Bios of ICARE's Founder

Rima Vesely-Flad is a doctoral student in Social Ethics at Union Theological Seminary, and holds master's degrees from Union and Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs. Her research and publications have explored the connections between Calvinist theology and criminal law, the Slave Codes and Black Codes of the nineteenth century, and the continuing expansion of the prison-industrial complex.

The founder of the Interfaith Coalition of Advocates for Reentry and Employment (ICARE), a grassroots advocacy organization focused on changing systemic barriers encountered by people with criminal convictions, Rima continues to participate in ICARE's statewide committee of policy advocates, meet with state representatives to propose progressive legislation, and serve as an ex oficio member of ICARE's board.

She taught religion courses at Sing Sing Prison from 2004 to 2006, and also spent several years working with direct service organizations, alternative-to-incarceration programs, and political campaigns. In 2007, she was awarded an Episcopal Church Foundation Fellowship and a Union Square Award.

Rima has traveled throughout Africa and Latin America, and lived for two extended periods of time in Cape Town, South Africa, working as a Fulbright Scholar, journalist, and teacher.