Meet our Newest Board Member and Leadership
Our organization is proud to be led by an all-volunteer Board of Trustees whose members commit their expertise, time and resources to support the Petey Greene Program. We are excited to share some updates about our board!
Welcome Cason Crane!
Cason Crane is an entrepreneur, adventurer, and activist. He is the first openly LGBT person to climb the Seven Summits - the highest mountain on each continent - including Mt. Everest. He is passionate about combining his love for exploring the world with his desire to make it better, namely in the areas of LGBT rights, suicide prevention, lung cancer research, climate change mitigation, and criminal justice reform. For his activism and advocacy, he’s been awarded LogoTV's "Young Trailblazer" honor and The Trevor Project's "Youth Innovator Award." Cason graduated summa cum laude from Princeton University with a bachelor’s degree in History and certificates in American Studies and Near Eastern Studies. While at Princeton, he led the Community Service Interclub Council and volunteered for the Petey Greene Program. After starting his career as a management consultant in Bain & Company's New York office, he founded an award-winning coffee business, Explorer Cold Brew, leading it to reach seven-figures in its first year and becoming the first cold brew on a major US airline. Under Cason's leadership, Explorer has been featured by Bon Appetit, The New York Times, Saveur, and more, and has been lauded for both its exceptional quality as well as its commitment to impact and sustainability. Cason is also an avid endurance and adventure racer and has competed in dozens of ultramarathons, obstacle course races, and IRONMAN triathlons, in addition to numerous marathons, open-water swims, hikes, climbs, and more. You’ll soon find Cason competing on Season 1 of Race to Survive: Alaska, premiering on the USA Network in early 2023. When not off on an adventure, he lives in Brooklyn, NY with his husband Francis and their dog, Timmy.
An Announcement on Leadership Transitions
Yusuf Dahl, who stepped up as board chair in 2022 to guide the organization through our leadership transition, passed the board chairmanship to Alexander Decker this month. He will continue on with the PGP as a Board Member, supporting various committees. As a board member, he represents the PGP at countless speaking engagements, speaking ardently about the challenges faced by currently and formerly incarcerated people and the value of the educational opportunity. Yusuf joined the board of the PGP in 2018 and his association with the organization began when he served as a volunteer tutor while he was a graduate fellow at Princeton University's Center for Information and Technology Policy, where he earned a Master in Public Administration. With his passion for providing high-quality, affordable housing in one of Milwaukee’s poorest zip codes, he founded an award-winning affordable housing company, Milwaukee Metro Management, which ultimately provided 200 commercial and residential units. Yusuf was also the founding director of the Dyer Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at Lafayette College and the co-founder of the Real Estate Lab in Allentown, PA. Currently, Yusuf serves as the Executive Director of The Century Promise, whose mission is creating a “cradle-to-career” pathway for young people in Allentown’s School District.
Meet Our New Board Leadership
Alec Decker is now leading our Board of Trustees as Chairman. Alec is a management consultant and leader specializing in advising senior executives on strategy and mission critical operations in the intelligence community, Department of Defense, and law enforcement. Alec has recently spent time advising executives in the Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence, and senior leaders at the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Over 25 years, Alec has spent time in various corporate positions to include Ikun LLC, Deloitte Consulting, and The Estee Lauder Companies. Alec also spent ten years as a leader in Joint Special Operations Command where he deployed 10 times over 52 months to the Middle East and was awarded, among other medals, two Presidential Unit Citations, two Bronze Stars, a Purple Heart, and a Meritorious Service Medal. Alec is a graduate of Princeton University where he was an All-American squash player on a team which won a national championship and enjoys cycling, racquet sports, sailing, reading history, and driving his daughters to swim practice.
Jacki Kelly is now serving as the Vice Chair of the Board of Trustees. Jacki hasspent 20+ years working to ensure high quality education and life success for people and communities traditionally left behind. She is currently the Deputy Executive Director of Development and External Relations at Hudson Guild. Jacki previously served as the founding Executive Director of The Writing Revolution (TWR) and as Director of Development at several educational non-profits including Friends of the Children of New York, Student Leadership Network, and READ Alliance. Jacki has taught elementary school children and adult immigrants. She serves on the board of College and Community Fellowship and the Petey Greene Program, two exceptional non-profits focused on the education of individuals impacted by the criminal legal system and to dismantling the unfair systems that led to their incarceration in the first place. Jacki holds an M.A. in Elementary Inclusive Education from Teachers College Columbia University and a B.S. in Journalism from Northeastern University.
Thanks to the generous support of donors like you, we continue to support the educational journeys of incarcerated and formerly incarcerated people by providing the high-quality, individualized tutoring and academic support that every learner needs to achieve their educational goals.