​Ms. Katrina Bowling is STSG's Daytime Monitor. She was born and raised in Durham, NC, and her mission is to help people in many walks of life. Before coming to STSG, she has worked as a caregiver for assisted living patients. She enjoys spending time with her family and dog in her free time. Ms. Bowling spearheads the medications distribution in the morning, and makes sure that everything remains in order throughout the day. Ms. Bowling loves to learn new things and we are happy to have such a kind person on our team!

Email: stsg1101kb@gmail.com

​Ms. Nora Dicker is the Assistant to the Executive Director at STSG. She grew up in Chapel Hill, NC. She has always had a passion to help others. She went to Indiana University where she got her Bachelors in Social Work with a minor in Spanish. While at school, she worked at an emergency shelter for survivors of domestic violence, sexual violence, and human trafficking. Ms. Dicker was part of the Crisis program, and enjoyed working in crisis situations. After graduation Ms. Dicker volunteered on the crisis line and provided childcare for the Compass Center in Chapel Hill. She appreciated the opportunity to work with survivors but also wanted to be able to explore opportunities working with justice involved individuals and prison reform. Through looking into organizations that work with people involved with the justice system, she was connected to STSG, and it is a great fit! We are happy with what Ms. Dicker has been able to accomplish with STSG. 

Email: stsg1101nd@gmail.com
Phone: (919)360-7793

Mr. Lamont Horne is a monitor at STSG. He works on the weekends as well as overnight. He was born and raised in Durham, NC. In his spare time he enjoys going fishing and spending time with his friends and family. Mr. Horne got into this field of work because he wants to give people who have been incarcerated a strong shoulder to lean on and gain support from. Mr. Horne is a hard worker and is very open to learning new things, which is the perfect attitude for working at STSG. One day Mr. Horne would like to open up a group home for individuals with mental health diagnosis'. We are grateful to have a dedicated staff member such as Mr. Horne on our team!
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Email: stsg1101lh@gmail.com

Mr. Rodney Lofton is one of STSG's Residential Counselors. He was born in Durham, and has lived here most of his life. He has a passion for helping others in this community. One of his life goals is to be available to help others in any way that he can. He has over 20 years of experience in giving support in an empowering way for others. At this time in his life, he is able to focus on giving support to those who have been incarcerated through his position with Straight Talk Support Group. Mr. Lofton's skills in empowerment and guidance are clear and he is a valuable member of the STSG Team!

Email: stsg1101rl@gmail.com
Phone: (919)491-6004

​Mr. Kingsley Okruw is the Supervisor Monitor at STSG. He is elated to be working at STSG. During the week he works towards his bachelor’s degree in human health services/RN nursing. He has over ten years of experience working with Nonprofits Organizations such as, the Collins Center for Public Policy working on the foreclosure crisis, and the Albany Medical Center as a volunteer nurse/OT. He is looking to socially implement change for those who were wrongly incarcerated and individuals and families transitioning back to society through his work at STSG. We are happy to have an employee as passionate as Mr. Okruw!  

Email: stsg1101ko@gmail.com

​Mr. Michael Oliver is a Residential Counselor here at STSG. He is an extremely dedicated professional Employment Outreach Coordinator with 7 years of experience working in different educational settings. Mr. Oliver is skilled at identifying the needs of the job seekers he works with, and builds strong relationships with all who he works with. He is well-versed in all phases of job recruiting, which is very valuable here at STSG. Mr. Oliver is very passionate about providing employment readiness and opportunities for justice involved individuals. He also works at Jubilee Home, providing justice involved young men between the ages of 17-40 years supportive transitional housing that empowers the young men to go back into their community in a fruitful and meaningful way. STSG is excited to have Mr. Oliver on the team with all of his valuable skills in this work!

