Frank Abagnale, Pat Nolan, Kim White and Jedd Medefind will provide the
keynote addresses at the 2007 Defendant/Offender Workforce Development
Conference March 5-7 in Charlotte, NC. More information is available at
http://www.ncwp.uscourts.gov/owdconf/ Frank Abagnale's life was the subject of the best selling book Catch Me If
You Can, which was later made into the Steven Spielberg feature movie.
After dropping out of the 10th grade at age 16, he soon became the
country's most notorious con man. Using an airline uniform, he posed as an
pilot and passed bad checks in all 50 states and 26 countries. He also
assumed other identities, including as a physician. Abagnale was employed
as a resident supervisor, overseeing physicians for nearly a year.
Frank fabricated a transcript of a law degree from Harvard. This
transcript was accepted by the state, allowing Frank to take the Bar exam.
He passed on his third attempt and was hired as an assistant in the
Attorney General's office. Frank also secured a teaching position at
Brigham Young University. He later moved to France, where, after passing
$2.5 million dollars in fraudulent checks the previous five years, he was
apprehended at the age of 21. After serving time in French, Swiss, and
American prisons, Frank was released in 1974.
The most astonishing part of Frank's life is what happened after his
release from prison. In fact Steven Spielberg said in 2004, "I did not
make this film about Frank Abagnale because of what he did, but because of
what he has done with his life the past thirty years." After being
paroled, Frank's story turns from one of fraud to one of redemption. He
initially struggled when given his freedom, securing only low-wage and
temporary positions. Frank eventually taught officials at various banks
how to fight and identify fraud. This led to the founding of his own
highly successful company, Abagnale and Associates. He works for numerous
major companies throughout the world and is viewed as the foremost expert
in fraud detection and avoidance. Frank developed new procedures and
created new manuals utilized by over 14,000 financial institutions, law
enforcement agencies and corporations. He also has instructed and assisted
FBI officials for free since his release. He has authored four books.
Frank is also recognized as one of the world's best public speakers. Tom
Hanks wrote, "Abagnale's lecture may be the best one man show you will
ever see."
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Pat Nolan is the President of Justice Fellowship, the criminal justice
reform arm of Chuck Colson's Prison Fellowship Ministries. Justice
Fellowship works to reform the criminal justice system based on the
principles of restorative justice found in the Bible. They work with
government officials to find practical ways to apply restorative justice
to help victims, reform the hearts of offenders and restore a sense of
community to neighborhoods long plagued by crime. A major focus of Justice
Fellowship's efforts is on insuring that offenders are better prepared to
live healthy, productive, law abiding lives upon their release.
Pat brings a unique background to Justice Fellowship. He served for 15
years in the California State Assembly, four of those as the Assembly
Republican Leader. He was a leader on crime issues, particularly on behalf
of victims' rights. Pat was one of the original sponsors of the Victims'
Bill of Rights (Proposition 15) and was awarded the "Victims Advocate
Award" by Parents of Murdered Children. He was named Legislator of the
Year by many groups, including the Amvets for his work on behalf of
Vietnam veterans.
Pat was targeted for prosecution for a campaign contribution he accepted.
The contribution turned out to be part of an FBI sting. He pled guilty to
one count of racketeering. He served 29 months in federal custody.
Pat is the author of When Prisoners Return, which describes the important
role the Church can play in helping prisoners get back on their feet after
they are released. His opinion pieces have appeared in numerous
periodicals, including the Los Angeles Times, the National Law Journal and
the Washington Times. He has coauthored articles for the Notre Dame Law
School Journal of Law, Ethics and Public Policy and the Regent Law School
Law Review. He is a frequent guest on talk shows, including Hannity and
Colmes, Fox Network News, Michael Reagan, Montel Williams and Ollie North.
Pat is a much sought after speaker on issues of justice and faith. He was
selected by Governor Geringer of Wyoming to be the speaker at his annual
prayer breakfast in 2002 and has testified on several occasions before
Congressional committees on prison work programs, juvenile justice and
religious freedom. He has also lectured at judicial conferences and legal
conventions.
Pat serves on the nine-member U.S. Prison Rape Elimination Commission,
appointed by the former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Dennis
Hastert. He also serves on the National Commission on Safety and Abuse in
America's Prisons, co-chaired by former Attorney General Nicholas
Katzenbach and former Chief Judge of the Third Circuit Court of Appeals,
John Gibbons.
___________________
Kim White serves as the Regional Director for the Mid-Atlantic Region of
the Bureau of Prisons. She joined the Bureau in 1984 and has since held a
variety of positions at nine Bureau locations around the country. She
began her career as a Case Management Intern at the Federal Correctional
Institution (FCI), Milan, MI and Butner, NC. From 1986 until 1988, while
at Butner, she served in Correctional Officer and Case Manager positions.
She achieved positions of increasing responsibility, including Case
Management Coordinator at the Federal Prison Camp Pensacola, FL; Unit
Manager at FCI Marianna, FL; and Regional Central Inmate Monitoring
Coordinator, Assistant Correctional Programs Administrator, and Regional
Correctional Programs Administrator, all at the South Central Regional
office in Dallas, TX.
She joined the institution leadership team at FCI El Reno, OK and then
became the first Administrator of the District of Columbia Offender
Branch. She was promoted to Warden at FCI Danbury, CT in 1999 and was
subsequently transferred as Warden to FCI Fairton, NJ in 2001, where she
served until her promotion to Regional Director in May 2003.
Mrs. White received a Bachelor of Science in 1983 and a Master of Arts in
1992 from Kent State University. She is a member of the American
Correctional Association and National Association of Blacks in Criminal
Justice. She received her Senior Executive Service in June 2002 and has
received various awards during her tenure.
_________________
Jedd Medefind serves as Director for the Center for Faith-Based and
Community Initiatives at the U.S. Department of Labor. Prior to his
current role, he filled a range of posts in the California State
Legislature, most recently as Chief of Staff to Assemblyman Tim Leslie.
In 2000, Mr. Medefind worked to establish and lead the California
Community Renewal Project, which provides vital resources and training to
organizations serving California's most challenged communities.
Mr. Medefind has spent time in more than twenty-five countries and has
served with development organizations in Guatemala, Bangladesh, the
Kingdom of Lesotho and other countries. He also worked for
Price-Waterhouse in Moscow.
The book Four Souls, which he wrote with three close friends, explores
questions of faith, poverty, and community amidst a journey around the
globe. His most recent book, The Revolutionary Communicator, examines the
grace and greatness of Jesus' approach to communication and leadership.
Social Science Research Analyst for NIC's Offender Workforce Development Division