Speakers

Robert Sullivan joins as our weekly speaker to discuss how COVID has impacted the Johnson County Department of Corrections.

Robert has worked in the criminal justice system for 22 years.  Before starting his criminal justice career he served four years in the United States Marine Corps.  Following his honorable discharge he attended Emporia State University and graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science.  Robert’s first job out of college was as a probation officer with Community Corrections in Emporia, Kansas, where he eventually became director.  During his tenure in Emporia, Robert was also commissioned as a reserve deputy sheriff with the Lyon County Sheriff’s Office, and in 2013, received a silver award for exceptional police service from the Kansas Association Chiefs of Police.  In January 2015, Robert left his position with Community Corrections to work for the Johnson County Manager’s Office as their Criminal Justice Coordinator. In this role Robert regularly collaborated with federal, state and local criminal justice agencies to develop innovative solutions to recurring social problems in order to improve human outcomes, produce cost savings, and more effectively target resources.  In January 2018, Robert was appointed to the position of director for the Johnson County Department of Corrections.

Erin and Jodi join our weekly meeting to discuss how the JOCO Dept of Corrections supports the local community through volunteering and program coordination.

Erin has worked for the Johnson County Department of Corrections for 14 years and has served in a few capacities, including a Probation Officer and Substance Abuse Counselor.  Her current position, that she's held for the last 5 years, is the Volunteers & Programs Coordinator.  She would describe her position as the “fun one of Corrections” because she gets to work with their amazing community providing resources for their clients and planning family and community events.  She loves working with the clients they serve because she wholeheartedly believes people can change.  It’s hard and they have to believe in them and support them, but they see it happen time and time again and it’s those success stories that help them last in this field. 

Jodi has worked for the Johnson County Juvenile Services Center for the past 18 years. She has been in a supervisory capacity for the last 16 years and is currently the Administrative Supervisor. She directly supervises the admissions and specialty posts for the JSC. Erin Moeder and Jodi have worked together the last few years as co-chairs of the Activities Planning Team at the Juvenile Services Center. When Erin was contacted by UnCover KC to work on a partnership to involve our youth in giving back to their communities, Jodi jumped at the chance to work on this project with her. She has worked with juvenile offenders for over 21 years now. What she has learned during this time is that the youth that they serve in detention are not all that different than the youth that are our own children, nieces, nephews, and neighbor’s kids. They have made a mistake that has gotten them in contact with law enforcement and that could have real world consequences for their actions. Having said that, we ALL have the capacity to learn, grow, and develop as humans and we should be afforded that opportunity to do so. Oftentimes, these kiddos just need someone to believe that they can be successful and that can be there to help them to develop the skills they need to achieve their goals. 

Jeff Martin joins our weekly meeting to discuss Evergy's sustainable and renewable energy programs.

As vice president, customer and community operations, Jeff Martin leads commercial and industrial relations, economic development, and assists with community activities.

Mr. Martin served as vice president, regulatory affairs with Westar Energy from 2013 to 2018. He has held various roles with Westar Energy since joining the company as a design tech in 1993. In 2012, Mr. Martin was named executive director, regulatory affairs. From 2006 to 2012, he was director, reliability and resource scheduling. He's also held roles supervising design in Manhattan and operations in Hutchinson.

Mr. Martin received his bachelor of science in electronics engineering technology from Pittsburg State University and his master of business in operations management from Kansas State University. He is on the board of Kansas Big Brothers and Sisters, the Topeka Chamber and the Stormont Vail Foundation. Mr. Martin also serves on the Management Advisory Committee for the Kansas State University College of Business.