Our Team

Director

Renie Rule is a prominent non-profit leader and fundraiser in Arkansas, best known as the founder of the Paws in Prison program, which pairs shelter dogs with incarcerated individuals for training. She is also a former executive director of the Arkansas Hospice Foundation. She was recognized by Just Communities of Arkansas for her work with Paws in Prison and received the Father Blitz Award for her service to the prison system.

Director of Programs and Volunteer Services

Lisa Kessler has been a Certified Religious Advisor for the Arkansas Department of Corrections for many years. She is a licensed mental health professional and has been a volunteer with Compassion Works for All for over six years. She has a long time meditation practice and has completed the Upaya Buddhist Chaplaincy Training Program, a two-year program under the auspices of the Upaya Institute and Zen Center in Santa Fe, New Mexico. She has volunteered in many of the prisons in Arkansas teaching life skills of much diversity to groups and individuals.

Board of Directors

The CWFA board of directors serves in fiduciary, fundraising and guidance capacities to the organization. 

The board of directors conducts monthly meetings, actively promotes prison outreach, and undertakes other service roles in the Central Arkansas community. 

Doug Holmes, President

Lisa Kessler

Anna Cox
Founder

Damien Land
Union Pacific Railroad

Joyvin Benton
Development Director, Winthrop Rockefeller Institute

Kaleem Nazeem
Prison Reform Advocate

Casell Randle
Regional Sales Manager, Tate & Lyle

Jim Rule
Board Member