About Us
Criminal Justice Cafe is where transparent, vulnerable and open and honest conversations about all things criminal justice happen.
transparent, vulnerable , open and honest conversations
Our Team
Jacqueline Purcell
f/k/a Jacqueline Polverari
Founder of Evolution Reentry Services, Jacqueline is a leader with over 25 years’ of proven successes in mentoring and therapeutic environments and criminal justice reentry. Her experience working with trauma in the criminal justice field culminated through her personal journey of making poor choices over a decade ago. She has since used her professional expertise and sociology background to dedicate herself to improving the policies and practices affecting women who are justice impacted. Jacqueline has focused on Criminal Justice Advocacy, Reform and Reentry services specializing in trauma as it relates to women and their families relating to incarceration
She has been a featured keynote speaker at several criminal justice and psychology conferences throughout the country. As a sociological researcher she is currently in the process of researching the effects of incarcerating women has on their children. She is a 2022 JustLeadershipUSA “Leading with Conviction” fellow and also recently founded Criminal Justice Cafe, a podcast to educate communities about the realities of the criminal justice system helping to change the stigma of justice impacted individuals. Jacqueline is an active member of the National Association of Social Workers, American Sociological Association, and The Sociological Research Association and speaks at conferences and symposiums throughout the country regarding the criminal justice and prison system. Jacqueline holds a BS in Sociology, MA in business, MS in Social Work and has recently graduated Summa Cum Laude from Albertus Magnus College with her MS in Criminal Justice with a concentration in Correctional Administration.
Ms. Polverari is also active in various organizations: 2022 JustLeadershipUSA’s Leading with Conviction Fellow, Member of the National Association of Social Workers, Member of The American Sociological Association, Member of Alpha Sigma Beta, The Gamma Beta Chapter of Albertus Magnus College, Member Kappa Gamma Pi, Honors Program Chapter of Albertus Magnus College, Student Member of the Connecticut Bar Association, Member of the Connecticut Community Nonprofit Alliance (2022), Member of the Connecticut Business and Industry Association (CBIA), Member of the New York City Justice Ombudsman Advisory Board, Member of the American Land Title Association, Member of The International Alliance of Theatrical Employees (I.A.T.S.E Local 74, New Haven Chapter).
Maria Caceres
Alexa joined Evolution Reentry Services as the first young woman in the country to provide support services for children of women who are going through the criminal justice system. Alexa is uniquely equipped to help children & young adult women whose mothers have been impacted by the Criminal Justice System. Through different emotions and stages of grief that she encountered while a teenager through her college years when her own mother went through the criminal justice system and was then taken from her for a brief time she is able to provide a one of a kind peer support. Only someone who has been through such trauma could understand the loss a child or young adult feels when there is a separation due to parental incarceration. Alexa earned her masters in business Administration at Nichols College and coaches high school softball in her spare time.