the Return Strong! Board as an impacted family member and activist for incarcerated people. Nicole came to return strong because she understands that there is strength in numbers. Nicole tried for many years to get things done or have questions or issues addressed within the NDOC that affected her loved ones along with the many injustices that occur daily and nothing was happening. Being part of a group that knows and understands what impacted family members face, and is dedicated to advocate and demand change and transparency is such a blessing. The knowledge, support and encouragement in this collective is amazing and she is honored to be on this board.
Premilla Dixit Nag (she/her)
Board Member
Impacted Family Member
Premilla has decades of experience as a peace, anti-war, cooperative economics, environmental and social justice activist. She has co-produced conferences, radio shows, workshops, study groups, edited journals, organized literacy programs, taught ESL, researched causes, built coalitions, co-organized mass mobilizations and produced cultural events. Her recent deep dive into the entrenched, centuries long criminal injustice eco-system reveals an urgent need to undo its destructive impact. She sees it as key to unlocking social justice, human and civil rights and thriving ecosystems throughout society and culture.