Robert Riccardella, President

Bob Riccardella is a Member of the New Jersey State Parole Board in his second term, having been nominated by both Governors Christie and Corzine.  Bob currently serves as the Chairman of the Parole Board’s Legislative Committee.  Bob also served on Governor Christie’s Task Force for Recidivism Reduction.  He previously held the position of Chief of Staff to the Bergen County Executive.  His responsibilities included the supervision of 3,000 employees and oversight for a budget of $400,000,000, as well as the supervision of the day to day operations of the different divisions of county government in one of the most diverse and densely populated counties in America.  Bob has also served as Director of the Northern Division for the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission, Director of Emergency Medical Services for Bergen County, and as Police Commissioner for the Borough of Wood-Ridge for 12 years. 

James A. Hemm, Ed.M. President Emeritus

Jim has worked for the New Jersey Association on Corrections since 1969.  The Association is a private non-profit agency assisting those involved with the criminal justice system through direct service programs and advocacy work.  In January 1984, he assumed the position of Executive Director.  Jim graduated from Rutgers University with a BA in Sociology in 1970.  He also holds an Ed.M. from Rutgers University.  Jim has served on the Board of the New Jersey Chapter of the American Correctional Association for the past nine years.  In addition, his other board activities include the NJ Community Action Association (President), volunteers of America/Delaware Valley, Hyacinth Aids Foundation (Assistant Treasurer), and coalition of Community corrections Providers, New Jersey (Vice President & founding member).

David M. Wolfsgruber, CPM, First Vice President

Dave Wolfsgruber currently holds the position of Assistant Director of the Community Programs Division of the New Jersey State Parole Board.  Mr. Wolfsgruber possesses a Bachelor’s Degree in Law and Justice with a minor in Psychology from The College of New Jersey.  Mr. Wolfsgruber began his 31-year career with the State Parole Board in the Parole Revocation Hearing Unit where he ultimately achieved appointment to the position of Unit Chief prior to his assignment within the Community Programs Division.  Mr. Wolfsgruber is a Certified Public Manager in the State of New Jersey and is currently the First Vice President of the New Jersey Chapter of the American Correctional Association

Eugene J. Caldwell II, Second Vice-President

Eugene J. Caldwell II was appointed Warden of the Gloucester County Department of Corrections on July 1, 2013.  He is a career public servant in the Gloucester County Department of Corrections.  He is responsible for the oversight and management of the Gloucester County Department of Corrections, which employs more than 65 staff and confines over 370 inmates under the county’s jurisdiction in six facilities throughout the State. 

Warden Caldwell began his career as a Correctional Officer in 1988 with the Gloucester County Sheriff’s Department.  The correctional facility transitioned to the Board of Chosen Freeholders’ control in 2003, and is now known as the Gloucester County Department of Corrections.  He was subsequently selected for positions of increasing responsibility including Sergeant, Lieutenant, and Deputy Warden.  In 2004, he formed the Gloucester County Corrections Sergeants Association where he served as President, and was instrumental in petitioning and earning the right to organize through the New Jersey Public Employee Relations Commission. 

Warden Caldwell has been a member of the New Jersey County Jail Wardens Association since 2010, served as Treasurer, Vice President, and currently serves as President.  He is a member of the Gloucester County Human Relations Commission.  Past memberships include the United States Deputy Wardens Association and Fraternal Order of Police where he was a member and served as President for two different lodges. 

Warden Caldwell is a lifelong resident of Franklinville, New Jersey. 

Sherry A. Sandler, Corresponding Secretary

Sherry Sandler currently serves as the Community Outreach and Training Coordinator for the Community Programs Division of the New Jersey State Parole Board.  She began her career with the New Jersey State Parole Board in 1998, and prior to her current assignment, she was a Manager in the Community Programs Division.  She previously served as the Program Placement Coordinator for the Community Programs Division, oversaw administrative operations and staff in the Revocation Unit, and assisted in processing parole release hearings in the Division of Release.  In 2012, she served on the Governor’s Task Force for Recidivism Reduction. Ms. Sandler joined the New Jersey Chapter of the American Correctional Association in 1999, and has served on the Executive Board since 2006.  Ms. Sandler is a Motivational Interviewing Trainer, an Offender Workforce Development Specialist and a former Girl Scout Leader.  She attended Stockton University, and is the recipient of the 2015 MASCA Sal Russoniello Service Award, the 2014 State Parole Board Outstanding Performance Award, and the 2004 State Parole Board Chairman’s Award for Supervisory Excellence.

