ABOUT US
WEI is a multidisciplinary organization. Our team is comprised of more than a dozen social workers,
criminologist, public policy and other mental health professionals.
After years of working at premier university research centers with innovators and social scientists researching from multiple disciplines, the idea for the creation of Wellbeing and Equity Innovations (WEI) was born in 2021. Thanks to our team of researchers and practitioners, we saw the need for new, sustainable, and equitable change with a focus on human potential, and with the help of fellow board members, the vision for WEI came together.
LEADERSHIP
Carrie Pettus
President|CEO
CARRIE PETTUS is one of social work’s leading experts on enacting data-driven solutions to criminal legal and justice reforms, Dr. Pettus founded WEI with her colleagues in order to speed the translation of data-driven solutions to practitioners, policymakers, and advocates. Her decades long career of intervention development and policy reform work facilitates racial and economic equity throughout the criminal legal and justice systems, from an individual’s first contact with law enforcement to their release from incarceration.
Dr. Pettus concentrates her actionable research work on partnering with communities and organizations to develop data driven programs, practices, and policies to enhance positive social support, respond to lifetime trauma experiences among justice-involved adults, treat substance use and mental health disorders, and generate overall well-being for those impacted by justice involvement. Dr. Pettus’ action-based work has broad policy impact and her prioritization of the rapid dissemination of research findings to policymakers, practitioners, and advocates ensures that data-driven innovations can be implemented in real-time.
Dr. Pettus is co-founder of the Smart Decarceration Initiative and the Promote Smart Decarceration network of the Grand Challenges of Social Work Initiative by the American Academy of Social Work and Social Welfare. Dr. Pettus is the chair elect of Social Work’s national Grand Challenges Initiative and a non-resident fellow with the Urban Institute. Prior to her leadership roles in action-based research, Pettus worked extensively as a social worker in varied mental health and corrections settings.
Dr. Pettus completed a Doctorate in Social Work from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She holds a Master of Social Work Administration degree and Bachelor’s degrees in Social Work and Psychology, all from the University of Kansas.
Lindsey Lovel
Chief Strategy Officer
LINDSEY LOVEL serves WEI as the Chief Strategy Officer. Her role is to ensure that the mission and vision of the organization are brought to life. Lindsey works closely with a variety of stakeholders to ensure long-term sustainability and success of the organization as a whole. In close collaboration with CEO Dr. Carrie Pettus, she advises on funder relationships, community engagement approaches, communications strategies, and organizational operations.
Lindsey is deeply passionate about finding creative ways to empower historically disenfranchised communities. She also enjoys traveling, reading fiction, and wine. She lives in Brooklyn, NY with her many houseplants and part-time Tabby Cat. Lindsey holds a Masters of Public Administration in Nonprofit Management from CUNY, Baruch College and an undergraduate degree in Philosophy from Georgia State University.
OUR TEAM
Rachel Fulmer
Director of Pretrial & Law Enforcement Projects
Skye Henning
Chief of Staff & Special Projects Coordinator
Jennifer Joseph
Senior Clinical Advisor
Jessica Le
Project Director
Katie Morphonios
Senior Data Specialist
Teisha Sanders
Director of Equity & Cultural Advancement
Angelo Stabler
Senior Projects Manager on Wellbeing Development
Sarah Tamburri
Trauma & Violence Interruption Projects Director
RACHEL FULMER is the Director of Pretrial and Law Enforcement Projects. In this role, Ms. Fulmer leads efforts to assist law enforcement and prosecutors in adopting data driven strategies that can reduce the amount of citizen contact and processing into the criminal legal/justice system. At the forefront of Ms. Fulmer’s work is her passion for cross-agency collaboration, shaped by its integral function in her career.
Ms. Fulmer began her career in victims’ services and crisis response engaging in collaborations with law enforcement across city, county, and university settings. It is through these various positions that Ms. Fulmer honed her understanding of the dynamic needs of both those that encounter the justice/legal system, and those that have initial contact as first responders. Ms. Fulmer also draws heavily on her years in the private sector where managing public fire safety regulations meant a different type of cross-agency collaboration built on consensus between public and private sectors, often in high-pressure situations.
At WEI, Ms. Fulmer leads project development, implementation, and evaluation for numerous programs that rely on researcher-practitioner partnerships. She is skilled at developing strong teams and achieving meaningful results as emphasized by her oversight of large multi-state projects, stakeholder relationships, and translating research into accessible findings.
Ms. Fulmer holds a M.A. in Criminology and an M.A. in Social Work from Florida State University and a B.A. in Women’s Gender and Sexuality studies from Virginia Commonwealth University.
