BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Christal Arroyo Roman
Chief operating officer at the nonprofit organization ProSay, and a pre-law and public policy student (senior) at Liberty University. In her role at ProSay, Christal Arroyo Roman advocates for people on supervision and others who are impacted by the criminal legal system. She shows people how supervision functions, explains what their rights are, and assists them in creating a plan to thrive while on supervision. She has a passionate commitment to legal and social reform, drawing from her own experience as a justice-impacted individual. She is devoted to building a community that embraces transformative approaches to supporting women and men affected by incarceration and driving meaningful change within the criminal justice system.
Victoria Dietel-Bargender
Associate with Gimbel, Reilly, Guerin & Brown, LLP in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Victoria (“Tori”) Dietel-Bargender recently graduated from Marquette University Law School, where she provided legal services with the assistance of licensed attorneys with the Veteran’s Services Clinic, the Rural Communities Clinic, and the Wills for Heroes program and was for dedicating 50 or more hours of pro-bono legal services while in law school.
While in law school, Dietel-Bargender was employed by the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office as a traffic law clerk, where she drafted complaints and appeared for the State in Out of Custody Court. She also interned with the Milwaukee County Corporation Council and the Wisconsin Elections Commission and served as editor-in-chief of the Marquette Benefits and Social Welfare Law Review.
While in law school, Dietel-Bargender was employed by the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office as a traffic law clerk, where she drafted complaints and appeared for the State in Out of Custody Court. She also interned with the Milwaukee County Corporation Council and the Wisconsin Elections Commission and served as editor-in-chief of the Marquette Benefits and Social Welfare Law Review.
Jacqueline Boynton - Board Secretary/Treasurer
Community activist and retired attorney. Jacqueline Boynton has more than 30 years experience as an attorney. Her practice concentrated on nonprofit corporate legal issues. As an activist, she is interested in progressive political organizing and women’s issues.
Marisol González Castillo
Associate attorney at MacGillis Wiemer's Verona office representing individuals in personal injury. A native of Mexico City, she proudly represents clients in both Spanish and English. Previously, González Castillo practiced law in Milwaukee, where she provided free legal representation to low-income individuals in the areas of housing and consumer law.
González Castillo is an active member of the community, volunteering with the State Bar of Wisconsin, the Latinos United for College Education Scholarships Board, and the International Practice Section Board, the Diversity Scholarship Foundation, the Ready Set Practice program for law students, and Wisconsin Dreamers.
One of González Castillo’s passions is to help the movement to increase diversity in the legal field. To her this means not only increasing the diversity in those practicing law but also in those able to access the legal system. She pursues this passion by volunteering as a mentor and reaching out to first generation students and students who have been historically excluded from the legal field. She also conducts presentations in Spanish in her areas of practice to reach Spanish speaking individuals all over the state and inform them of their rights. González Castillo was recognized as the 2022 Diversity and Inclusion Trailblazer by the State Bar of Wisconsin and is a Wisconsin Law Foundation Fellow.
James Gramling
Retired Milwaukee Municipal Court judge long active in local and state justice issues. Before he was elected to the bench, he worked at the Legal Aid Society in Kansas City, MO, and then Milwaukee Legal Services (later Legal Action of Wisconsin). He has served as the president of the Wisconsin Access to Justice Commission and as a volunteer with the Center for Driver's License Recovery and Employability.
Retired Milwaukee Municipal Court judge long active in local and state justice issues. Before he was elected to the bench, he worked at the Legal Aid Society in Kansas City, MO, and then Milwaukee Legal Services (later Legal Action of Wisconsin). He has served as the president of the Wisconsin Access to Justice Commission and as a volunteer with the Center for Driver's License Recovery and Employability.
Robert Hampton III
Criminal defense attorney in the State Public Defenders Office, Trial Division in Milwaukee.
Joshua Hernandez
Attorney at Reinhart Boerner Van Duren in the firm’s Employee Benefits Practice. Joshua Hernandez works with employers on a variety of issues, including compliance and administration matters for qualified retirement plans and health and benefit plans. He also advises institutional clients regarding investments in private equity funds, hedge funds and other alternative investment vehicles.
Hernandez strongly believes in service work and strives to be a resource for those within the Milwaukee community. In addition to serving on the Wisconsin Justice Initiative board, he serves on the boards of the Wisconsin Hispanic Lawyers Association and Literacy Services of Wisconsin and volunteers his time with the Marquette Volunteer Legal Clinic.
Before moving to Milwaukee, Hernandez spent four years working in live entertainment, managing sales and premium services for the Frank Erwin Center and tickets for Texas Performing Arts.
