TCJC Staff
Ana Yáñez-Correa, Ph.D.
Executive Director
Ana Yáñez-Correa was born in Mexico and immigrated to the United States at the age of twelve where she worked as a domestic worker with her mother until she entered college. She has earned a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice and a Masters Degree in Public Administration; she also holds a Ph.D. in Policy and Planning in Education Administration, focusing her dissertation on the school-to-prison pipeline. Throughout every stage of her education and career, Ana has taken an active leadership role in the community. She served as Chief of Staff for a State Representative during the State Legislative Session in 2001 and focused on criminal justice-related policies and immigrant rights. In 2002, Ana became Policy Director for the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) of Texas, where she developed and advocated for LULAC’s legislative platform during the 2003 State Legislative Session – with a special emphasis on criminal justice – as well as during the three special sessions on redistricting, and a special session on school finance, with a special emphasis on criminal justice. In 2005, Ana became the Project Director for TCJC’s Solutions for Sentencing & Incarceration Project, which focuses on promoting proven, pro-family criminal justice policies that save taxpayers money and improve the safety of Texas communities. During the 2007 state legislative session, Ana was formally honored by the Texas House of Representatives and Texas Senate for “working toward real solutions to the problems facing the Texas criminal justice system.” During Texas’ 2009 and 2011 legislative sessions, Ana was instrumental in educating and organizing key stakeholders about the importance of adopting policies on fair defense, prison diversion, probation and parole reform, re-entry, and overall criminal and juvenile justice efficiency. Since late 2005, Ana has been the Executive Director of TCJC, successfully fostering relationships among a wide range of coalition partners, criminal justice practitioners, law enforcement groups, civil rights organizations, and other community members, allowing TCJC to promote policies that serve all facets of society.
Leah Pinney
Financial Manager and Policy Analyst
Leah Pinney is a graduate of St. Edward’s University, where she earned a B.A. in Political Science with honors. Leah has worked with the TCJC team for several years and in various capacities, but she officially joined the organization in 2007. Leah brings work experience from both corporate and nonprofit sectors, with her most recent work involving project research for a national civil rights organization. On joining TCJC, Leah supported the Juvenile Justice Initiative, where, through research efforts, she helped to advocate for increased safety and accountability within the Texas Youth Commission. Leah later shifted her focus to the Fair Defense Project, where she continues to work with key partners to promote best practices and policies that ensure opportunities for indigent defendants to receive timely and well-qualified counsel. The work of the Fair Defense Project also includes the advancement of evidence-based responses to system-involved children and the mentally ill, and improved best practices to protect the wrongfully accused. In recent years, Leah also began supporting TCJC as an organizational and financial manager. Leah has background experience in banking and capably handles TCJC’s bookkeeping, financial reports, and organizational records, as well as providing human resource functions for staff, work-study students, interns, and volunteers.
Molly Totman, J.D.
Senior Policy Analyst
Molly Totman graduated with honors from the University of Texas in 2000, where she earned a B.A. in English. In 2003, she graduated from the University of Texas School of Law with a concentration in racial studies. She passed the Texas Bar Exam later that year and began an internship with TCJC in November 2003, during which time she also worked as a Researcher for the Center for Public Policy Priorities, a nonpartisan, nonprofit think tank in Austin. Molly was hired by TCJC in March 2004 and went on to become TCJC’s Public Safety Project Director, where she served as the sole statewide repository and analyst of required, annual racial profiling reports from Texas law enforcement agencies from 2004 to 2008. She also assisted agencies in understanding their data, streamlining their reporting practices, and improving the way they protect the public through the implementation and institutionalization of needed policy changes. Ultimately, Molly was the chief contributor to the production of four comprehensive racial profiling reports on behalf of TCJC. Currently, Molly serves as TCJC’s Senior Policy Analyst; she contributes heavily both as a researcher and an editor during the production stages of various TCJC policy guides, manuals, and educational materials published by all of TCJC’s projects.
Travis Leete, J.D.
