by Pamela Oliver | Jan 17, 2026 | Events, Fundraisers, Life After Prison, Yearbook
A Celebration of Transformation
The MOSES Transformation Celebration 2025 Gala stood as a powerful reminder of why our work matters and whom we serve. Throughout the evening, the energy in the room reflected a collective commitment to justice, restoration, and community transformation. The Gala was not merely a celebration — it was a gathering of people united by a shared belief that systems of mass incarceration and mass supervision can be dismantled when we work together with courage and persistence.
The evening was enhanced by delicious and well-prepared foods created by Goodworks Community Catering/Teenworks. WORT’s DJ Delirious kept the energy high with an excellent selection of music that added vibrancy to our celebration. The beautifully decorated venue provided an elegant backdrop for the event, with thoughtful details that reflected the spirit and mission of MOSES and made the 2025 Gala feel truly special.
The program began with a welcome from MOSES President Saundra Brown, followed by a moving reflection from Sister Toni Harris of the Sinsinawa Dominicans. We thanked MOSES past president, Eric Howland, for his ongoing dedication to our work. MOSES Community Organizer James Morgan gave us a new appreciation of the meaning of transformation in the lives of those who have been impacted by the criminal-legal system.
Myra Renee, president of Anesis Family Therapy, served as emcee for the awards. Linda Ketcham, executive director of JustDane, accepted the Community Impact Award for her organization. She described how JustDane offers support to formerly incarcerated people who are working to transform their lives.
The Transformation Honoree for 2025 was Shar-Ron Buie. Having served as associate director of JustDane, Shar-Ron has begun a new position as Data and Evaluation analyst in the Dane County Office of Justice Reform. He was introduced by an inspiring video and then presented with a beautiful blown glass piece. The list of Shar-Ron’s accomplishments and honors is long, beginning with completing his Bachelor’s Degree and earning 63 certifications and diplomas while incarcerated. His testimony was the most memorable and moving part of the evening, according to many attendees.
“I once thought my story ended with my mistakes, but it truly began when I decided to grow beyond them. Today, I use my experiences to lift others, because transformation is not just about me – it’s about what we can become together.” – Shar-Ron Blue
Special guests included Greg Jones of the NAACP, his wife, Gwen, and their daughter, Rebekah, of the Dane County Deferred Prosecution Program; Coleen Clark-Bernhardt, director of the Dane County Office of Justice Reform; Jael Currie, Community Court coordinator; Jerome Dillard, retired executive director of EXPO, and his wife; Diane Ballweg and Harry Haney of the Madison Justice Team; a member of the Caribbean Association of Madison, and members of the Dominican Sisters of Sinsinawa. Five justice impacted persons received scholarships to attend the event.
The 2025 Gala reminded us that the work ahead — though challenging — is achievable when rooted in solidarity and guided by the values of equity, compassion, and justice.
Acknowledgements
Gala Sponsors:
Dominican Sisters of Sinsinawa
Summit Credit Union
Madison Gas & Electric
Grace Episcopal Church
Pamela Gates
Dick Goldberg
John Murphy
Anonymous donors
Gala Planning Team:
Mary Anglim, Saundra Brown, Lucy Gibson, James Morgan, Julia Slotnik, and the volunteers who set up and cleaned up
Media:
Dee Star: Interview Videographer
Talia Nchang: Expressions Photography
DJ: WORT’s D.J. Delirious (Demetrius Long)
by Pamela Oliver | Jan 17, 2026 | Advocacy, Community Issues, MOSES leadership, Yearbook
MOSES Advocates to Restore Safety-Net Funding to 2026 Dane County Budget
Creating the 2026 Dane County budget was a difficult process. For starters, there was a $31-million deficit, driven by rising expenses — especially in health care – that bumped up against state-imposed revenue caps. County Executive Melissa Agard requested that all departments take a 4% cut off their base, and all departments complied except the Sheriff’s Office; Sheriff Barrett argued that any change to his budget would reduce public safety. Agard then cut an additional 4% from all Purchase of Service (POS) agencies, which primarily affected human services. (The Dane County Department of Human Services (DHS) uses POS agencies to implement many of its programs; examples of POS agencies are Journey Mental Health and JustDane.) The additional 4% was on top of cuts the DHS had already made — cuts that had already affected the POS agencies.
In addition, the executive budget did not adequately deal with a pending crisis in the homeless-shelter system. The current men’s shelter is being replaced with a new purpose-built shelter, which, while much better, has a capacity of only 250. Unfortunately, there is not adequate funding to run this shelter, and the need has soared to as many as 400 men per night. Because of the increased need, an overflow shelter is now needed for the coldest months of the year.