Hernandez strongly believes in service work and strives to be a resource for those within the Milwaukee community. In addition to serving on the Wisconsin Justice Initiative board, he serves on the boards of the Wisconsin Hispanic Lawyers Association and Literacy Services of Wisconsin and volunteers his time with the Marquette Volunteer Legal Clinic.
Before moving to Milwaukee, Hernandez spent four years working in live entertainment, managing sales and premium services for the Frank Erwin Center and tickets for Texas Performing Arts.
Craig Johnson - Board President
An attorney at the law firm of Sweet and Associates and a former public defender. Craig Johnson has been practicing criminal defense for more than 30 years. He has received the Outstanding Achievement Award from the State Public Defender Board of Directors and the Hanson Memorial Advocate's Prize from the Wisconsin Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. He was named by the Wisconsin Law Journal as a “Leader in the Law."
Johnson also serves as the Village of Whitefish Bay Municipal Judge.
He received his law degree with honors from the University of Wisconsin, where he was an associate editor of the Wisconsin Law Review.
An attorney at the law firm of Sweet and Associates and a former public defender. Craig Johnson has been practicing criminal defense for more than 30 years. He has received the Outstanding Achievement Award from the State Public Defender Board of Directors and the Hanson Memorial Advocate's Prize from the Wisconsin Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. He was named by the Wisconsin Law Journal as a “Leader in the Law."
Johnson also serves as the Village of Whitefish Bay Municipal Judge.
He received his law degree with honors from the University of Wisconsin, where he was an associate editor of the Wisconsin Law Review.
Gabriela Leija
Defense attorney at the Federal Defender Services of Wisconsin since 2016. Gabriela Leija's passion for criminal defense began over a decade ago. She has served the indigent population of Milwaukee as a legal assistant, client services specialist, and an attorney for the Wisconsin State Public Defender’s Office. She is a 2014 graduate of Marquette University Law School.
Defense attorney at the Federal Defender Services of Wisconsin since 2016. Gabriela Leija's passion for criminal defense began over a decade ago. She has served the indigent population of Milwaukee as a legal assistant, client services specialist, and an attorney for the Wisconsin State Public Defender’s Office. She is a 2014 graduate of Marquette University Law School.
Edgar Lin
Counsel and state policy strategist at Protect Democracy. Edgar Lin previously worked at Ahmad & Associates and the Buting, Williams, & Stilling law firms, practicing civil rights and criminal law. Prior to private practice, he was a public defender in the Wisconsin State Public Defender's Office, Milwaukee Trial Division. Before attending the University of Wisconsin Law School, he worked in the financial sector in Hong Kong and Tokyo.
Colin McGinn
Attorney at the State Public Defender's Office. After graduating from UW Law School in 2014, Colin McGinn joined the Milwaukee Trial Office and began his career as a public defender. He left indigent defense for a year, 2021-2022, and worked as advocacy director for The Hunger Task Force in Milwaukee. Since May of 2022, he has been back working as a public defender. Prior to working as a lawyer, he taught high school English in Milwaukee and in Quito, Ecuador.
Roy Rogers
Executive Director of the Onesimus Group Milwaukee, a consulting and solutioning firm that promotes redemptive reentry strategies for engaging incarcerated populations in Wisconsin and promoting prison ministries from the inside out. Roy Rogers is a public speaker and subject matter expert on juvenile Justice issues, with lived experience as a juvenile impacted by the justice system.
Rogers currently works for a marketing experience company as a manufacturing coach providing mentoring and career development support to new hires. He also sits on the board of directors for Innovative Educational Solutions Institute, an employment training provider. He serves in a support role with the nonprofit The Community.
Outside of his activism Rogers is a singer-songwriter and musician involved in the music ministry at his local church.
Executive Director of the Onesimus Group Milwaukee, a consulting and solutioning firm that promotes redemptive reentry strategies for engaging incarcerated populations in Wisconsin and promoting prison ministries from the inside out. Roy Rogers is a public speaker and subject matter expert on juvenile Justice issues, with lived experience as a juvenile impacted by the justice system.
Rogers currently works for a marketing experience company as a manufacturing coach providing mentoring and career development support to new hires. He also sits on the board of directors for Innovative Educational Solutions Institute, an employment training provider. He serves in a support role with the nonprofit The Community.
Outside of his activism Rogers is a singer-songwriter and musician involved in the music ministry at his local church.
Emma Shakeshaft - Board Vice President
A Hastie Fellow at the University of Wisconsin Law School. Dr. Emma Shakeshaft's areas of research center on the rights of people who are incarcerated, the criminalization of poverty, and policing.
Shakeshaft is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin Law School. She also holds doctorate and master's degrees in sociology from UW-Madison.