In July of 2023 Ohio Justice & Policy Center (OJPC), a non-profit law firm and advocacy organization that has served our community since 1997, named Gabe Davis as its new Chief Executive Officer. Gabe succeeded OJPC’s long-time Executive Director David Singleton, who led the organization for over 20 years.

OJPC’s mission to advance the cause of equal justice by creating a fair, redemptive, and intelligent criminal justice system is of critical importance. Through the fresh eyes of a new leader, Gabe felt the organization’s work could be reinforced through reevaluation of its organizational structure, from job descriptions and titles to internal and external equity and market compensation reviews, reworking of their organizational chart and a new strategy for making the right, culturally-aligned hires. In the spring of 2023, Gabe reached out to Dave Wallace for advice and guidance on these issues and in October 2023, a 6-month consulting project was launched.

When Dave learned about OJPC’s HR-related consulting needs, he knew at once that long-time OneSource Consultant Julia Johnson was the right person to lead the project. After 15 years of volunteering her time and talent to OneSource members, Julia understood the significance of the project right out of the gate:

“You are what you do—the benefit of having relevant titles and compensation is that it prevents employees from feeling that they are working ‘out of class’, outside of their job descriptions and not being appropriately recognized. Having the proper title and delivering what’s expected sets clear expectations and boosts morale. For an agency like OJPC that is focused on justice, letting staff know that leadership looking critically at equity and compensations is truly walking the walk.”

When Julie Jacobson-Ruby and Angela Krites joined the OJPC consulting team it became clear to Gabe and his team that they were working with HR professionals not just with experience relevant to the project, but who are inordinately focused on outcomes. Each team member took the lead on different aspects of the project—Julia keeping the process collaborative with safe, open communication, Julie on compensation and market analysis and Angela on job descriptions and organizational structure—all plugging in with their expertise and learning from each other every step of the way. Gabe describes his experience with his OneSource Center consulting team this way:

“Julia, Julie and Angela played an essential role in providing OJPC with critical HR support and wise counsel during the earliest days of my tenure as the new CEO. They helped to craft and fine tune masterful job descriptions for senior management positions, assisted in retooling our organization chart, and conducted market analysis that illuminated staffing decisions and clarified areas of challenge and opportunity. Above all they were easy to work with, communicated well, and were a real pleasure.“

Upon completion of the project in April 2024, OJPC was provided new job descriptions with an external market data review for comparisons, a new Legal Administrative Assistant was hired, an Internal Equity Review was delivered for positions reporting to Gabe, and an updated organizational chart with applicable new titles and job descriptions was created. Additionally, the team made recommendations for future organizational efficiency improvements such as reworking job descriptions for all positions in the organization, providing new leaders with assimilation and coaching and contracting with an agency that can perform a benefits analysis for annual enrollment.

Julia, Julie and Angela are following OJPC’s process closely and will be following up with Gabe and his team on the impact the project has had on the organization and to be at-the-ready for future support.

Thank you to this extraordinary team for your heartfelt support of an organization fighting for equal justice and fair treatment for people at all stages of incarceration—because every person deserves dignity after their conviction and freedom after their sentence. You’ve made a difference!