Policy Analyst
Travis grew up in Sonoma County, just north of San Francisco, but headed south for the warmer surf of Southern California after high school. He graduated from UCLA with a degree in The Study of Religion and later earned a Master’s at Yale Divinity School. A commitment to improve the lives of others was inspired by his parents at an early age; his father spent his career working for the California Department of Rehabilitation, fighting for disability rights. Sharing this passion to serve, Travis ventured on to law school in Sacramento, California, graduating from the University of the Pacific in 2009. While in law school, Travis worked for a Public Defender and had an opportunity to volunteer in New Orleans aiding inmates who had been seriously impacted in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. The efforts in New Orleans led to the dismissal of charges and release of a detainee accused of second-degree murder. After publishing a policy review on a California proposition designed to alter, among other things, the State’s Penal Code, Travis became interested in criminal justice advocacy through policy improvement. After working with the Texas Civil Rights Project, Travis joined the TCJC as a Policy Analyst. Travis works primarily on legislative issues that will impact the criminal justice system in Texas, and he feels lucky to work with an admirable group of human rights advocates. Travis is currently a member of the California and Texas Bars.
Benet Magnuson, J.D.
Analyst, Juvenile Justice Initiative
Benet Magnuson graduated magna cum laude from Harvard University, where he received an A.B. in Classics Greek and English. He went on to receive a J.D. from Harvard Law School, where he also worked as a negotiation consultant and instructor. Benet has significant experience in Texas justice system reforms as a past staff attorney for the Texas Access to Justice Commission. He also currently serves as an instructor of negotiation and financial literacy in juvenile and adult detention facilities in Texas, an on-the-ground experience that guides his policy and outreach work at TCJC. As an analyst for TCJC’s Juvenile Justice Initiative, Benet works with all stakeholders in the Texas juvenile justice system – families, youths, officers, and advocates – to support the development of consistent, effective juvenile justice services and policies. Benet is a certified mediator and a member of the Texas Bar, and he serves as a tutor for youth who have dropped out of high school.
Jennifer Carreon, M.S.C.J.
Researcher, Juvenile Justice Initiative
Jennifer Carreon graduated with honors from Texas State University in 2007, where she earned a B.S. in Criminal Justice. She continued her education, earning an M.S.C.J. from Texas State University in 2009. During her post-graduate studies, Jennifer was the recipient of various awards, including Applied Arts Graduate Award [Fall 2007], College of Applied Arts Fellowship Award [Fall 2008], and Outstanding Graduate Student of the Year: Department of Criminal Justice [Spring 2009]. Pursuing her passion for research, Jennifer remained in academia as an adjunct professor for her alma mater and has taught courses in Forensic Evidence, Cybercrime, Crime Theory, and Juvenile Justice. In 2011, Jennifer became one of the newest additions to TCJC, applying her strengths in writing and research to impact the issues currently facing the Texas juvenile justice system. Jennifer has focused her research in a multitude of areas that lend perfectly to TCJC’s Juvenile Justice Initiative, including the development of juveniles and its impact on delinquency, comparative juvenile justice systems across the globe, gender disparities among juvenile delinquents, treatment versus punishment, and the need for a national juvenile justice evaluation center.
Sarah Carswell, M.S.W.,
Policy Researcher, Immigration
Sarah V. Carswell received her B.A. in English and Philosophy from the University of Michigan in 2007, where she was recognized for her social justice leadership work with the Prison Creative Arts Project. Following her passion for criminal justice reform, Sarah studied Social Work at the University of Texas at Austin with a concentration in Community and Administrative Leadership and a certificate in Nonprofit Management. There, she was awarded a scholarship from the Social Work Alumni Association, and was a Dean’s Ambassador. She received her Masters Degree in the Science of Social Work, with honors, in 2010. Sarah has developed an interest in the intersection between Texas’ criminal justice system and the federal immigration system and is co-author of the report Operation Streamline: Draining Justice and Drowning Dollars Along the Rio Grande. Since joining TCJC’s team, Sarah has developed a body of centralized information on immigration trends and policy, while aiding legislative advocacy groups, as TCJC’s support person for the TRUST Coalition. Sarah will be wrapping up her position with TCJC in October by releasing a short documentary highlighting immigration-focused legislative efforts from Texas’ 82nd Legislative Session.
Jane Ehinmoro
Project Associate
Jane Ehinmoro grew up in Calgary, Alberta, but moved to Texas in 2007. She graduated with honors from Stephen F. Austin State University in May 2011, where she earned a B.S. in Criminal Justice. Jane joined the TCJC team in 2010 as an intern with the Texas Legislative Internship Program, created by Senator Rodney Ellis. Jane is inspired to create a change in Texas’ criminal justice system and hopes to attend law school in the future. In her role at TCJC, Jane assists the staff with administrative as well as correspondence duties, including maintaining the inmate correspondence system.