Donald Weinbaum, MBA, LCADC, CCJP, Treasurer

Donald Weinbaum has been involved with community corrections and criminal justice programs for more than 20 years and with health and behavioral health services for more than 35 years. He served as Executive Director of The Council on Compulsive Gambling of NJ, Inc. from 2008 to 2015, in which role he oversaw the statewide prevention, advocacy, and treatment network for persons with gambling problems, including those involved with the correctional system.  Currently, Mr. Weinbaum serves as a consultant to community corrections, behavioral health, housing, and non-profit agencies.

Mr. Weinbaum retired from NJ State government in 2008, following a 27 year career. He served as Chief of Fiscal and Administrative Services for the NJ State Parole Board from 2005-2008 and held a number of progressive leadership positions within the Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS), Division of Addiction Services, starting in 1980. In the mid 1990's, he served as Acting Director of Treatment & Rehabilitation and then helped establish and became Coordinator of the Office of Criminal Justice and Block Grant Planning. In this position, he had oversight responsibility for DHSS residential and reentry initiatives for juvenile offenders, adult inmates and parolees, court-referred individuals, and other specialized populations. He also played a lead role in establishing the statewide Drug Court treatment network, working closely with the Judiciary and Department of Law & Public Safety.

Mr. Weinbaum received his Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Cornell University and an MBA in Health Care Administration from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. He is a Licensed Clinical Alcohol and Drug Counselor and is certified as a Criminal Justice Counselor.  He has served as a Board member and Treasurer for NJACA since 2009.

Charley B. Flint, Ph.D.

An activist and scholar, Charley is a Professor of Sociology at William Paterson University where she is also coordinator of the Criminal Justice Program. She is an active scholar in her field, having published in scholarly journals, given papers at professional meetings and other conference, been interviewed on various television and radio programs as well as by several newspapers, and is involved in many professional and community organizations. She is currently president of the Board of Trustees of the New Jersey Association on Corrections and past treasurer of the New Jersey Association of Criminal Justice Educators.

Oscar Aviles, C.P.M., C.J.M., C.C.E.

Oscar Aviles has served in the Hudson County Department of Corrections since 1989, where he began his career as a Corrections Officer, served as Sergeant, Lieutenant, Captain, Deputy Warden, Deputy Director, and was appointed to Director in 2004. As head of the Hudson County Department of Corrections and its 700 sworn officers and professional staff, he is responsible for a $64,000,000.00 budget. Director Aviles is responsible for the 2340 bed correctional adult facility, in addition to the 132 bed Hudson County Juvenile Detention Center. 

Director Aviles has earned the designations of Certified Public Manager from the State of New Jersey Human Resource Development Institute, Certified Jail Manager from the American Jail Association, and Certified Corrections Executive from the American Corrections Association.      

He began serving on the executive board of the New Jersey County Jail Wardens Association in 2007 and is now serving as president, and its representative as commissioner on the New Jersey Police Training Commission. His professional memberships also include the American Jail Association, American Correctional Association, and U.S. Department of Justice National Institute of Corrections Large Jail Network.

William T. Curry

William Curry is retired Deputy Executive Director for the New Jersey State Parole Board.  While serving as an active member of the executive team, Bill was involved in operational, administrative and policy-making activities, to provide effective supervision and services for 15,000 parolees. His career in the field of criminal justice spans 30 years, starting first as an educator working with juveniles offenders in secure institutional settings. Bill's experience in both the public and private sectors includes adult and juvenile offenders, parole management, community-based residential and day treatment facilities, as well as various levels of secure institutions, faith-based groups, law enforcement agencies, schools, local municipalities, judiciary, and union representatives. 

Bill also served as Executive Director of the Reentry Coalition of New Jersey- a multi-agency organization that contracts with the NJ Department of Corrections, the NJ State Parole Board, and the NJ Juvenile Justice Commission to identify and provide community corrections programs and services that meet the standards for best practice. These include providing assessment centers, residential work release programs, substance abuse treatment and counseling services as well as day reporting/resource centers to New Jersey’s active parolee populations

Christopher D’Alessandro

Ralph Fretz, Ph.D.

Ralph Fretz is a Licensed Psychologist who is employed as the Corporate Director of Assessment and Research for Community Education Centers. Dr. Fretz earned a Ph.D. from Seton Hall School of Professional Psychology.

Dr. Fretz's professional experience includes State Hospitals, Mental Health Clinics, Child Study Teams, and Correctional Treatment Services. Dr. Fretz is a national and international presenter. His publications include outcome research articles with the most recent publication listed in the March/April 2008 edition of Corrections Compendium. Dr. Fretz has attained the level of Master trainer for the Level of Service Inventory-Revised (LSI-R) and the LS/CMI.

Roy L. Hendricks

Mr. Hendricks retired as Warden of the Essex County Correctional Facility, where he was responsible for the overall management and administration of the facility, which houses maximum, medium and minimum classifications. 

