TUESDAY, JUNE 11, 2024 – WAR MEMORIAL: 9:00 am – 3:30 pm

Registration and breakfast from 8:00 am – 9:00 am

8:00 AM – BREAKFAST & NETWORKING

9:00 AM – OPENING SESSION (Main Theater)

 Welcome
Yolanda Melville, Senior Counsel to the Attorney General & Director of Community Engagement

Opening Prayer
Pastor John Taylor, New Jersey State Police Lead Chaplain & Senior Pastor, Friendship Baptist Church, Trenton

Pledge of Allegiance

National Anthem
Chaplain Walter Santos, Lacey Township Police Department

Keynote Address
Matthew J. Platkin, New Jersey Attorney General

Remarks
Prosecutor Mark Musella, President, New Jersey Prosecutors Association & Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office
Chief John R. Russo, Rutherford Police Department, President-Elect of New Jersey Chiefs of Police Association

Chaplain of the Year Award
Reverend Dr. Charles Boyer and First Lady Rosalee Boyer, Salvation and Social Justice & Greater Mt. Zion AME Church

9:45 AM – GENERAL SESSION #1 (Main Theater) 

Innovative Law Enforcement Chaplaincy Strategies
This session will highlight innovative police chaplain partnerships across the state. Pairs of law enforcement leaders will speak with their chaplain counterparts to highlight aspects of their innovative partnerships.

Moderator: Yolanda Melville, Senior Counsel to the Attorney General & Director of Community Engagement, New Jersey Office of the Attorney General

Panelists:

• Detective Aquasia Davis, Chaplain Coordinator, Gloucester County Prosecutor’s Office
• Pastor Derek Gatling, Lead Chaplain, Gloucester County Prosecutor’s Office & Senior Pastor, First Baptist Church of Jericho
• Officer Kenny Sharretts, Millville Police Department
• Reverend Aleechea Pitts, Chaplain, Millville Police Department

10:45 AM – NETWORKING BREAK

11:00 AM — GENERAL SESSION #2 (Main Theater) 

The Role of Healing in How New Jersey is Reimagining Public Safety
This session will highlight how the Attorney General’s office is expanding the State’s public safety ecosystem in ways that complement and support law enforcement. It will educate chaplains on developing public safety initiatives and potential new partnerships for them. 

Moderator: Patricia Teffenhart, Executive Director, New Jersey Division of Violence Intervention and Victim Assistance

Panelists:

• Steven Campos, Director, Office of Violence Intervention and Prevention, New Jersey Division of Violence Intervention and Victim Assistance
• Tiffany Wilson, Senior Counsel to the Attorney General & Director, New Jersey Office of Alternative and Community Responses
• Elizabeth Rebein, Deputy Director, New Jersey Office of Alternative and Community Responses

12:00 PM – LUNCH & FELLOWSHIP

1:00 PM – BREAKOUT SESSIONS

 Breakout Session #1 (Main Theater)

The Importance of Chaplaincy in Effective Coalition Building
This session serves as a case study of the ways in which faith leaders, law enforcement, stakeholders, and community organizations in Trenton have effectively cultivated coalitions that drive solution-based approaches to address public safety.

Moderator: Prosecutor Angelo J. Onofri, Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office

Panelists:

• Pastor John Taylor, NJSP Lead Chaplain & Senior Pastor, Friendship Baptist Church, Trenton
• Chaplain Barry Vazquez, Mercer County Chaplain Coordinator & NJ State Police Chaplain
• Pastor Antonio Bellamy, Salvation and Social Justice

Breakout Session #2 (George Washington Ballroom)

Keys to Maintaining a Chaplain Program
This session will provide an overview of the philosophies, principles, personnel, and procedures of law enforcement and first responder chaplaincy.  This panel will explore the best practices to start and maintain a chaplaincy program.

Moderator: Liz Rebein, Deputy Director, OACR

Panelists:

• Reverend Tami Weaver-Henry, Lead Chaplain, Jersey City Police Department
• Tawana Moody, Police Director, Jersey City Police Department

Breakout Session #3 (Delaware River Room)

Chaplains and Resiliency
Moderator: Ashley Behre, Deputy Attorney General, NJ Division of Criminal Justice & Trained Resiliency Program Officer, NJ Law Enforcement Resiliency Program

Panelists:

• David Leonardis, Training and Outreach Liaison, NJ Division of Criminal Justice & Acting State Chief Resiliency Officer, NJ Law Enforcement Resiliency Program
• Lieutenant Joseph Waters, NJ Division of Criminal Justice & Resiliency Program Officer, NJ Law Enforcement Resiliency Program
• Deacon Keith Gibbons, Chaplain, Westfield Police Department

1:50 PM – NETWORKING BREAK 

2:00 PM – AFTERNOON WORKSHOP (George Washington Ballroom)

 Chaplaincy: The Path Forward
This session offers a 21st-century roundtable experience, where chaplains provide feedback and solutions about the strategies they are employing in law enforcement agencies and offer new ways to explore law enforcement chaplaincy.

 Moderator: Yolanda Melville, Senior Counsel to the Attorney General & Director of Community Engagement 

2:45 PM – CLOSING MINI-PRESENTATIONS (George Washington Ballroom)

• Nicole Sargenti, Chief of Staff & Wellness Coordinator, NJ Department of Corrections
• Cherie Castellano, Program Director, Cop2Cop

 3:15 PM – FAREWELL

PARKING INFORMATION