Rhonda Ntepp, Esq., General Counsel-Legal Clinics Director

Colorado attorney Rhonda Y. Ntepp, Esq. has joined the Institute for People with Criminal Records as General Counsel-Legal Clinics Director. Beginning in the Denver Five Points neighborhood, the Institute will begin opening legal clinics to serve the needs exclusively of people with criminal records and to train felons and probationers as paralegals. Ntepp is also assisting the Institute in its public policy lobbying and advocacy work.

Ntepp has been an associate professor at the Metropolitan State College of Denver in the Criminology and Criminal Justice department since 2001. She previously maintained a small law firm for over 11 years, and has served as a legal representative for entities addressing the evolving social and medical science realities of gender as they relate to legal and social policy; namely, the current development of the interpretation of state and federal constitutional civil rights as they pertain to gender and gender-related criminal justice matters.

Ntepp received her B.A. in Sociology from the University of Colorado at Boulder and J.D. from University of Colorado Law School at Boulder. She is currently working on her Ph.D dissertation on eco-psychology and jurisprudence from the Akamai University in Hawaii.

Highlights

February, 2012: Colorado Attorney, Professor Rhonda Ntepp has joined the Institute for People with Criminal Records as General Counsel-Legal Clinic Director. Beginning in the Denver Five Points neighborhood, the Institute will be opening legal clinics to serve the needs of people with criminal records, exclusively, and to train felons and other probationers as paralegals. Professor Ntepp teaches in the Criminal Justice and Criminology Department in the Metropolitan State College of Denver School of Professional Studies.

June 16, 2011:The Illinois Supreme Court ruled unanimously in People v. Hawkins that it was an “absurd” and “unjust” reading of applicable law for the Department of Corrections to claim the right to garnish inmate work assignment wages at 100%, and not what the legislature intended. The Institute for People with Criminal Records had filed an Amicus Curiae brief in the case. You can watch the oral argument here.

June, 2011. In "Looking for a job? Hope you don’t have any prior convictions," Medill Reports: Chicago discusses the role of the Institute for People with Criminal Records in the Move-the-Box by Executive Order initiative.

June, 2011. Great Books in Prison. The Institute for People with Criminal Records begins partnering with the Illinois Department of Corrections to bring Great Books Foundation programming and discussion groups, beginning in July 2011, at Dwight Correctional Facility for Women.

March, 2011. Jeffrey Pinzino, Development Director for National People's Action, joins the Board of Directors of the Institute for People with Criminal Records.

March, 2011. Mark Whitacre, PhD, COO & President of Operations for Fresno-based Cypress Systems, Inc., joins the Board of Directors of the Institute for People with Criminal Records.

March, 2011. Michael Sweig is featured on Reentry Success Stories.

December 2010 The Journal for Social Justice at De PaulCollege of Law published “Moving the Box by Executive Order in Illinois,” by Michael Sweig and Melissa McClure.The article advocates the use of an executive order to remove the criminal background inquiry box from State of Illinois employment applications.

October 20, 2010. Michael Sweig moderated an esteemed panel at The California Wellness Foundation Violence Prevention Conference in Los Angeles: "Safe and Successful Reentry Strategies." Focus: When the prison doors open, and incarcerated young people return to their homes and communities, are we ready to provide alternatives to a violence-based lifestyle? Panelists discussed promising reentry strategies, shared lessons and learned and proposed ways for communities to work together to address this issue.

October 2010 The Institute for People with Criminal Records and Community Outreach Service Center, Inc., Denver, form a Consortium Partnership and sign a fiscal agency agreement.

October 2010 Pastor Robert Woolfolk of Denver’s Agape Church joins the Board of Directors of the Institute for People with Criminal Records.

September 2010 Mr. Sweig was appointed by Illinois Senate President John J. Cullerton, to serve as one of twelve members from outside the Governor's cabinet on the Criminal Justice Information Authority Task Force to Inventory Employment Barriers.

August 2010 “From Practicing Law to Changing it,” by Dawn Turner Trice (Chicago Tribune, August 1, 2010)
“Michael Sweig, a convicted felon and former high-powered attorney, helped shepherd legislation last year that gives ex-offenders an opportunity to apply for jobs previously off-limits.”