Federal and State Grants Unit Staff

Jessica Blake is a criminal justice specialist working on the American Rescue Plan Act program. Prior to joining ICJIA, Jessica worked with women who were incarcerated and children at a drug and alcohol rehabilitation facility. She was later employed at a group home for teen moms in Illinois Department of Children and Family Services custody. She later served as a social services career trainee for the State of Illinois and was later promoted to human services caseworker. Jessica graduated from Aurora University with a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice and minor in psychology. She later studied forensic psychology and received a master’s degree from The Chicago School of Professional Psychology.

Nichole Broadhacker is a criminal justice specialist. Prior to joining ICJIA, she worked as a probation officer in Macon County. She also worked as a grant program manager with the Tennessee Department of Transportation and as the grants administrator for the Regional Transportation Authority of Middle Tennessee.

In addition to her work with ICJIA, Nichole is an emergency medical technician with the Mt. Zion Fire Department and a teacher with Richland Community College’s Emergency Medical Services Program. Nichole holds a master’s degree in public administration with a certificate in emergency preparedness and homeland security from University of Illinois at Springfield and a bachelor’s degree in psychology and minor in biology and sociology from Millikin University.

Samantha DeLuna is a criminal justice specialist with the R3 program. Prior to joining ICJIA, she worked at non-profit organizations as case manager and youth violence prevention coordinator, serving at-risk youth. Samantha earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology with a focus on criminal justice at Roosevelt University.

Jacqueline Hawkins is a criminal justice specialist with the R3 program. Prior to joining ICJIA, Jacqueline worked in community and workforce development, serving in various client-facing and executive-level capacities. She earned a bachelor’s degree in business management at Chicago State University.

Lajuana Murphy is a Criminal Justice Specialist II in ICJIA’s Federal & State Grant Unit. Lajuana’s work includes, but is not limited to, monitoring a variety of state and federal programs, training, federal/state reporting, and providing technical assistance trainings throughout Illinois. She has a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Illinois at Chicago and a master’s degree in public administration from DePaul University.

Marvin Nesbitt is a criminal justice specialist working on the American Rescue Plan Act program. Prior to joining ICJIA, Marvin worked as a community coordinator for Chicago Public Schools. He also worked as an adult transition center shift supervisor at the Illinois Department of Corrections. Marvin has a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice and a criminal justice communication certification.

Peter Nicholson is the R3 deputy program manager. Prior to joining ICJIA, Peter was a manpower planner with the City of Chicago, where he administered the Substantial Rehabilitation Training Program and the Work Experience Program, designed to combat racism in the construction trades. Peter also served as Cook County Department of Planning and Development director, responsible for all community and economic development activities in Cook County. He also served as the Illinois Department of Human Services housing and transition liaison. With a special interest in housing issues, Peter co-founded a community development organization, which developed 57 units of affordable housing.

Peter earned a bachelor’s degree in urban and regional planning at the University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana, a master’s degree in inner city studies at Northeastern Illinois University, and a master’s degree in public administration at The Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

Trevor Ramsey is a Grant Specialist Trainee. Prior to joining ICJIA, Trevor worked for five years as a caseworker with the Illinois Department of Human Services. Before joining state government, Trevor was employed in the private sector in customer service/sales management and radio broadcasting.