Previously, he served as Deputy Warden at Mercer County Correction Center in Trenton.  While there for two years, he was responsible for ensuring inmates were classified correctly; oversaw inmate's work, study and recreation programs; and conducted daily inspections of the buildings and grounds.

Before retiring from the State Department of Corrections in March 2005, Mr. Hendricks served as Administrator at Riverfront State Prison in Camden.  He began his career as a Corrections Officer in 1975 at New State Prison and rose through the ranks to become Administrator at the facility from 1998 to 2004.  Mr. Hendricks has a Master's Degree in Business Administration from Eastern University, a Bachelor's Degree in Organizational Management from Eastern University and earned an Associate's Degree in Criminology and Psychology from Trenton State College, Burlington County College and Ocean County College.  He was the past President of the New Jersey County Jail Warden's Association and is currently serving on the executive board.  He is a resident of Willingboro, NJ.   

Gary J. Hilton

Gary J. Hilton's distinguished career in Corrections has spanned over 37 years. He is a proven leader, with strong operations and executive management skills. Mr. Hilton has served as an expert witness, trainer, lecturer and consultant to a wide range of public, judicial and private entities, both nationally and abroad. He has also provided technical consultation and training services on behalf of the National Institute of Corrections.

In April of 1998, Mr. Hilton concluded a 33-year career with the New Jersey Department of Corrections, having served as Warden of the State's maximum-security prison, Superintendent of the adult prison for women, and for over 17 years as Assistant Commissioner for Operations, Chief of Staff and Acting Commissioner.

Prior to his retirement from public service in July 2002, Mr. Hilton was Director of Corrections and Youth Services for Monmouth County, New Jersey. During his tenure, he spearheaded the successful national accreditation of the central facility. Mr. Hilton is a charter member of the New Jersey Chapter of the American Correctional Association and currently serves as the organization's First Vice President. He has overseen more than $850 million in facility construction and renovations. He has also been the recipient of numerous awards and commendations from various professional and governmental organizations. Currently, Mr. Hilton is founder and president of Paige Plus LLC, a comprehensive correctional service and consulting company.

Patti Loukides, MSW, LCSW

Patti Loukides is beginning her second year as a NJACA Board Member. Mrs. Loukides was recently appointed to the National ACA’s Women Working in Corrections Committee. She has worked in both Adult and Juvenile Corrections. A native Virginian, Mrs. Loukides began a Social Work career in 1974 after graduating from Lynchburg College. She was employed as a Psychiatric Social Worker in a secure Unit in one of the East Coast’s largest Psychiatric Hospitals located in Lynchburg, Virginia. She received a Master’s in Social Work Degree in 1993 from Virginia Commonwealth University. Mrs. Loukides worked as a Mental Health Therapist and Substance Abuse Counselor and coordinated treatment and counseling services in two adult corrections facilities in Northern Virginia for ten years prior to moving to New Jersey.

Mrs. Loukides was employed as a Social Worker at the NJ Department of Corrections’ Community Programs Division in January 1998 and in 2001 accepted a promotional opportunity and became the Principal Community Programs Specialist at the NJ Juvenile Justice Commission. She accepted a promotional opportunity in 2007 to Chief, Contract Administration with the NJ State Parole Board’s Community Programs Division. In August 2008, Governor Corzine appointed Mrs. Loukides to her first of 2 terms as Temporary State Parole Board Panel Member. Since ending her second term earlier this year Mrs. Loukides has coordinated the implementation of a pilot program that introduces the nationally recognized Structured Assessment of Violent Risk in Youth (SAVRY) to assist the Juvenile Panel members during parole reviews. Mrs. Loukides provides assistance in grant writing, contract management and is currently coordinating the staff development training series for Board Members and other civilian staff. Mrs. Loukides is an instructor at the Officer’s Training Academy and teaches part time in the Masters of Administrative Science Program at Fairleigh Dickinson University. She has a private practice in Trenton. She is married and has five adult children. In her free time she is a marathon coach with the Leukemia Lymphoma Society’s Team In Training.

Frank Mazza

Frank Mazza currently serves as the Hudson County Department of Corrections Director of Community Reintegration. The aforementioned clinical, health care, social service and housing focused program has been recognized by the Bureau of Justice and the Council of State Governments  as being at the forefront of reentry nationwide.  Frank’s academic development has focused on human behavior and criminal justice. In 2000, Mr. Mazza received his BA in Criminal Justice from Caldwell University and went on to receive his Masters in Forensics from New Jersey City University in 2005. Frank is currently All but Dissertation working towards his Doctorate degree in Clinical Psychology.  

