Our Team

A Grassroot Organization With A Commitment To Inclusivity.

Our Team of staff, Volunteers, Board Members, and Advisors offers a diversity of backgrounds and skill sets that guarantees success. Our success is enhanced by being inclusive regardless of ethnicity, gender, sex, culture, or with a system impacte history.

Kathleen Rodriguez

Co-Executive Director

In 2014, Kathleen launched California’s Parole Suitability Hearing Support (CAPSHS) to guide prisoners and their support network through parole hearings. Leveraging her experience from aiding over 500 adults in custody from 2014-2020, led to developing the INSIGHT program, focusing on introspective rehabilitation. In 2021, CAPSHS allied with the Choose Kindness Foundation to extend support through programs like Mindful Kindness and the INSIGHT program.

Kathleen then co-founded Kindful Restoration with Ernesto Rodriguez in 2022, aiming to expand these rehabilitative programs nationwide, while also providing direct facilitation and training. Additionally, she is a certified facilitator in California for various personal development programs that include Domestic Violence, Anger Management, Parenting and Life Skills.

Ernesto Rodriguez

Co-Executive Director

At 18, Ernesto faced a 37-year sentence, a journey that led him from solitary confinement to transformative growth. His pivotal encounter with mentor Dr. Doug Carnine, sparked by an essay he wrote while housed in a security housing unit initiated a path of education and self-improvement. Embracing every self-help opportunity, including A.A., N.A., and mindfulness, Ernesto's commitment to change flourished.

His efforts culminated in educational achievements and the creation of the Mindful Kindness Program (MKP) alongside Carnine. Ernesto was released from prison in September 2023. Today, as Co-Executive Director of Kindful Restoration, Ernesto leverages his journey and insights to foster rehabilitation and positive programming, embodying the profound impact of mentorship, education, and dedicated self-growth.

While incarcerated, Ernesto earned two associate degrees, one in Liberal Arts and humanities and one in Sociology. He also earned his bachelor’s degree in psychology. He is a certified Addiction Intern Counselor (SUD 9366) and a certified California state Facilitator for Domestic Violence, Anger Management, Parenting, and Life Skills.

Alissa Haden

Web Master

Alissa is a dedicated advocate for transforming systems to uplift marginalized communities. With a background shaped by growing up in an environment where individuals grappling with mental illness often faced neglect, Alissa brings a profound understanding of the importance of holistic support systems.

Alissa's passion for leveraging technology to enhance social services led her to become an expert when it comes to tech development within Kindful Restoration. Her unique perspective drives our efforts to provide innovative assistance solutions that prioritize the needs of those often overlooked by society.

Ronald Alvarado

Team Member

Ronald Alvarado has worked in addiction medicine for seven years. His purpose is to assist those struggling with addiction in getting a better understanding of each and every case and factor that plays a role in the development of this disease.

He has worked in all modalities as well as management to assist in staff personal growth to better understand clients and needs.

He is a firm believer that a strong staff equipped with the right tools can convey a powerful message. Drug abuse has become common and unique at the same time, so as a professional in this field, it is important to find new ways and strategic game plans to battle this disease and help individuals such as Mothers, fathers, sons, and daughters regain confidence and self-respect to achieve their personal potential.

Ron thinks the ultimate goal is not just to serve clients, but to foster a culture of excellence and unity within the workplace. He envisions a workplace where staff and clients collaborate, striving towards a common goal of personal and professional growth.

Working with those in reentry holds a special place in my heart. First and foremost, it is important for those coming home to have a sense of purpose and need for personal achievement. For everyone, in general, it is important to be mindful and kind to ourselves so that we are better equipped to show others what that looks like.

Michael Ortega

Team Member

Michael Ortega is a healthcare professional with more than a decade of experience in the substance use disorder and mental health industry. He places great emphasis on creating a safe and collaborative team environment and believes strongly in promoting healthy work cultures. Michael is a dedicated advocate for those who are marginalized and ensures that he provides excellent care to his clients. Over the years, he has worked in various positions, from an entry-level technician to program director. He takes pride in his ability to handle staffing, create policies and procedures, and conduct ongoing training

Our Board and Advisors

Dr. Doug Carnine

Treasurer

Doug Carnine, Professor Emeritus at the University of Oregon, and President of the Kindr Foundation spent the first 20 years of his career focused on improving the achievement of k-12 students who too often fail in school: children of poverty, limited English speakers, and students with disabilities.

His scholarly works have been cited in over 5,000 books and journals worldwide. He spent the next 12 years of his career leading a campaign to increase the importance of evidence in education decision-making. This campaign involved working with business and government groups, ranging from large cities like Los Angeles to the US Congress and Department of Education. He received a presidential appointment, with Senate confirmation, to the National Institute for Literacy Advisory Board and later received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Council for Exceptional Children.

For the past 12 years, he has focused on mindful kindness, first coordinating the all-volunteer Spreading Kindness Campaign for Lane County Oregon, and then launching the Eugene-based multimillion-dollar Choose Kindness Foundation/d.b.a. KindR Foundation that works with schools, businesses, prisons, and social service agencies across the US

Dr. Linda Carnine

Board Member

Linda McRoberts Carnine is presently the Vice President of the Kindr Foundation. She has been an avid supporter of all the kindness efforts she and her husband and founder, Doug Carnine, have been making in this arena for five decades. As an educator, she has been devoted to improving the achievement of at-risk youth.

