Moya Atkinson, MSW
SWASC Founder/Coordinator of National Programs
Moya Atkinson is now professionally retired after serving as the Executive Director of the NASW-MD Chapter for nearly ten years (1993-2002). She supports the Torture Abolition and Survivors Support Coalition (TASSC), and organizations and individuals opposed to torture.
Nancy Arvold,
PhD, MFT
Dr. Nancy C. Arvold is a psychologist who has been a licensed MFT in private practice for over 40 years and an adjunct professor and clinical supervisor at California Institute of Integral Studies. She received her PhD in psychology in 2010 from the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology in CA (currently Sofia University), where her dissertation was entitled “Doing Our Own Work: White Women’s Struggles to Become Authentic Racial Justice Allies.”
She serves on the board of Psychologists for Social Responsibility and is active with Plymouth Church (theJazz and Justice church of Oakland, CA). She sings with three choirs and choruses and lives in a cooperative community that is part of the Rosie the Riveter National Historical Park in Richmond, CA.
Sandra Bernabei, LCSW
Sandra Bernabei is a community organizer and an antiracist social worker in private practice in Westchester and NYC. She is the past-president of NASW-NYC, as well as a founding member of the Antiracist Alliance. To date, over 12,000 educators and human services practitioners have participated in the undoing racism/community organization workshops. www.sandrabernabei.com
Ken Bright
Ken Bright, once incarcerated himself, founded Life Progressive Services, a not-for-profit Reentry and Transitional Program for Returning Citizens to the community in 2009. He is also involved in Riker’s Reform, Peace Keepers Organization, Boys and Girls Club of America’s “Passport to Manhood, and the Westchester Red Cross of Putnam County’s emergency food program. https://www.volunteernewyork.org/HOC__Organization_Profile_Page?Oid=001F0000011W8EdIAK
Ken is also a member of SWASC’s Advisory Board.
Mary Buser, LCSW
SWASC Co-Director
Mary Buser, co-director and founding member of SWASC, is a former Assistant Chief of Mental Health, Rikers Island, Punitive Segregation Unit. She has written opeds regarding solitary confinement and in 2015 published the award-winning book “Lockdown on Rikers: Shocking Stories of Abuse and Injustice at New York’s Notorious Jail.” Along with Advisory Board member, Frank De Palma, she coauthored Never to Surrender! 22 Years in Solitary: The Battle for my Soul in a U.S. Prison. She is a frequent panelist at community and national events. www.marybuser.com
Nicole Capozziello, MSW
SWASC Co-Director
Nicole Capozziello is currently pursuing a PhD in Social Welfare at the University at Buffalo. Since 2019, she has worked as a local organizer with the Western New York chapter of the Campaign for Alternatives to Isolated Confinement and a community gardener and activist with Grassroots Gardens of WNY. She is also a freelance writer on food, the arts, and social justice, and recently wrote study guides for Solitary Watch and SWASC.
Marguerita Johnson-Tolson, MSW
Marguerita Johnson-Tolson received her MSW from Fordham University, and is a CASAC-T, NYS Certified Peer Specialist, Recovery Coordinator, and Youth & Family Advocate. She joined SWASC in 2017 while doing her internship with Sandy Bernabei. During her internship, Marguerita developed a passion for undoing racism and attended several workshops gaining knowledge on getting to the root cause of racial inequities. Marguerita speaks on solitary confinement at Fordham University, Hunter College, Long Island University and New York University. She emphasizes the mental impact it had on her as a formerly incarcerated woman. She works with other movements such as HALT (The Humane Alternatives to Long Term Solitary Confinement Act) to work towards ending this inhumane degrading treatment.
Marguerita is also a member of SWASC’s Advisory Board.
Mary Pelton-Cooper, PsyD
Mary Pelton-Cooper is a past president of Psychologists for Social Responsibility, a Doctor of Clinical Psychology and a Registered Nurse. She is a retired Professor of Psychology and is now in private practice. In her university career she was a founding member and President of a campus ALLIES organization for faculty and staff, and she chaired her university AAUP Committee on the Status of Women in the Academic Profession. Now she has joined the leadership of Social Workers & Allies Against Solitary Confinement. She believes PsySR, SWASC and other comparable organizations are critically important in human systems. Professional organizations at the national level tend to engage in abuses of power. And thus the work of independent social justice organizations is essential as a counterbalance.
Nick Shepack, MSW
Nick Shepack is an MSW graduate from the University of Nevada, Reno. He started his work on solitary confinement during his internship with the ACLU of Nevada (ACLUNV) during the 2018-2019 academic year. Nicholas spent a year as a social work intern for the Washoe County Public Defenders Office working with the accused. Nicholas has recently accepted a fellowship with the ACLU of Nevada. As the Stop Solitary Fellow for the ACLU of Nevada he is working to change solitary policy at the state and local levels. He hopes to build a robust network of solitary confinement survivors, their families, social workers and community members to lift up the voices of impacted persons and to create lasting change.
Ali Winters, DSW, LCSW
Ali Winters is an Assistant Professor of Social Work at Tennessee State University, with direct practice experience with those placed in solitary confinement and death row. She is a social justice advocate working toward criminal justice reform surrounding the use of solitary confinement at the local, state and national level.