Our Board of Directors

WILLIAM 'MECCA' ELMORE

William “Mecca” Elmore first became involved with HKF when Sita and Catherine visited Orange Correctional Center. Since being released in 2015, Mecca has worked with the Reintegration Support Network serving youth in recovery from substance abuse, in re-entry support as program manager for Church Beyond Walls, and as an educator with Step-Up Ministries. In 2021, Mecca published a book with Susan Simone, titled Prison from the Inside Out.

MORGAN SIEM

Morgan Siem found HKF through interests in meditation, Ram Dass, and prison outreach. Before becoming a board member, she was a volunteer and then a part-time staff member at HKF. For her, the opportunity to know so many people who are transforming their hearts while in such tough settings is a daily inspiration. Morgan lives in Snow Camp, NC, and pursues interests in wild foods, sustainable living, and intentional community.

GINA DEVINE

Gina DeVine is a CPA in Carrboro, NC, who has been a friend of Human Kindness Foundation for many years. Having joined our board in 2018, she gives generously of her time and financial expertise as our Treasurer. Along with her professional practice, Gina has taught Accounting and Taxation at the University of Hawaii – Hilo. She lives in Carrboro with her husband and is grateful to have some of her grandchildren nearby.

REVEREND JOE HENSLEY

Reverend Joe Hensley is the Rector (lead priest) at St. George’s Episcopal Church in Fredericksburg, Virginia. A graduate of UNC-Chapel Hill and Virginia Theological Seminary, Joe has also worked as an Outward Bound instructor, a youth minister, and a conflict resolution consultant. He lives in Fredericksburg, Virginia with his wife and three children.

AARON TURNER

Aaron Turner has been involved with HKF since 2001. He first connected because of his passion for the spiritual principles of HKF, and quickly became the drummer for “Bo Lozoff and Friends,” performing with Bo in several prisons and on the 2004 CD “Whatever It Takes.” He also served on the Board of Directors for Habitat for Humanity Alamance County for 15 years. Aaron is a working musician who lives in Burlington, NC.

JAKI SHELTON GREEN

Jaki Shelton Green, ninth Poet Laureate of North Carolina is the first African American and third woman to be appointed as the North Carolina Poet Laureate. She is a 2019 Academy of American Poet Laureate Fellow, 2014 NC Literary Hall of Fame Inductee, 2009 NC Piedmont Laureate appointment, 2003 recipient of the North Carolina Award for Literature. Jaki Shelton Green teaches Documentary Poetry at Duke University Center for Documentary Studies and has been named the 2021 Frank B. Hanes Writer in Residence at UNC Chapel Hill. Her publications include: Dead on Arrival, Masks, Dead on Arrival and New Poems, Conjure Blues, singing a tree into dance, breath of the song, Feeding the Light, i want to undie you. On Juneteenth 2020, she released her first LP, poetry album, The River Speaks of Thirst, produced by Soul City Sounds and Clearly Records. Jaki Shelton Green is the owner of SistaWRITE providing writing retreats for women writers in Sedona Arizona, Martha’s Vineyard, Ocracoke North Carolina, Northern Morocco, and Tullamore Ireland.

Our Spiritual Advisory Council
JARVIS JAY MASTERS Buddhist and author of the beautiful book Finding Freedom: Writings from Death Row. Masters lives on California’s death row.
VENERABLE ROBINA COURTIN Founder of the Liberation Prison Project, worldwide teacher, and Buddhist nun of the Tibetan Buddhist Gelugpa tradition and lineage of Lama Thubten Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche.
GARY ZUKAV & LINDA FRANCIS
 Spiritual teachers. Gary has been a guest on Oprah more than 30 times and is a four-time New York Times bestselling author. His books include The Seat of the Soul, Soul Stories and The Dancing Wu Li Masters: An Overview of New Physics.
MIKE THUMM Retired Superintendent of Orange Correctional Center, a prison in Hillsborough, NC. Mike served for more than 30 years in the North Carolina Department of Corrections.
DENNIS GADDY Founder and Executive Director of Community Success Initiative (CSI), where he draws from his own experience to help others transition from incarceration to success.
PATCH ADAMS Physician, social activist, and the subject of the 1998 movie starring Robin Williams.
PETER KUHNS Dr. Peter Kuhns has served as a psychologist in various corrections settings since 2003. Dr. Kuhns has also led staff trainings and served as a consultant with the goal of creating positive, healthy environments for staff and people who are incarcerated.
FATHER THOMAS KEATING (IN PERPETUITY)

Founder of the Centering Prayer movement, spiritual guide of Contemplative Outreach, Ltd., and Trappist monk at St. Benedict’s Monastery in Snowmass, CO.