Jesse Simmons – Founder & Executive Director
A returned citizen and advocate for second chances. After serving 18 years of a life sentence he received as a juvenile, he returned to Wilmington, Delaware committed to supporting others navigating reentry. With experience as a social worker and peer recovery specialist, Jesse founded The New Leaf Initiative FUND in 2024 to create trauma-informed housing and workforce solutions for long-incarcerated individuals.
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Kala Siano – Board Member
A returned citizen with over a decade of administrative and managerial experience in Delaware’s nonprofit sector. Her work has focused on reentry housing, workforce development, and community support services for justice-impacted individuals. Kala brings invaluable insight, leadership, and lived experience to The New Leaf Initiative FUND, helping to shape programs that are both practical and rooted in the realities of reentry.
Laura Dickol, LCSW – Clinical Advisor
With a background as a volunteer EMT, crisis responder, and therapist Laura brings years of frontline experience supporting individuals through crisis, grief, and transition. At TNLIF, Laura helps shape programming and ethics, ensuring services are compassionate, clinically sound, and rooted in dignity and healing for returning citizens.
Claire van den Broek - Treasurer
The co-owner of Huxley & Hiro Booksellers and accomplished equitable real-estate developer Claire holds a PhD in Comparative Literature and German Studies from Indiana University. She brings strong financial oversight, ethical leadership, and a commitment to community investment to her role as Treasurer of The New Leaf Initiative FUND.
Melissa Dunston– Cultural Advisor
As the founder of Dunston Property Group Melissa is established entrepreneur in the Charlotte area. Through her work with Transit Trucking Company, she is committed to creating meaningful job opportunities for returning citizens and helping them build stable futures. At TNLIF, Melissa guides the organization’s cultural programming and outreach strategies, ensuring that every initiative is rooted in dignity, inclusion, and the lived experiences of the community.
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