Frank has dedicated his professional career to the fields of social science, corrections and psychology. Working as a Family Service Worker for the Department of Citizen Services in Essex County for 6 years, a Therapist in the Hudson County Correctional Center for 4, serving as Director of Reentry for 4 years and completing 2750 hours as a student psychologist under the direct supervision of a New Jersey Board licensed psychologist in a forensic practice, Frank has a substantial history working with those most in need.  Frank has played an instrumental role ensuring the Affordable Care Act was applied to the inmate population in the most productive manner. Frank has been published by the New Jersey Bar Association focusing on inmate health care and how to most efficiently connect the inmate population to medical insurance. Frank Mazza has also worked and reported extensively on housing benefits and barriers unique to the inmate population when seeking consistent stable shelter assistance.  In October 2009, Frank Mazza was responsible in part for implementation of the Hudson County Community Reintegration Program.  He believes that amending behavior requires a healthy balance of rehabilitation and punitive reactions.  Between 2013 and 2015 Frank Mazza worked as a consultant for the Jersey City Employment and Training Program. He has unified the Jersey City Employment and Training Programs Reentry effort with the Hudson County Model. In order to leverage resources so to positively augment public safety, Frank has been the conductor of jurisdictions and systems. 

Mark A. O'Sullivan, MS, LPC

With over 20 years of experience as a forensic mental health professional, Mark's experience spans the criminal justice (courts, corrections, and parole) and community mental health (children and families) arenas. His focus has been on offender evaluation and treatment; sex offender risk assessment; law enforcement officer evaluation (pre-employment, firearms recertification); staff development and training; program, practice, and policy development and evaluation; RFP development and proposal evaluation; quality control; and contract compliance.

Currently employed by the State Parole Board, prior appointments include the Professional Counselor Examiners Committee (Department of Law and Public Safety); the Governor’s Task Force on Mental Health (Parole Board Liaison); the Mental Health and Corrections Project Advisory Committee (Greater Trenton Behavioral HealthCare); and the Best Practices Committee for Sexually Violent Predators (Department of Human Services).

Mark earned a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology, a Master of Science in Counseling Psychology, and has completed doctoral coursework in Psychology and Organizational Systems. He is licensed as a Professional Counselor in New Jersey and as a Psychologist in Pennsylvania.

William F. Plantier

William Plantier began his career as a Social Worker in 1973 at the then Rahway State Prison. After running the Outpatient Department at Menlo Park Diagnostic, he left to take a position at the Adult Diagnostic and Treatment Center when it opened in 1976. He rose through the ranks there, making Assistant Superintendent in 1984 and Administrator in 1990, a position he held for ten years. In 2000, he was appointed Director in the Division of Operations for the N.J. Department of Corrections. Upon retiring from the NJ Department of Corrections in the fall of 2007 he took the position of North East Regional Director for Community Education Centers.  He was responsible for the supervision of two Assessment Centers, three Halfway Houses and one County Jail Annex.  The facilities held DOC inmates, parolees and county jail inmates from four counties.   In 2010 Mr. Plantier became Coordinator of Community Resources for the Criminal Justice Advocacy Program of the ARC of New Jersey.  In that capacity he worked with the Superior Courts and Correctional Agencies to find alternatives to incarceration for individuals with Intellectual/Developmental disabilities.  In 2011 he became Director of Corrections for Bucks County Pennsylvania.  In that capacity he supervises three Correctional Facilities with a population of over 1,200 inmates.  He has also worked in the past as a consultant in correctional and sex offender management.   In addition to his position on the NJACA Board of Directors he is a member of the Middle Atlantic States Correctional Association, the Adult Substance Abuse Program (ASAP) of the Middlesex County Correctional Facility and the Association for the Treatment of Sexual Aggressors (ATSA).

Helena Tomé

Helena Tomé currently serves as the Director of Quality Assurance and Training for the New Jersey Association on Correction, where she has been employed since 1999 in various capacities. Ms. Tomé is the primary program evaluator and contract compliance monitor for the agency ensuring compliance with all American Correctional Association, Commission for Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities and Prison Rape Elimination Act standards. She has several years of experience writing, planning and recommending policies, procedures and training which further the objectives of the agency and mission of helping people with a past build a future.

Ms. Tomé has been a Board of Trustees member for the Middle Atlantic States Correctional Association (MASCA) since 2009, was the MASCA conference chairperson in 2010 and 2015 and currently holds the position of Secretary on the Board. She has been a member of the American Correctional Association (ACA) since 2005 and is a former ACA auditor. Additionally, she is the Board Treasurer for the Re-Entry Coalition of NJ; a certified Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Advocate in Burlington and Camden Counties and a graduate of the Governing Institute of New Jersey’s winter leadership class in 2006. Ms. Tomé is a graduate of Rutgers University, possessing a Bachelor of Science degree in Administration of Justice and is a Certified Public Manager.