Meet Our Board
of Directors
President & Co-Founder
Ryan West
Ryan West is a veteran who served in the Marine Corps before moving to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ). During his time at TDCJ, Mr West assisted in developing the Cognitive Life Skills curriculum which became the foundation of the Life Coach Program - a unique project that trained inmates to become TDCJ Life Coaches who then taught the broader inmate population. Through this experience, Mr West discovered his love of curriculum development and serving the currently and formerly incarcerated, which led to him co-founding the Exorior Reintegration Initiative (ERI). Mr West is part of the Catholic community at St. Thomas the Apostle in Huntsville, Texas, where he maintains the roles of Extraordinary Minister of the Eucharist and Lector. His dedication to those who are imprisoned kept him going back to TDCJ to evangelize, while he also works with neighboring churches and ecclesiastical communities to speak out against the death penalty. Mr West designed the framework for curriculum development and program delivery within ERI, and personally runs the faith-based onsite programming to maintain quality assurance and to support the spiritual development of ERI program participants as they continue their journey of reintegration.
Co-Founder
Robert Sarlay
Robert Sarlay is a Vietnam era USAF veteran who currently serves on the Board of Directors for Equine Rescue of Walker County, an IRS-recognized 501(c)(3). Before retiring, Mr Sarlay was the Founder and President of the former Advanced Care Centers of America - a Texas state-wide chain of nursing homes with 1,200 patients and nearly 1,000 employees. He also founded and served as president of National Reimbursement Services, a medical billing company that was responsible for billing across 42 cities in Texas and several private ambulance companies. Mr Sarlay is a dedicated Certified Volunteer Chaplain's Assistant (CVCA) – an approved Chaplaincy program volunteer who has received additional security and Chaplaincy policy training. He has organized and led faith-based retreats in TDCJ for many years, and impacted countless lives. Most days, you will find Mr Sarlay at the Wynne Unit in Huntsville, Texas, working with the men still inside to help them to discover their purpose. He has three sons - a doctor and two engineers - and he is an active member of St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic Church in Huntsville, serving as an Extraordinary Minister of Communion, Lector, and Prison Evangelists.
Treasurer
Guido Caranti
Guido Caranti holds an Industrial Engineering degree from the Instituto Tecnológico de Buenos Aires, and an MBA from the University of Texas at Austin. His professional career has mostly focused on Private Equity investments across a range of industries and markets. He is a founding partner of Pinto America Growth Fund, L.P., which developed a successful strategy to back businesses that cater to US Hispanics. Mr. Caranti was also Chairman of the Board at two newly founded liberal arts middle schools: Western Academy (boys), and Magnolia School (girls). Despite being fully immersed in his work as investor and entrepreneur, he has dedicated a substantial amount of his time to not-for-profit initiatives primarily focused on education and parenting. Mr. Caranti has been married for 29 years and has 6 children, ages 17 through 28. Originally from Argentina, they have made Texas their home for the last 28 years. Mr. Caranti and his wife Pilar are founders and directors of Texas Family Enrichment and Family Summer, two organizations dedicated to offering parenting courses and resources. Mr. Caranti is a certified volunteer (CVCA) for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ), and regularly evangelizes to people in custody during faith-based retreats.
Secretary
Dr Avonda Johnson
Dr. Avonda Johnson is a dedicated and experienced mental health professional who specializes in the counseling and treatment of individuals in various stages of personal development and rehabilitation. She is a Licensed Professional Counselor and a Licensed Sex Offender Treatment Provider in the state of Texas. Dr. Johnson earned her PhD in Counseling Studies from Capella University, Minneapolis, where her research focused on the lived experiences of African-American females living in foster care. This gave her deep insights into the unique challenges faced by this demographic, and continues to inform her empathetic and evidence-based approach to therapy. Dr. Johnson has served in multiple roles that have allowed her to make a significant impact on the lives of many. She has worked as a behavior teacher, special population counselor, disability employment specialist, and alternative housing provider. These roles have equipped her with a diverse skill set and a comprehensive understanding of the various factors that influence mental health and well-being. Dr. Johnson is especially passionate about the successful reintegration of Returning Citizens. Her work is driven by a genuine concern for their successful outcomes, and a committment to providing the support and resources necessary for their positive transition back into the community.
Kate Kennedy
Kate Kennedy is a published researcher who specializes in the area of reintegration. She was born in Australia, and maintains a role there as Associate Director of Research and Publications at Beyond the Stone Walls Advisory Collective (BSWAC), a Think Tank that advises on criminal justice policies and practices in stakeholder-led consultations. She also assits with facilitating several prison-based Think Tanks that operate as policy advisory bodies to improve correctional practice by listening to the lived experiences of those in prison. Her dedication to bringing together criminal justice professionals and people with lived experience of the system drove her to obtain an Inside-Out Prison Exchange Program Facilitator qualification from Temple University, Philadelphia. This unique subject takes criminal justice students into a prison each week for a semester to learn alongside incarcerated people. Although she previously taught on campus, she now exclusively facilitates the Inside-Out Prison Exchange Program in Australia. Ms Kennedy developed a curriculum for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ ) aimed at improving overall culture by enhancing the self-worth and by proxy, the moral standards of male inmates. She currently splits her time between Texas and Australia, but will relocate permanently after completing her research on the Australian reintegration sector. Her educational background includes a Bachelor of Criminology & Psychology, a Bachelor of Justice & Criminology (Honors), and a PhD in Criminology (completion date: 2026).
John “Fritz” Barnett
Fritz Barnett obtained his Juris Doctor (JD) from the University of Houston and was admitted to the bar in 1977. He is certified to practice civil law in the jurisdictions of Texas, the US Supreme Court, the US Court of Appeals (Fifth, Tenth, and Eleventh Circuits), and the US District Court (Southern, Eastern and Western Districts of Texas). Mr Barnett previously served as President (1988 to 1989) and Director (1990 to 1991) of the Association of Civil Trial and Appellate Specialists, Houston Chapter, and was an Adjunct Professor of Law at the University of Houston (1990 to 2003) and Emory University (1993 to 2000). Mr Barnett maintains membership of the State Bar of Texas and National Board of Trial Advocacy, and is board certified in Civil Trial Law (Texas Board of Legal Specialization) and as a Civil Law Specialist (National Board of Trial Advocacy). A fellow of the Houston Bar Foundation and Texas Bar Foundation, Mr Barnett has tried all types of lawsuits for both plaintiffs and defendants, including antitrust, securities, tort, and employment law matters. He was a partner in the firm of Glickman & Barnett (1983 to 1995), and managing partner of Barnett & Craddock (1995 to 2006). Since 2006, he has been a sole practitioner, and continues to try all types of civil litigation and civil appeals.