Who We Are

Board of Directors

Carol Burton, LMSW, San Francisco, CA- Board Chair
Carol Burton serves as the Executive Director of Centerforce, prior to joining she served as the Associate Executive Director for The Osborne Association in New York City. Ms. Burton provides consultation and technical assistance for those interested in developing services for children of incarcerated person. She is also a Master Trainer for “Mentoring Children of Incarcerated Parents” Curriculum, developed by the Child Welfare League of America. Ms. Burton holds a Masters in Social Work and Bachelors of Science in Psychology from Grand Valley State University, Allendale, Michigan.

Dr. Kirk Harris, Chicago, IL
Dr. Harris has served as facilitator for the National Fatherhood Leaders Group for over two and one half years. Dr. Harris has been working on issues related to fathers and families for over 15 years. Dr. Harris is considered a national expert on fathers and families, and is a national keynote speaker on issues related to fatherhood, family support and community development. As a lawyer and advocate, Dr. Harris has worked on a variety of public policy and community issues related to responsible fatherhood, family support practice, community building, parent-engagement and leadership and anti-poverty strategies.

Elizabeth Gaynes, New York, NY
Elizabeth Gaynes is Executive Director of the Osborne Association, a 75-year old nonprofit organization dedicated to serving those affected by incarceration and to developing effective approaches for strengthening families and communities, preventing crime, and reducing reliance on incarceration. She has designed or implemented numerous prison and reentry programs, including FamilyWorks, the first comprehensive parenting program in a men’s state prison. In 2004, together with her daughter, Emani Davis, she was the first American ever nominated for the prestigious international World’s Children’s Prize for the Rights of the Child, for their work defending the rights of children with parents in prison. Ms. Gaynes began her legal career representing men involved in the 1971 Attica prison rebellion. She later worked in Albany at Prisoners Legal Services of New York, and in Washington DC at the Pretrial Services Resource Center (now Pretrial Justice Institute). Ms. Gaynes holds a law degree from Syracuse University.

David Lewis, Palo Alto, CA
Mr. Lewis, a school drop-out who resorted to gangs and drugs, was sentenced to ten years to life in prison at age 19. Against all odds, he rehabilitated himself and now devotes his life to community-based drug, alcohol and violence prevention programs. David co-founded Free At Last (FAL) a substance abuse treatment intervention prevention movement that has been documented as one of Center for Substance Abuse Treatment best practices. During its first year, FAL helped to reduce violence in the East Palo Alto community by 87%. David has been featured on Bill Moyer’s documentary, Circle of Recovery and more recently on the Bill Moyer’s NOW show in 2003. David was also featured in the BET documentary titled AIDS in Prison. His latest honor was The Jefferson Award for Public Services.  David Lewis passed away on June 9, 2010. He is greatly missed by FCN and the community he impacted at large. Please read “Remembering David Lewis” for more about this amazing man’s life.

Mark Scott, Boston, MA
As Director of Community Partnerships for Big Brothers Big Sisters of America Mark Scott works with Big Brothers Big Sisters agencies to improve the quality of their Amachi efforts to mobilize mentors for children impacted by family incarceration. He is the associate pastor of Azusa Christian Community, a small house church in Boston. Pastor Scott is chair of the Board of the Ella J. Baker House a ministry of the Azusa Christian Community focused on integrating socially disenfranchised youth.

Gail T. Smith, Chicago, IL.
Ms. Smith founded CLAIM (Chicago Legal Advocacy for Incarcerated Mothers), to provide free legal aid and client education for incarcerated mothers and their children. She drafted legislation to ban the use of shackles on women during labor and childbirth, and with formerly incarcerated mothers, helped to make Illinois the first state in the nation to outlaw this practice. Ms. Smith earned her law degree from New York University.