Senior Consultant & CEO of Transforming Corrections
Tom O’Connor, Ph.D., grew up in Ireland and qualified as a solicitor (attorney) in the Irish legal system. Then Tom joined a contemplative Catholic religious order called the Carmelites and lived as a friar (a wandering monk) for 9 years working and studying in Ireland, Scotland, France and the US. Tom moved to the US and became a dual citizen, he now lives in Salem, Oregon with Aislinn and Sorcha, his wife and daughter.
Tom has degrees in law, philosophy, theology and counseling; his Ph.D. focused on Religion and Culture in the US Penal System. Tom has worked on developmental and implementation issues in the US Penal System for the last 28 years. He trains and coaches many evidence-based practices such as Motivational Interviewing, Cognitive Behavioral Coaching and the Level of Service/Case Management Inventory. Tom also incorporates Implementation Science, Dialogue Coaching and the Immunity to Change: How to Overcome It and Unlock the Potential in Yourself and Your Organization®: process into his work with personal, organizational and leadership development.
Tom has taught Criminal Justice at the University level, and published widely on the role of humanistic, spiritual and religious ways of making meaning in the desistance process. Tom is CEO of Transforming Corrections whose mission is to advance a more effective, less costly and more compassionate criminal justice system.