Max Adler
Max Adler is the Editorial Director and Vice President of Golf Digest. He faults his barely-competitive driving distance for having learned the game on the short courses of Vermont, where he was four-time Caddie Champion at Ekwanok Country Club. He played on the golf team at Washington & Lee University while majoring in studio art. Afterward, he attended the University of St. Andrews in Scotland on the Ernest Ransome Scholarship, where he lettered in golf and obtained his masters in English Studies. Winner of three first-place writing awards from the Golf Writers Association of America, honoree of the 2018 Folio: 100, there is no professional reward that will ever match breaking the story of Valentino Dixon’s wrongful conviction onto a national stage in 2012 and seeing it through until his release in 2018. Adler lives with his wife and four children in Norwalk, Conn.
Marc M. Howard
Marc M. Howard is Professor of Government and Law, and the founding Director of the Prisons and Justice Initiative, at Georgetown University. He is one of the country’s leading voices and advocates for criminal justice and prison reform. The author of three books and dozens of scholarly articles, his work has received numerous awards. His most recent book is Unusually Cruel: Prisons, Punishment, and the Real American Exceptionalism. He is also a prize-winning teacher, and his “Prisons and Punishment” course has become the most sought-after course at Georgetown. The students in his “Making an Exoneree” course—co-taught with his childhood friend, Marty Tankleff, who was himself wrongfully imprisoned for almost 18 years—re-investigate likely wrongful conviction cases. Their project resulted in the exoneration of Valentino Dixon, who had served 27 years in prison. Under Howard’s leadership, PJI recently launched the Pivot Program, for formerly incarcerated women and men to become entrepreneurs and business leaders, as well as the Scholars Program, which offers both credit-bearing and non-credit courses to incarcerated students at the DC Jail.
Liz McConnell
Elizabeth Cooke McConnell who you may know as “Liz” has been in the staffing industry for over ten years. She has worked in both the Day Labor industry and the Technical Staffing side running successful Vendor Partnership programs globally. Liz has been with iLabor; a technology enablement software platform for 6 years where she is the Director of Customer Success. She handles all things Client and Vendor facing where she oversees iLabor Clients and top-notch recruiting vendors to source candidates for iLabor’s client base, allowing her clients to create a best-in-class talent management solution that leverages each of their strengths. Prior to joining iLabor she served as Communications Director for MDT Personnel handling all Media Relations, Web Site Development and served as Project Manager for several instrumental large-scale initiatives. She was also crucial in all large-scale recruitment efforts including lending logistical support for ground teams assisting with disaster recovery during several U.S. natural events. She also furthered her skills as Manager of Marketing and League Services for the Press Association. She was a Key Project Manager & Business Development contributor who explored new global markets to expand the Press Association’s operation.
Liz is an expert in gathering, analyzing and sharing meaningful consumer and market intelligence enabling businesses. She is a graduate of the University of Mississippi, Ole Miss.
When Liz isn’t working hard at the office, she is at home having fun with her husband and two children. She likes golf, art, her local wine club and loves to travel!
Valentino Dixon Foundation 