SKYE HENNING is experienced in project coordination, project management, research, and service. She is detail-oriented with extensive administrative experience and strong interpersonal skills that include mediating high stress situations. With a policy and legislative research background, she brings an in-depth understanding of the criminal justice system through extensive experience working relationships with criminal justice state agencies.
JENNIFER JOSEPH is the Senior Clinical advisor at Wellbeing and Equity Innovations. She began her career working within mental health hospitals where she saw the intersection between mental health and criminal justice. Jennifer grew in her clinical and training skills as she became the Training Specialist for the Institute of Justice Research and Development at Florida State University. Jennifer was able to train staff on best practices within clinical research practices as well as training outside organizations on new initiatives within the Criminal Justice System.
Jennifer is passionate about her work because she believes that individuals are more than their criminal justice involvement and everyone deserves to live a life of well-being. Jennifer is trained in several different types of trauma informed theories and practices which is a powerful tool when working with justice involved individuals.
JESSICA LE joins WEI as a Project Director after cultivating her skills in justice research at Justice System Partners and Florida State University’s Institute for Justice Research and Development (IJRD). Jessica began her career working in applied mental health research to explore different treatment paradigms for psychiatric, neurological, and substance disorders while overseeing the clinical care of patients receiving rTMS therapy. Her experience in applied mental health research provided her with a framework to successfully implement long-term complex projects, including research development, planning and implementation, data collection, and project management.
Jessica is driven by her belief that justice research should be rooted in listening to the voices of individuals and communities harmed by systematic oppression, disparities, and inequities.
KATIE MORPHOMIOS is an Senior Data Specialist. Her responsibilities include data management for multi-site randomized control trials as well as direct collaboration with project principal investigators to design and implement electronic data collection via research software (REDCap). Katie previously worked in data management roles at Florida State University (IJRD) and the Florida Department of Corrections. She also has a ten-year background in state level criminal justice investigative and analytical work. Her proficiency in understanding the Criminal Justice field, as well as computer systems, has propelled her to the forefront of facilitating Criminal Justice research.
She is a native of Tallahassee, Florida, and she enjoys going to the local parks with her dogs.
TEISHA SANDERS is the Director of Equity and Cultural Advancement projects at Wellbeing and Equity Innovations (WEI). She began her career working within criminal court systems, conducting pretrial risk assessments in local jail settings and providing case management services to individuals involved in the criminal justice system. She was fueled by this work to further build upon and advance evidence-driven solutions that more effectively contribute to the success of justice-involved communities. Teisha is skilled in leading research development, design, and data collection efforts, and has extensive experience leading and managing complex, multistate, multisite evidence-informed projects and collaborating with community partners and stakeholders. She draws on her background in social work in operationalizing the value and importance of human relationships as she supports and empowers various stakeholders through project implementation toward desired outcomes.
She has also collaborated across systems with local mental health authorities, behavioral health systems, and specialty courts to help identify the least restrictive environment for system-impacted individuals.
ANGELO STABLER is the Senior Projects Manager on Wellbeing Development at Wellbeing and Equity Innovations (WEI). He provides support for the delivery of in person and remote technical assistance and training to local and state jurisdictions seeking to implement data-driven criminal or juvenile
justice policy and practice reforms. He has a demonstrated track record of working with, supervising, and directing youth organizations
He has been the recipient of the Kenneth R. Holder Award, Service to Mankind Award, Eastern District of Nebraska Service to Mankind Epsilon Sigma Sigma Award, Jerry Joyce Living Legacy Award, NWU Young
Humanitarian Award, and Academic awards. He feels blessed with the opportunity to serve his community and make a difference in this
world.
SARAH TAMBURRI is the Trauma and Violence Interruption Projects Director with WEI. She currently leads two trauma-informed prosecution-led diversion programs and a randomized control trial evaluating a comprehensive trauma-informed reentry program for young men leaving prison. Sarah has previously managed research projects for Justice System Partners and the Institute for Justice Research and Development at Florida State University.
Sarah began her career working as a Mentoring Program Coordinator, where she received grant funding to implement and maintain a mentoring program for underserved youth in South Florida. She then spent five years with the Florida Department of Corrections in various capacities. Sarah ended her career as a Program Coordinator, where she oversaw the implementation of interventions delivered to individuals serving life sentences and those who were transitioning out of restrictive housing settings.
While working in corrections, Sarah saw firsthand the intersection between trauma and the criminal legal system- which motivates her work. Sarah has a passion for bringing research to the field through education and the implementation of best practices. Her interests include trauma-informed practices, violence and suicide prevention, and destigmatizing mental health.
Sarah is a proud Army Veteran. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Criminal Justice with a minor in Sociology from Florida Atlantic University and a Master of Science degree in Criminal Justice from the University of Central Florida.