The situation was looking very discouraging, but then a bold proposal came out of the Health and Human Needs committee (HHN), which is chaired by Supervisor Heidi Wegleitner. She suggested amendments to address the POS cuts, the homeless concerns, and several other issues that had not been addressed in the executive budget. Heidi worked with the Public Protection and Judiciary committee (PP&J), chaired by Supervisor Richelle Andrae, to introduce budget amendments to fund the needs listed above by cutting unfilled positions from the Sheriff’s Office. MOSES members attended HHN and PP&J meetings and gave testimony in support of these amendments. Dozens of other people, many representing organizations, also testified in support.
The amendments passed HHN and PP&J and then went to the Personnel and Finance committee (P&F), where, again, MOSES members organized to give spoken testimony and to register written support in favor of the amendments. After extensive discussions led by County Board Chair Patrick Miles, the PP&J amendments were replaced with a one-year compromise amendment proposed by the Personnel and Finance Committee (P&F). This amendment froze but did not cut 20 Sheriff’s Office positions, which are unlikely to be filled in 2026. P&F also found additional savings in the budget, which, when combined with the funding from the frozen Sheriff’s Office positions, restored most of the funding needed for the HHN amendments. Both Sheriff Barrett and HHN Chair Wegleitner said that they could live with the compromise, although the Sheriff continues to criticize it.
MOSES members testified to the full County Board in favor of the P&F compromise amendments. On Nov. 6, the day of the vote, MOSES organized a rally in front of the City County Building. The rally was well attended; it included representatives from over half of our 22 member congregations and drew significant media coverage. After a lengthy and contentious debate, the County Board approved the compromise and passed the budget with a 32-5 vote.
The 2026 budget helps to preserve Dane County’s safety net. It won’t take any Sheriff ‘s deputies out of the jail or out of rural communities. Public safety is much more than law enforcement; preserving the safety net is an essential part of public safety. We need a permanent solution to our safety-net needs, because a budget deficit similar to that of 2026 is projected for 2027.
by Pamela Oliver | Oct 25, 2025 | Criminal Legal System, JPTF Justice & Police TF, Policing
MOSES and its Justice and Policing Task Force support the Independent Police Monitor and the Citizen Police Oversight Board (PCOB) as they are undergoing transition after the recent resignation of the Independent Monitor. The MOSES co-sponsored a Zoom interview organized by the Community Response Team with experienced Independent Monitor Joseph Lipari. He discussed the qualifications needed for an Independent Monitor and best practices for having an effective IM.
Here is a link to a recording of this conversation.
by Pamela Oliver | Oct 22, 2025 | Criminal Legal System, JPTF Justice & Police TF, Policing
Representatives of Madison’s Police Citizen Oversight Board held a listening session on October 22. MOSES members were present to ask questions and make comments. Here is a link to a video recording of that session. Note that the session was optimized for the in-person attendees so the recording is only so-so.
by Pamela Oliver | Jun 13, 2025 | Advocacy, Community Issues, Criminal Legal System, WISDOM
By Pamela Gates and Patti La Cross
On May 27, just six weeks after WISDOM’s Madison Action Day at the state Capitol, members of MOSES and WISDOM joined representatives of Citizen Action of Wisconsin (one of the organizers), the Wisconsin Public Education Network, Wisconsin Education Association Council (WEAC), Madison Teachers, Inc. (MTI), Northside Rising (Milwaukee), Wisconsin Early Childhood Action Network, and Planned Parenthood for an energetic day of networking and advocacy. We heard compelling calls to action, met with legislators and/or aides, and joined forces to demand that the Governor not sign the Republican version of the budget – unless several urgent demands are met.
The principle demands: (1) Close the Green Bay Correctional Institution and build NO NEW PRISON; (2) Support special education in Wisconsin’s public schools by providing schools with a 60% reimbursement for special education costs; (3) Expand BadgerCare by accepting Medicaid, which would make it possible for 91,000 more Wisconsinites to receive healthcare coverage.
Other demands urgently expressed by some participants were: (4) Restore the $480 million for childcare costs that the Governor’s original budget included and (5) Reject the rapidly increasing diversion of state funding from public schools to private-school vouchers.
The energy at this event was palpable. It was clear that the participants were deeply invested in the demands they were voicing – demands, in many cases, not for themselves but for other Wisconsin citizens who may be voiceless. We see this event as a blueprint for WISDOM and MOSES in the future: working together with a network of organizations that all have the same general aim of holding our elected officials accountable to the common good, particularly the needs of children and other vulnerable populations in our state – and especially while the federal safety net is collapsing.
Even if you missed this event, you can still do your part! The needs are urgent. Persist! Call and write to elected officials, broaden your communication networks, organize – and keep showing up!
