Patricia Alejandro earned a BA from Yale College and a JD from Harvard Law School. She currently serves as a clinical instructor at Harvard Law School, leading the Community Enterprise Project at Harvard's Transactional Law Clinics. Patricia previously worked in New York City as a staff attorney at TakeRoot Justice, where she supported worker cooperatives, not-for-profits, and small businesses, and as an associate at White & Case. She has taught online negotiation and leadership courses to Masters students at BayPath University and has trained as a Negotiation Works instructor. Patricia currently also serves on the Board of Directors for the NYC Network of Worker Cooperatives.

Alicia Balthazar earned a BA from the University of Maryland, where she was a Research Assistant, Vice President of Student Affairs for the Black Student Union, and a mentor in several programs. Alicia currently serves as the Paralegal Coordinator for the Pro Bono Program at Hogan Lovells. She previously served as a Legislative Intern for Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton and Congressman Emanuel Cleaver II. Alicia was part of the Hogan Lovells team that the Legal Aid Society of DC honored in 2019 with the Klepper Prize for Volunteer Excellence for their exemplary work on a class-action lawsuit alleging systemic problems with the District’s food stamp system.

Betsy Biben is a forensic and clinical social worker who serves as the Chief of the Office of Rehabilitation and Development (“ORD”) for the Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia (“PDS”), where she has been employed since 1982. She received her Masters in Social Work from the University of Connecticut and a postgraduate certificate from the Washington School of Psychiatry. Betsy is a member of the Academy of Certified Social Workers (ACSW) and a licensed social worker in D.C. (LICSW). She is a founding member of the National Association of Sentencing Advocates, renamed NASAMS (National Alliance for Sentencing Alternatives & Mitigation Specialists) and has served as a consultant for The Sentencing Project and the National Center on Institutions and Alternatives (NCIA). Betsy’s recent practice has turned to creating reentry plans for and assisting in the reentry of persons who have served twenty and more years of prison. In 2018, she and a colleague who served 26 years started a weekly reentry support group, named “15-30-Life”, for those who served at least 15 years in prison. Betsy previously served as a board member for the Southern Center for Human Rights and Voices for a Second Chance in D.C., and she is proud to be a Board member of Negotiation Works.

Board Treasurer Robert Duncan earned a BA from the University of Pennsylvania, an MA from Catholic University, and a JD from the University of Virginia School of Law. A senior counsel at Hogan Lovells, he handles public interest litigation and previously served as the head of the firm’s Pro Bono practice. Robert is an adjunct professor at the University of Virginia School of Law. Prior to practicing law, Robert taught special-needs teenagers and managed programs for mentally disabled adults. Until Robert got involved with Negotiation Works, he hadn’t thought much about how integral the need, and therefore the ability, to negotiate is in our daily lives. That is undoubtedly because he had always “negotiated” naturally and, as a privileged white male, with great confidence and (tho unearned) authority. Arming those for whom such self-confidence and authority are often elusive due to their less privileged background and upbringing, and thereby enabling them to navigate successfully through differences of opinion and conflict, is a life skill gift that Negotiation Works offers. He is honored to be a part of this mission of empowerment through his participation in supporting Negotiation Works.

Stuart Ishimaru grew up in San Jose, California. He earned an AB from the University of California, Berkeley and a JD from the George Washington University School of Law. He served as the head of the Office of Minority and Women Inclusion at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau; led the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission; served as Deputy Assistant Attorney General and Counsel to the Assistant Attorney General in the Civil Rights Division of the US Department of Justice; served as Acting Staff Director of the US Commission on Civil Rights; and served on the professional staffs of the House Armed Services Committee and the Judiciary Subcommittee on Civil and Constitutional Rights. Stuart believes Negotiation Works helps community members “crack the code” for better outcomes in their lives and gives them proven techniques to create positive change and address power inequities. Stuart is delighted to support the Negotiation Works team in carrying out this important effort that addresses a critical, and seldom acknowledged, need throughout the community.

Colie Levar Long, born and raised in Washington DC, truly embodies the transformative impact of second chances. When he was 18 years old, he was convicted and sentenced to life without parole. During his incarceration, Colie became an author, publishing Drama City, a fiction book loosely based on his life. He also served as a mentor for incarcerated youth at the Young Men Emerging Unit of the DC Jail. After serving 26 years, Colie was released from incarceration. Building on his passion about criminal justice reform, Colie secured a Justice Reform Fellowship with FAMM. He currently works as a Program Associate at the Georgetown Prison and Justice Initiative, where he supports program administration, returning citizens, and Prison Scholars at the D.C. Jail. Committed to empowering marginalized communities, Colie also continues to pursue work on behalf of justice-involved individuals through various roles as a writer, speaker, and advocate. Colie’s story was featured in the 2023 documentary, District of Second Chances, which explores DC’s Second Look Act, a law that provides the possibility of a reduced sentence for individuals who were under 25 at the time of their crime and who have served at least 15 years of their sentence. Colie’s belief in Negotiation Works’ programs and goals stems from his views that empowering individuals to resolve conflicts and advocate for themselves is pivotal in addressing systemic injustices and fostering community stability. Colie’s embodiment of the Negotiation Works mission is his unwavering dedication to change and empowerment.