Executive Director/President/Founder
Tatiana Santollo, M.A., MSL.
Tatiana serves as the Founder, Executive Director on the board, and President of Texas Prisons Alliance. She holds multiple graduate degrees in psychology, legal studies, and criminal justice with an emphasis in law enforcement. Her commitment to prison and criminal justice reform began during her time with the Innocence Project at Texas Southern University, where she worked to advocate for the wrongfully convicted.
However, her passion became deeply personal after meeting her husband, whose own experience with the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) opened her eyes to systemic injustices from a different perspective. With over seven years of hands-on advocacy through organizations such as TPAA and TPCA, Tatiana built the foundation to launch Texas Prisons Alliance, an organization that reflects her vision for change, compassion, and accountability.
Drawing from her own lived experience, including growing up with an incarcerated parent, Tatiana developed many of TPA’s signature support programs that meet the needs of both incarcerated individuals and their families. Fueled by resilience and purpose, Tatiana is deeply focused on expanding access to education, faith-based initiatives, and rehabilitation efforts within TDCJ. Her mission is to help reduce recidivism and restore hope, dignity, and opportunity to incarcerated men and women across Texas.
Board Member and Vice President-Operations
Bethanie Fierro
Bethanie Fierro is the Vice President of Operations and Board Member. Director of Reentry for the Texas Prisons Alliance, where she also oversees the Veterans Department and the Resilient Young People of Texas program. Starting as a family facilitator liaison, her dedication and leadership quickly elevated her to a senior role within the organization.
Bethanie Fierro is a powerful example of resilience, transformation, and advocacy. With a Bachelor of Science in Healthcare Management, she is a licensed private investigator and certified process server in Texas, previously working with Border Blue Investigations in El Paso. Her personal journey from addiction and homelessness to stability and purpose has shaped her mission to support others facing adversity.
Fueled by faith and the power of prayer, Bethanie credits a strong support system, access to resources, and strategic reentry planning as key to overcoming life’s challenges and reducing recidivism. Her advocacy work began after witnessing the injustice her husband experienced within the criminal legal system. Moved by his story, she launched the "Free Fierro" petition to raise awareness about his case and fight for his release.
Bethanie actively manages Cristeros-Kolbe Chapter their Facebook community. She is a dedicated leader, relentless advocate, and beacon of hope for individuals and families impacted by incarceration.
Board Member and Vice President-Chief Financial Affairs
Christina Vodochodsky, PhD, MPH, MS, MLIS
Christina Vodochodsky serves as the VP of Financial Affairs for Texas Prisons Alliance and is a Board Member. She holds terminal and graduate degrees in Statistics and Data Science, Biostatistics, Public Health Data Science, and Library and Information Science.
Christina uses data to tell the truth about Texas prisons, highlighting injustice, amplifying voices, and fighting for change. With her husband incarcerated, her work is deeply personal and rooted in compassion and accountability. Her work aims to turn data into action and silence into reform.
Christina and her husband also run Chapters and Chains, a platform dedicated to supporting prison wives and partners through storytelling, resources, and digital solidarity.
She is passionate about promoting data and digital literacy for incarcerated individuals and their loved ones, empowering them to advocate with confidence. She also sits on the Texas Parole Working Group, which strives to reform Texas’s broken parole system.
Board Member and Vice President- Operations II
Brandy Adames
Brandy Adames is the Vice President of Operations II, and Board Member for Texas Prisons Alliance and a passionate advocate for incarcerated individuals and their families. She has been with the organization for about two years, beginning as a Facilitator Liaison for Region IV.
Her drive and commitment quickly led her to the role of Lead Director, where she helped coordinate statewide outreach and support efforts for families affected by incarceration. Currently pursuing a degree in psychology, she is especially focused on helping children impacted by the justice system, children who, like her, may come from backgrounds of abuse and trauma.
Through the experiences of her loved ones, both her husband and her uncle, who are incarcerated, she became deeply aware of the harsh realities within the Texas prison system. But witnessing the injustices and challenges firsthand through their journeys fueled her passion to make a difference.
Now, she uses her voice, education, and leadership to push for meaningful reform, to break generational cycles, and to remind families and children that they are not alone. She believes in second chances, in the power of healing, and in building a better, more just system for everyone impacted by incarceration
Board Member
Gary J. Cohen
Gary J. Cohen is a distinguished parole attorney with over four decades of legal experience, dedicated to advocating for fair and just outcomes within the criminal justice system. He earned his Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the University of Texas at Austin in 1970 and his Juris Doctor from the University of Texas School of Law in 1973.
He began his career in private practice as a criminal defense attorney and, by 1987, shifted his focus to sentencing matters with the introduction of the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.
For more than 20 years, Gary has devoted his practice exclusively to parole-related issues, including representing Texas inmates in both parole review and revocation proceedings. He currently serves as Co-Chair of the Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association Committee on Sentencing and Paroles.
Gary’s influence extends beyond the courtroom—he has testified as an expert in sentencing and parole matters before state legislative committees, consulted with the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles on reforming the parole guideline system, and has been invited to assist in training revocation hearing officers across Texas. A prolific writer and speaker, Gary has lectured extensively on Texas parole law and is widely recognized as a leader in his field.
Board Member
Jonathan Rodriguez
A proud Houstonian, Jonathan Rodriguez was born in Fifth Ward and raised in Cloverleaf. With a heart for service and deep roots in his community, he is committed to giving back and creating pathways for change.
Drawing from his own lived experience, Jonathan is passionate about helping youth rise above adversity and promoting second chances through advocacy, mentorship, and education. His Christian faith and pursuit of knowledge have been pivotal in his personal transformation and continue to inspire his efforts to empower others.
Jonathan is especially dedicated to steering young people away from incarceration and toward opportunities that unlock their potential. He played a key role in encouraging his brother—now an employee at NASA—to pursue a brighter future, and he strives to do the same for the youth he serves.
In his spare time, Jonathan enjoys drawing portraits as a way to uplift and inspire those around him. He lives by the motto:"Know yourself, and then you will be the best at what YOU can be!"
Board Member
Tamara H. Williams
TBA
Board Member
Melissa Riana
TBA
Secretary
Traci Struck