staff
"Alone we can do so little, together we can do so much."-Helen Keller
meet our team
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richard grahamexecutive directorRichard came to JIFF as Executive Director on March 24, 2014, after serving six years on the Executive Board of JIFF as Secretary. His professional background has been in national account sales and management. For three years he served on the East Memphis Board of Young Life. He and his wife, Frances, have been married for 30 years, and have two wonderful daughters, Natalie and Katelyn. Richard’s passion is to give youth a chance, seeing they are not the problem, but the solution to transforming change in families.
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kaitrin valencia, Esq.operations and process DirectorKaitrin Valencia came to JIFF in 2018 after serving on our Board. She is a licensed attorney in Illinois and Tennessee, an author, worked for 18 years in Chicago’s juvenile court as a top administrator, and also has a plethora of ministry and Christian non-profit management experience. She is passionate about juvenile justice reform, including juvenile detention alternatives and the implementation of evidence based programming. As an expert in female responsive programming, she volunteers much of her time combatting human trafficking both locally in Memphis and nationally. She and her husband, Emilio, have three children and enjoy mentoring, writing, and teaching.
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shelia medlinfinance managerShelia serves as JIFF’s Finance Coordinator with well over 20 years experience in handling the bookkeeping needs of JIFF, dating back to our Youth for Christ days. She has been married to her husband, David, for over 43 years. They have two children, a daughter, Cristi, and a son, Matthew. They are the proud grandparents of 8 grand-children (4 girls and 4 boys) and one great-grandson. Shelia counts it a privilege to serve God through the ministry of JIFF standing alongside a dedicated team of HIS servants.
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ronald frazierprogram DirectorRonald is our Juvenile Case Mentoring Program Director who has been fully committed to serving the greater Memphis community since arriving in 2005 from the south side of Chicago. Faith, character and integrity have been his driving force while serving in the mental health arena, providing an insurmountable amount of time, energy, and effort into community service projects, and fundraiser initiatives via fraternal relations (Prince Hall Masons). Ronald came over to JIFF in late 2015 as a case mentor, and has been on absolute fire for the JIFF mission of bringing an end to "the destructive cycle of juvenile crime”.
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nick butlerProgram directorNick is our Early Intervention Program Director. He is a proud native of South Memphis, TN. Nick attends Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church and is the gracious father of Jieret Butler. He is a Prince Hall Affiliated Mason of Robert J. Spraggins #163. His passions include change, growth, and discipline. Nick has faithfully served and guided JIFF's highest risk youth in our Case Mentoring Department and not our Early Intervention Program.
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Akila Allenassistant program managerAkila Allen is our Early Intervention Assistant Program Manager. She earned her BA from College of Saint Mary in Omaha, NE where she lived for 12 years. She has over 15 years of experience working with youth and families within the Child Welfare System and juvenile courts. She believes God places obstacles for teachable moments for us to learn from previous mistakes and is eager to assist our youth in redefining their lives, sketching out their paths, and sowing seeds God intended for them.
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case managers
MArio FieldsBio Coming Soon
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Duane StewartBio coming soon.
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Clarence Walker
Clarence Walker was one of our most faithful volunteers in our Early Intervention Program where he was a group mentor. He faithfully came to every group and was JIFF's Volunteer Mentor of the year in 2018. Clarence joined the JIFF staff in April, 2019 and he is currently a Case Manager for the Evening Reporting Center.
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dorothy jonesfamily care coordinatorDorothy is a native Memphian. She attended The University of Memphis and graduated with a degree in Organizational Leadership. Dorothy was formally employed by Americorps to work with high school students at an alternative school. She was also a long time volunteer at St.Jude Children’s Research Hospital in the Child Life Specialist area. She and her husband, Andre, have two children and are committed to doing their part to make Memphis a better place.
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david medlinfacility maintenance SUPERVISORSince retiring from BellSouth after 30 years of service, Dave now stays quite busy handling the repair and maintenance needs around the JIFF building. His background includes serving in the Air Force and Air National Guard as well as many years at the phone company. Come by and you might just see Dave on the roof changing air-conditioning filters, out back checking the oil in one of JIFF’s vans, or dressed-out in his coveralls painting one of our many offices. He always has a smile on his face while he works to keep JIFF in tip-top shape!
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Tonya watsonvolunteer coordinatorTonya Watson joined our team as JIFF's Volunteer Coordinator with over ten years of experience in Shelby County's Juvenile Court working with opportunity youth. Tonya has three kids, and she is passionate about equipping our most marginalized populations with the tools they need to follow a positive path.
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Title VI, ADA, EEOC Complaints
"No person in the United States shall, on the ground of race, color, or national origin, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance."
Any individual may exercise his or her right to file a complaint with the ADA/Title VI Coordinator if that person believes that he or she has been subjected to unequal treatment or discrimination in the receipt of benefits or services.
Any individual may exercise his or her right to file a complaint with the ADA/Title VI Coordinator if that person believes that he or she has been subjected to unequal treatment or discrimination in the receipt of benefits or services.
