Jodina Hicks, Executive Director
UrbanPromise's Executive Director, Jodina Hicks, returned to Camden in 2010 after previously working with the organization for 12 years. Jodina began working with founder Bruce Main in 1988 and initiated and led the organization's adolescent programs, including the StreetLeader job training, UrbanPromise Academy, college preparation, and the performing arts.
From 2000-2010, Jodina developed social interventions and impacted research and policy in the realms of youth development, faith-based initiatives, and corrections reform with Public/Private Ventures and the Safer Foundation. At Public/Private Venture she served as Deputy Director for Community and Faith-based initiatives (including Amachi, National Faith Based Initiative, Ready4Work). While working at Safer Foundation, she was initially Vice President of Policy and Community Partnerships and then Chief Program Officer/Vice President, overseeing programs that served 10,000 individuals with criminal records in Illinois and Iowa.
Jodina’s publications include The Illinois Plan to Reduce Recidivism and Improve Public Safety, Chapter 4 (2009); case studies in Managing a Job Retention Program for Ex-Offenders: A Step by Step Guide by T.A. Ryan (2005); Expungement and Other Relief, Chapter 6, Illinois Institute for Continuing Education (IICLE) (2007 and 2010); The New Scarlet Letter “X”, the Christian Association for Prison Aftercare (2008); and Employment Upon Reentry in Corrections Today (2004). She also wrote Illinois legislation and provided support to Public/Private Ventures publications on Amachi, the National Faith-Based Initiative, and Ready4Work. Jodina received her B.A. in Urban Studies from Eastern University and her J.D. from Rutgers Camden School of Law.