Dr. Mel Brown is a nationally recognized professional as an administrator, teacher, trainer, consultant and author.  After a successful career working for governmental agencies, he left the public sector to form his own consulting company.  In addition to his work as a trainer/consultant Dr. Brown

• Is a member of the Board of Trustees for Conroe Independent School District

• Has served as an adjunct faculty member in the Criminal Justice Department at the University of Texas at Arlington, in the College of Criminal Justice at Sam Houston State University and in the College of Juvenile Justice and Psychology at Prairie View A&M University

• Has written extensively for state and national publications

• Served on the Texas Governor’s Juvenile Justice Advisory Committee during the terms of Republican Governor William P. Clements and Democratic Governor Ann Richards

• Served as a member on the Commission on Accreditation for Corrections (an accrediting body for prisons, probation agencies, parole agencies, juvenile detention facilities, jails, halfway houses and other correctional programs

• Served as member of Texas Judicial Advisory Council—appointed by the Presiding Judge of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals

• Has provided expert testimony in court cases, as well as before committees of the U.S. Senate, the Texas Senate and the Texas House of Representatives

Tamra McGuffey’s employment history includes a variety of positions in both juvenile and adult probation with experience in both institutions and community supervision  She has served as Director of Quality Development of an adult probation department and Director of a highly touted ACA accredited residential treatment program for substance abusing offenders.  She has also served as a standards compliance auditor for the American Correctional Association’s Commission on Accreditation for Corrections.

While she has served in a variety of professional capacities, she is probably most widely recognized for her skills in staff  development and training.  She has served as a Resource Training Officer for the Community Justice Assistance Division and she has been honored by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice as a “Friend of Training” award recipient.

In addition to being certified as a trainer in numerous areas, she is a “Master Trainer” in Cognitive Reflective Communication. 

Ms. McGuffey completed both her baccalaureate degree and pursued graduate studies at Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Texas.  She is co-author of “Evaluating Substance Abuse Treatment Facilities.” 

Val Williams brings to MBA a depth of experience that includes positions in juvenile probation, adult probation, juvenile detention, training, offender work programs and community corrections facilities.  Not only does she have experience as an operations manager for a substance abuse treatment facility and as Director of a facility for special needs offenders, she has also  served as a standards compliance auditor for the American Correctional Association’s Commission on Accreditation for Corrections

In addition to  serving as a Resource Training Officer for the Texas Probation Training Academy and being certified as a trainer in numerous areas, she is a “Master Trainer” in Cognitive Reflective Communication, 

Her  experience in teaching time management and office organization have proven valuable to numerous other professionals.

Ms. Williams earned a baccalaureate degree from Sam Houston State University.

Peggy J. Smith is a veteran administrator with both private and public sector leadership.  Ms. Smith’s background includes successful experience as a human resources specialist in local county government; as fiscal manager and city secretary for a municipality and a financial manager for a non-profit organization.  Peggy has worked for the last ten years exclusively in the human resources field.   Ms. Smith is excited about opportunities to bring her diverse and essential organizational expertise to the Mel Brown and Associates team of professionals.

Peggy earned her Bachelor’s degree from Sam Houston State University in Business Administration (BBA) and has continued professional growth with a mediation certification, state municipal certifications and membership in the Society for Human Resources Management.

Significant management experience in all facets of human resources include salary administration and pay structure, effective performance appraisal techniques, job analysis and design, developing organizational policies and procedures in compliance with applicable laws, and coaching both employees and supervisors for a more effective and productive work environment.  Additional experience in budgeting, employee benefits, accounting, management of HR database software applications, and state and federal law compliance (Equal Employment, Department of Labor, Justice Department and Workforce Commission).

Montie Morgan, a veteran community corrections manager, administrator, and proven leader, is excited to join the Mel Brown and Associates team of professionals. On the heels of a successful career of 32 years in community corrections, 22 of which he has served as Chief Administrative Officer for a Community Supervision and Corrections Department in Texas, he brings a depth of knowledge and experience in organizational development; program planning, development and implementation; and substance abuse intervention with a criminal justice population.

Having earned a baccalaureate degree from Lamar University and completed thirty hours graduate coursework toward a Masters of Criminal Justice from Sam Houston State University, he has continued a lifelong learning process through advanced training and development for Corrections Professionals. He lives by a personal mission to create so that others might benefit, which makes his association with Mel Brown and Associates  a creative opportunity for you to better equip your organization for success.

Jose E Castillo brings to MBA a diverse background in both the public and private sector.  As a public administrator, he was involved in criminal justice and public administration for over thirty years.  Much of that time he worked in Bexar County, Texas.  As Executive Director of the Department of Justice Planning and Human Resources (1999-2005), he had responsibility for the direct operation of Pretrial services, the Forensic Service (Medical Examiners Office and Crime Lab).  He also had responsibility for administering federally funded housing program, health services administration, financial assistance program, Cooperative extension and Veteran services. He served as the county’s chief probation officer from 1990 to 1996.  He was the first and founding Director of the Bexar County Dispute Resolution Center.

In the private sector, Mr. Castillo worked for a private corrections services corporation providing contractual juvenile corrections services to state agencies and juvenile probation departments.  These facilities included juvenile boot camps, juvenile detention facilities and residential programs in Texas and  juvenile aftercare programs in Georgia.

He has served as an adjunct faculty member at Texas State University, San Antonio College and the University of Texas at San Antonio.

His academic credentials include a B.A. degree from St. Mary’s University and an M.A. from UTSA.