Linda received degree a master’s and doctorate from the University of Oregon (Curriculum & Instruction; Special education), as well as degrees from the University of Illinois and Lewis & Clark College. Linda has served as a teacher, school administrator, and curriculum developer in both public and Bureau of Indian Education schools. Her work has encompassed schools across the US serving underrepresented populations, serving as a Special Services Director, (i.e., special education, Title I, Indian Education, bilingual and early intervention), and as a consultant for the University of Oregon in the Western Regional Reading First Technical Assistance Center.Linda heads up her family’s project to return the use of lands to indigenous people in the areas surrounding Eugene, Oregon.

She and Doug have created a land trust that allows tribes to use the conservation area for pow-wows, training seminars, and other tribal activities. She is also currently engaged in the revision of the Corrective Reading Decoding program, which she co-authored with Zig Engelmann and others

Michelle Cruz

Board Member

In 2007, I had a transformative experience that reshaped my understanding of the difference between a "job" and a "career." Growing up, my household didn't focus on financial education—topics like setting financial goals, saving money, buying a home, or planning for retirement were rarely discussed. This lack of guidance initially delayed my financial maturity.

Now, with over 17 years of experience in retail banking, I've progressed through every position within Retail Banking. As a Branch Manager, my passion and commitment are to guide my community members toward achieving their financial goals and making pivotal decisions that will positively impact their financial futures. I am eager to continue serving as a valuable resource to my community and to this passionate organization.

Paul Solomon

Board Member

Paul Solomon is the Former Executive Director at SponsorInc., an Oregon based non-profit organization dedicated toserving individuals with conviction histories. Paul worked at Sponsors for 23 years before stepping down in 2024. Sponsors is recognized nationally, regionally and throughout Oregon as a model for prisoner reentry services. The agency operates 20 buildings on 6 sites with over 240 beds of transitional and long-term housing and ancillary programs for justice involved individuals. In 2024 Paul began providing consulting services with a variety of organizations on issues related to research, reentry, housing development, corrections, and other criminal/legalrelated subjects. Paul also works as an expert witness on a variety of subjects.

Paul serves as the chair of Oregon’s Criminal Justice Commission, co-chair of the Governor’s Racial Justice Council on Criminal Justice Reform and Police Accountability, and serves on the Governor’s Reentry Council, and the University of Oregon’s Institutional Review Board. He is a past chair of the Dave’s Killer Bread Foundation, past chair of Lane County’s Public Safety Coordinating Council and Lane County’s Reentry Task Force and previous vice-chair of theOregon Public Defense Services Commission and serves on many other housing andcriminal/legal related boards and committees. Paul is a national expert on the development of housing and the delivery of evidence-based reentry interventions for people with conviction histories. He regularly speaks at national conferences and webinars. Paul holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Oregon and is a trained Inside-Out Prison Exchange instructor. He lives in Eugene and Portland, Oregon and is married with four adult children, including a son who is autistic.

Richard Mireless

Strategic Advisor

Richard is a dynamic public speaker and expert communicator with advanced leadership, coaching and communication certifications. He graduated cum laude from California Coast University with a BS degree in Healthcare Management. He is the only known incarcerated person to have earned the status of Associate Trainer for John Maxwell’s EQUIP Leadership. While incarcerated for 21 years,

Richard led over 35 transformational coaching seminars and workshops and received a certificate of recognition from the California State Senate for CROP’s Alcohol and Other Drug counselor certification program. He is the host of the Prison Post Podcast focused on stories of personal transformation, life after incarceration and what success looks like in reentry.

Richard has also produced content for CDCR’s DRP TV, which includes, “My Rehabilitative Journey featuring Richard Mireles”. He has spoken at the California State Capitol in the Assembly and Senate advocating for criminal justice reform laws and was a leader in the efforts for the right to vote for those on parole.

Jerry Silbert

Board Member

Jerry Silbert has worked with the Direct Instruction Model for over 40 years. After completing his master’s at the University of Oregon, he spent considerable time at school sites on the Rosebud Indian Reservation and in New York City working with principals and teachers implementing the University of Oregon Follow Through Project Model.

Jerry has also served as a classroom teacher, working in a high-poverty elementary school, and supervised over 20 student teachers during his tenure. Jerry began authoring textbooks and instructional programs while he was teaching. He also co-authored several college textbooks with Dr. Douglas Carnine, as well as instructional programs for teaching reading, writing, math, and English as a Second Language.

Silbert has also spent a significant amount of time serving as a consultant to elementary schools implementing Direct Instruction. His consulting work included 16 high-poverty schools in Chicago, and multi-school implementations of Direct Instruction in Ft. Worth, Houston, Dayton, Columbus, and Los Angeles, helping schools plan and implement the DI programs. Jerry has also served as an advisor to several community advocacy groups to improve students' performances in their communities.

For close to a decade, Jerry worked as a national consultant with the Reading First project and has since been an integral contributor to the development and revision of Direct Instruction programs. He has served on the Board of Directors for the Choose Kindness Foundation since its inception. He actively works to develop and refine the kindness curriculum implemented in projects supported by the foundation.