Dr. Tom O’Connor is internationally recognized for his communication, facilitation, and cultural-change skills in the specialty area of criminal justice.

A native of Ireland who now holds dual citizenship in the U.S., Tom has earned multiple degrees in law, philosophy, theology and counseling.  His PhD thesis focused on Religion and Culture in the U.S. Penal System.  Tom currently assists the National Institute of Corrections with the implementation of pretrial reform across the US as a member of its Pretrial faculty.  In addition to his best-in-class consulting work, Tom is also a professor of criminal justice at Western Oregon University.

In his role as the Administrator of Religious Services for the Oregon Department of Corrections, Tom led a team of 24 chaplains and over 2,000 volunteers to develop the Oregon model of humanistic, spiritual, and religious prison chaplaincy. He conducted and published research to show that the model reduces recidivism. The model was featured on National Public Radio and in an award-winning film by Martin Doblmeier called Chaplains.

Tom is co-author with Brad Bogue of a new coaching Practice Model that combines five evidence-based practices. The model is called COVE: Coaching Options that are Versatile and Effective. COVE is a developmental model that works in all human service contexts. It is used by managers to coach staff and by staff to coach clients.  Tom uses COVE and other practices such as the Immunity to Change process in his coaching of executives.

Tom’s cutting edge work on facilitating whole system change takes him to many states in the U.S. and to countries including New Zealand, Canada, Australia, England, Ireland, and France. His company, Transforming Corrections, challenges and supports criminal justice agencies to be more compassionate, collaborative, and achieve better outcomes. Transforming Corrections uses the most innovative change strategies to develop improved culture, leaders, teamwork, dialogue, coaching and implementation science skills.

Tom is life-long learner with a unique perspective on the human condition. He grew up in a working-class area of Dublin and lived as a friar (a wandering monk) for nine years with a Catholic religious order called the Carmelites.  Tom currently lives in Oregon with his wife and daughter.

Samantha Collins, M.A., LPC, NCC, MAC, CACII has a background as a licensed counselor and certified addictions counselor. She holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Pittsburgh and a master’s degree in forensic psychology from the University of Denver. Samantha has primarily provided mental health, substance use disorder, and sex offense-specific treatment to individuals involved with the criminal justice system. She has worked with local, state, and federal entities.

Samantha served in an administrative role at the South Carolina Department of Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Services for five years and was the deputy manager of the Division of Health Integration and Innovation. In this role, she directed an $8 million grant awarded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) focused on the delivery of an evidence-based practice to facilitate the integration of primary health and substance use services across the state. She also managed a large statewide initiative, using implementation science, to develop and refine the skills of addiction counselors. This initiative has been successful and is currently in its eighth year of scale-up.

In her work at Transforming Corrections, Samantha continues to assist agencies to fully engage and reach competency in evidence-based practices by using implementation science, as her passion lies in bringing about real change for individuals, families, communities, and human service practitioners. She is a member of the Motivational Interviewing Network of Trainers (MINT). In her spare time, she enjoys spending time in nature, singing, playing guitar, and riding her Harley Davidson.