LEADERSHIP

Staff Directory

About Us Our Work Board of Directors Staff Directory FAQ Terms & Policies Volunteers

Janet Baxendale

Senior Paralegal and Documents Manager

Janet joined Centurion in January 2011 as Intake Analyst and Volunteer Development. She holds a Paralegal Certificate from Fairleigh Dickinson University and a B.A. from San Francisco State University. As an undergraduate, she interned with a prison advocacy group that helps inmates in the San Francisco jail system stay connected with their families. Janet works on Centurion’s Case Development team, assessing potential cases of innocence in addition to developing our volunteer and intern needs. Prior to joining CM, Janet worked as the Education Coordinator for the Princeton Symphony Orchestra and was the Research Coordinator for a 15-year longitudinal research study called CHAPS (Child Health and Progress Study) conducted through Columbia University and the University of Pennsylvania. Janet has two sons – Luke, who lives in Southern California, and Sam, who lives in Pennsylvania.

Paul Casteleiro

Legal Director

Paul Casteleiro’s association with Jim McCloskey and what was to become Centurion began with its first client and exoneree Jorge “Chiefy” Del Los Santos. Shortly after, Kate Germond joined, anchoring the first innocence organization in the United States. Forty years later, Paul has been involved in freeing 30 people convicted of crimes they did not commit; most of the cases were in collaboration with Centurion. In 2014 Paul became the organization’s first legal director. During his career, Paul has fought for changes in the judicial system to benefit innocent people in their fight for justice, including winning the first case in New York State history to admit expert testimony on the psychology of police interrogations and false confessions. Paul grew up in Washington Heights, attended New York City public schools, and graduated from NYU where he had been recruited to play baseball. At Rutgers Newark Law School, Paul worked for Morton Stavis, a pioneer in wrongful conviction and civil rights cases.

James Cousins

Staff Attorney

Jim Cousins is a graduate of Beloit College and Fordham Law School. He spent the majority of his career as a trial and appellate lawyer in state and federal courts. He also served as an adjunct professor at Pace Law School. His path to Centurion began in 1999, when he volunteered as counsel on a Connecticut case that ended with the exoneration of Richard Lapointe. That experience set him on a course he hasn’t left since, and in 2015 he joined Centurion full time as a staff attorney. Jim has represented innocent clients at every stage of state and federal post-conviction proceedings and appeals, securing freedom for men and women who had spent decades behind bars for crimes they did not commit. Among his most significant victories is Henning v. Commissioner of Correction, 334 Conn. 1 (2019), in which the Connecticut Supreme Court unanimously vacated Shawn Henning’s murder conviction, freeing him after 30 years of wrongful incarceration.

Pamela Feig

Post-Release Support Coordinator

As a licensed clinical social worker with many years employed in both institutional and individual practice settings, Pamela is thrilled to have joined Centurion in May of 2020. Just prior to joining Centurion, she worked at a behavioral healthcare facility for 13 years, first as a clinical case manager with older adults and then in utilization management. She steps into a newly created position to assist in identifying needs and coordinate ongoing support services to those who have been released from prison. A diverse educational and professional path includes a college degree in Fine Arts from SVA, a graduate degree in Media/Communications from NYIT and later a Master’s in Social Work from Rutgers University. Pamela continues to maintain a private psychotherapy practice in Princeton in addition to her role at Centurion.

Christina François

Assistant Legal Director

Christina joined Centurion in 2021 and is the organization’s Assistant Legal Director. In her current role, Christina focuses on advocacy that seeks to change the laws and policies that contribute to wrongful convictions (i.e. arguing as amicus in front of the New Jersey Supreme Court); manages Centurion’s small parole advocacy caseload; and works side-by-side with Paul on Centurion’s active wrongful conviction cases. Christina is passionate about serving communities that have been systematically marginalized under the law. She began her career as a public defender at The Legal Aid Society’s Parole Revocation Defense Unit, and also worked as a public defender at The Legal Aid Society’s Criminal Defense practice. Christina received her law degree from Washington University School of Law in St. Louis. A New Jersey native, she received her undergraduate degree from Rutgers University-Newark and was an Undergraduate Associate at The Eagleton Institute of Politics. She is thrilled to be home.

Rosemary Kay

Bookkeeper

As Centurion’s bookkeeper, Rosemary manages our books and makes sure our bills are paid. She also helps support our Case Development team by assisting with database management. In addition to the work she does at Centurion, Rosemary is the co-owner and co-managing partner of East Spring Properties LLC and of 206 Associates Farm, consisting of a 40 acre commercial solar project and 40 acres of farmed land. She is also the Manager of the Burlington County Farm Fair of Burlington County, NJ, where she coordinates the annual six-day event that welcomes over 50,000 visitors. She also taught piano for three years, and owned and operated a daycare business for children of working mothers from 1972 to 1982 while raising her own two sons.

Ayra Khan

Executive Assistant of Operations

Ayra Khan joined the Centurion team in 2024 and supports the Director of Development in maintaining organizational operations, with a focus on database management, fundraising initiatives, and marketing efforts. She also serves as the office’s IT liaison and office manager, helping ensure smooth day-to-day technical and administrative operations. Ayra recently graduated from Rutgers University-New Brunswick in Spring 2025 with a degree in Computer Science. Outside of her professional work, Ayra is dedicated to community engagement. She organizes events and fundraising initiatives for Young Muslims, tutors middle school students at her local mosque, and enjoys playing volleyball.

