Who We Are

Dr. Demetrius Semien serves as an Assistant Professor of Sociology and Criminology at Spring Hill College, where he also teaches Graduate Theology classes. He earned a M.Div. from Yale Divinity School and an MA and PhD. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Dr. Semien has taught at colleges and universities in NC, KY, Ohio, and AL since 2004. His research primarily focuses on public schools and education, community and police interactions, and how veterans and inmates transition back into society. He is an active member of Open Table United Church of Christ, Alabama Arise, and the Mobile NAACP. In 2017, Dr. Semien served on the Steering Committee of Mobile United and as President of the Mobile Area Interfaith Conference.

Quinlan Hall 310, dsemien@shc.edu

Photo: Demetrius Semien accepting the Diversity Award for the Race Dialogues at Spring Hill College

Dr. Sandra Rogers was the instructional designer for Spring Hill College. She assisted faculty, staff, and students with identifying and maximizing available resources (hardware, software, and human) to address learning needs and social issues. For this project, she collaborates with Dr. Semien, the Jesuit Volunteer Corps, the Project H.O.P.E subcommittee, and sociology students in developing this Google Site and the Google Map of Service Providers. Dr. Rogers' background in reentry includes reviewing Juvenile Justice Educational Enhancement Programs (detention centers, halfway houses, and full residential) in the state of Florida for the School of Criminology at Florida State University. She founded a nonprofit to assist the marginalized to include the previously incarcerated with reentry resources. She also worked as a secretary for public defenders in the City of Mobile.

Burke Library 113, srogers@shc.edu

William is a senior at Spring Hill College working as a intern on this project. He is a criminology major looking to learn more about the reentry system and use his acquired skills from being a student at SHC. Will is a Mobile native hoping to gain experience through the project to further his career of being in law enforcement. He will take the work completed by his fellow students on this project and make it easily accessible to the public through a web presence on the SHC Sociology website. He created a poster of the entire reentry map to create a full size, foldable, paper one to help those without accessible electronics to use the Google map. The poster map will also be shared with the resource providers as a reference tool to place in their offices.

william.l.shaw@email.shc.edu

Kameron graduated from Spring Hill College with a degree in Socoiology and a minor in Pre-Law. In regards to this project, he served as technology support and advancement intern with Drs. Semien and Rogers to develop this Google Site and the Google Reentry map of service providers for previously incarcerated persons. Kameron is a Chicago native and has experience working with previously incarcerated persons, which includes but is not limited to creating and structuring a loan program with a technical assistance facet for previously incarcerated individuals so that they may begin the journey to becoming self-sufficient entrepreneurs, as well as participating in reentry simulations.

kameron.j.powell@email.shc.edu

Nicholas graduated from Spring Hill College in Biochemistry with a minor in Psychology. He served as the website administrator, coordinating resources, and ensuring that this site remains up to date with all relevant information. Nick is a native from Mobile, and while he is not pursuing a career in sociology or the criminal justice system, he wishes to apply his skills to the useful cause. He has worked in the past developing and maintaining websites for non-profit organizations and hopes to use that skill to make a true difference. Currently, he is the webmaster for this project.

nicholas.a.weirath@email.shc.edu

Michael is a fourth year student at Spring Hill College pursuing a double major in pre-med Biology and Psychology with a minor in Forensics. In regards to this project, he is in charge of locating wi-fi hotspots and incorporating them into the map. Michael is from Orlando, and is pursuing a career in the field of central intelligence and investigation. He wishes to apply the skills he learns at Spring Hill to this project in order to make our community a better place.

michael.e.fouts@email.shc.edu

Shelby graduated from Spring Hill College in Psychology. She plans to obtain a master's in Social Work after graduation. She assisted with updating and managing the website. Shelby would like to use the information and experience gathered while working with this project to help those reentering on a larger scale. With her MSW, she wishes to create more programs to help those transition from prison to society.

shelby.d.smyth@email.shc.edu

Olivia graduated from SHC with a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology with a minor in Sociology. She assisted in gathering pictures of service locations and completing the bus routes for the map. She also participated in three reentry simulations, which sparked her interest for getting involved in this project. She served as the student intern for this project in the spring of 2018 and presented her work at the SHC Undergraduate Research Symposium.

olivia.k.miller@email.shc.edu

​Aubrey graduated from SHC with a B.S. in Criminology in 2018. She hopes to attend law school and pursue a JD in order to practice criminal law. Aubrey updated and reorganized the map so that it could be better utilized by both service providers and those who have been previously incarcerated. She also wrote an article about the project for the Springhillian (See p.2). Her experience with participating in reentry simulations and her internship in district court sparked her involvement in this project.

aubrey.b.whitten@email.shc.edu