Park University Hosting Event Focused on Women Transforming Criminal Justice

March 13, 2023 — Park University will host a roundtable event featuring 10 women from the Kansas City region in criminal justice-related fields for a discussion on “Women Transforming Criminal Justice” on Wednesday, April 5, from 9 a.m. to noon. The event, which is open to the public, will be held at Graham Tyler Memorial Chapel on the University’s flagship Parkville Campus.

The program will be a communication exchange with women who “broke the rules” and have become successful within a culturally and socially non-traditional career field. Although civil rights and women’s rights have made great strides in creating inroads, the hope is that the discussion will educate attendees about the significant underrepresentation of women in criminal justice and strengthen the research that demonstrates the importance of improving the representation.

In addition, the event will explore cultural strongholds that continue to predict and dictate career and academic paths for women. It will also celebrate the panel of accomplished women while unlocking the secrets to their success as professionals, family members and academic achievers. The last hour of the roundtable will provide attendees the opportunity to ask questions of the panelists.

Individuals expected to participate in the roundtable discussion include:
          •  Kaitlynn Donnelly, J.D., assistant prosecuting attorney, Platte County, Mo.
          •  Regina Funk, treatment court manager, 7th Judicial Circuit Court, Clay County, Mo.
          •  Carol Getty, Ph.D., professor emerita of criminal justice administration, Park University, and former chair of the U.S. Parole Commission
          •  Sandy Karsten, director of the Missouri Department of Public Safety
          •  Sgt. Bobbie King, administration bureau operations, Kansas City, Mo., Police Department
          •  Tiffany Leuty, J.D., 7th District defender, Missouri State Public Defender
          •  C. Ann Mesle, J.D., retired 16th Circuit Court of Jackson County, Mo., judge and former member of Park University’s Board of Trustees
          •  Anne Precythe, director of the Missouri Department of Corrections
          •  Zim Schwartze, chief of the Missouri Capitol Police
          •  Maj. Kari Thompson, commander of the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department’s Community Engagement Division
          •  Sgt. Savana Watkins, Missouri Department of Corrections, and Park University junior majoring in criminal justice administration/corrections

The roundtable event is sponsored by the University’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and the Department of Criminal Justice Administration.