Alan Maimon

Case Investigator

Alan left the world of journalism in 2012 to join CM as a staff investigator. As a reporter with the Louisville Courier-Journal, he co-wrote a series of stories about flaws in Kentucky’s criminal justice system that was a finalist for the 2004 Pulitzer Prize in Public Service. He earned a Silver Gavel Award from the American Bar Association for a 2011 investigation into police shootings in Las Vegas. In his role as staff investigator, Alan conducts top-to-bottom reinvestigations of cases, interviewing witnesses, tracking down documents, and digging for other information that helps prove a client’s innocence. He is a Philadelphia native and a graduate of Brown University.

Jim McCloskey

Founder, Retired

Subsequent to graduating from Bucknell University in 1964, Jim spent three years as a U.S. Naval Officer, including a year in Vietnam patrolling the rivers of the Mekong Delta serving as an advisor to the South Vietnamese Naval junk fleet. He then spent the next 12 years working for two different management consulting companies specializing in Japanese business affairs, the first in Tokyo and the second with the Hay group in his hometown of Philadelphia. In 1979 Jim felt a call to leave the business world and enter the ministry. In 1983, upon graduating with a Master of Divinity degree from the Princeton Theological Seminary and freeing an innocent man he met as a student chaplain at Trenton State Prison, Jim founded Centurion Ministries. After 35 years, although still a member of Centurion’s Board of Trustees and still managing several cases he has been working on for years, Jim retired from the active management of Centurion’s organizational affairs in May 2015. He is now in the process of writing a book about Centurion’s experiences with our nation’s criminal justice system.

Madison McCoy

Data & Intake Analyst

Madison (Maddie) joined the team in 2019 as our part-time Intake Coordinator. Since joining, she has transitioned into the role of Administrative Support, where she works closely with the Director of Case Development and provides support to the entire Case Development Team. Additionally, Maddie supports our Development Department, assisting in administrative duties related to fundraising and donor communications. Maddie is currently a nursing student at Mercer County Community College and continues to pursue her goal of becoming a labor and delivery nurse by continuing her education at Rutgers University.

Rhea Rajesh

Paralegal

Rhea Rajesh joined the Centurion team in early 2024. In her role she works with the Director of Case Development as well as the Assistant Legal Director to provide support whenever needed. She graduated from The College of New Jersey with her bachelor’s degree, majoring in Psychology and minoring in Law, Politics, and Philosophy. She plans to attend the Teachers College at Columbia University to pursue her master’s degree in Social-Organizational Psychology. Rhea is an animal lover and is passionate about women’s issues, specifically women’s health, and focused most of her undergraduate research in that field.

Tyler Richards

Exoneree Support and Media Archivist

In 2003, Tyler began volunteering for Centurion. Since then, he has done everything from directing cars in a makeshift parking lot at Jim McCloskey’s house to assisting in the set up and break down of all Centurion events. In 2015, Tyler became Centurion’s Exoneree Support team member. He develops long-lasting relationships with Centurion’s freed folks, working directly with them on a regular basis, identifying their needs and helping to coordinate assistance. He considers them family, and has been inspired by their stories of wrongful conviction and their ability to release anger and embrace life no matter the challenges. Tyler also works with our fundraising team so that we can provide continued support to our folks once they have been freed from prison.

Trish Traverse

Senior Staff Case Developer

Full bio coming soon.

Corey Waldron

Executive Director

After joining Centurion in 2018, Corey transitioned to the role of Executive Director in January 2019. Corey works with Centurion’s staff, board, volunteers, and donors to grow support for our work, and build organizational capacity. She is passionate about drawing people to Centurion’s mission, and the pursuit of justice for the innocent in prison. Corey has more than 15 years of experience working for non-profits at both local and national organizations with a wide range of missions including community development, education, domestic violence prevention, and disability services. She is proud and humbled to serve the men and women that Centurion supports. Corey lives in Lawrenceville, NJ with her husband and young daughter.

Kimberly Weston

Attorney, Director of Case Development

Kim began volunteering as a case worker at Centurion Ministries in September of 2011. She became a full-time staff member in March of 2013 and now oversees the process of developing prospective cases. Prior to her employment at Centurion Ministries, Kim worked in the area of insurance law and regulation and in the field of education. She received her Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Illinois and her law degree from Widener University School of Law. She was admitted to practice in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in 1994.

Laila S. Wilson-McCoy

Director of Development

Laila works directly with the Executive Director to expand our fundraising footprint, engage our donors, and raise awareness about the wrongfully imprisoned. She also provides system and operational management support for the entire Centurion team. She has more than 20 years of experience in various development and organizational operation roles and is skilled in donor relations, fundraising, and process management. Prior to joining Centurion’s team, Laila was the Resource Development Manager at Isles, Inc., and the Development Director at the Waldorf School of Princeton. Her undergraduate degree is in Psychology and she has a certification in Financial Success for Nonprofits from Cornell University. She is the mother of two children and resides in Mercer County with her husband.