Email: stsg1101mo@gmail.com
Phone: (919)945-4383

Mr. Edward Scott is STSG's Weekend Monitor. Mr. Scott has been involved with STSG for multiple years. He is now a Peer Support Specialist and works with other organizations within the community that help justice involved individuals re-acclimate to society. These organizations are Wounded Healers and Success While In Transition (SWIT). Through his work as a peer support specialist and a monitor at STSG, Mr. Scott feels he has improved his listening and communication skills that are necessary when working with justice involved individuals during their transition. Mr. Scott is also the co-founder for a wonderful landscaping business called Comm.Unity.Based Landscaping. STSG is grateful to have such a motivated and reliable staff member on our team. 

Email: stsg1101es@gmail.com 

​Mr. Walter Spencer is STSG's new Residential Counselor. He is a graduate of NCCU with his Bachelors in Criminal Justice. Mr. Spencer is passionate about advocating for those who have been incarcerated, both juvenile and adult. Mr. Spencer started his career off as a counselor at RHA, which serviced people with mental disabilities. After a while, Mr. Spencer developed an interest in the effects of law within impoverished communities. He interned with Haven House where he worked with the gang intervention team, which deterred youth from joining gangs. Currently Mr. Spencer is in grad school for forensic psychology where he hopes to help people with mental disabilities through assessments. We appreciate having a staff member with his experience, and his passion!

Email: stsg1101ws@gmail.com

“As the mother of a man who has just finished serving 24 years in prison, I know firsthand that there is nothing easy about keeping connections alive. From the outside, prison looks like a dark hole and all of the rules are up for grabs. Someone is sick… Someone is angry…Someone is lonely…Someone tells you leave me alone…Someone calls crying out for help every day…Someone asks for money… and Someone says nah, I’m all right.”

“I have been on that roller coaster and it is a hard, lonely ride. That’s why I started Straight Talk Support Group. Nobody can stop the confusion, but do not head out there alone.”

For over 25 years, Bessie Elmore, co-founder and Executive Director of Straight Talk Support Group, has worked in the field of self-help as a support group facilitator and counselor in domestic violence. She is also an advocator for incarcerated individuals and their families. Bessie designs programs for ex-offenders, domestic violence victims and grandparents raising their grandchildren as Founder and CEO of Turning Corners Alliance. Since 2013 she has been reaching out to established organizations and esteemed individuals to create a platform for families of incarcerated individuals and returning citizens to help put their broken pieces together. The Osborne Support Group in New York was very instrumental throughout the developmental stages of Straight Talk Support Group in its mission to assist families in North Carolina.

After hosting Straight Talk’s first open house, with a reception of more than one hundred interested supporters, Bessie began to grind her gears. She started reaching out and received consultation from W. David Guice, Commissioner of the Division of Adult Correction and Juvenile Justice for the North Carolina’s Dept. of Public Safety and entered into discussions with Harvard University’s Professor Bruce Western about reentry and the role families have in combating recidivism. Authoritarians in the field of mass incarcerations, such as Megan Comfort, author of Doing Time Together and Gina Davis of the Essie Group, have aided Bessie in her plight to bring Straight Talk’s visions to fruition. To keep abreast of current events and issues coming down the pipeline she attends conferences, as well as those held at the Burlington’s Reentry Symposium and Raleigh’s Reentry Council Meetings. This has opened up a multitude of opportunities including possibly collaborating with icons such as Bryan Stevenson, author of Just Mercy and founder of Equal Justice Initiative; and Nicole Sullivan, Director of Rehabilitative Programs and Services of Adult Corrections.

Her expertise is often called upon to deliver presentations on job readiness and building strong family units for incarcerated individuals counting those conducted at the Federal Correctional Complex in Butner, NC. She has participates annually in Our Children’s Place’s Family Day events at Orange Correctional Facility in Hillsboro, NC. Presently, Bessie Elmore is employed at Durham Technical College as a Job Readiness Coach.

Email: stsg2013@gmail.com
Phone: (919)448-7394