LIfetime Social and Economic Justice Advocate Joins CueOps

Albuquerque, NM -- (ReleaseWire) -- 07/29/2016 --CueOps is happy to have Guy Gambill on the team. His remarkable history of advocacy for those in need is a perfect fit. His passion for making positive and progressive change is apparent in his life's work.

CueOps knows and trusts in Guy's commitment to doing good. His passion and talent are a perfect fit with CueOps' mission of helping those doing the hard work of social and economic change.

Here's Guy:

Guy has long experience working in both governmental and non-profit sectors. Following receipt of his Honorable Discharge from the United States Army in 1985 he went on to finish his B.A. at the University of Minnesota in Languages and Linguistics. He completed further study in this same range of interests at the Graduate level both abroad and in his home State. He worked for the Minnesota Department of Human Services as a financial services caseworker and translator assisting the migrant farm-worker community, a capacity in which he served for eight years. He went on to work in a variety of positions in the social services sector and, whenever possible, he assisted his fellow veterans.

During the period 1999-2004 his focus centered primarily upon homelessness, veterans and justice reform. He served as one of the leaders of the Minneapolis Decriminalization of Homelessness Task Force and, during the course of that involvement, first achieved national recognition for his work. Among other accomplishments of note he was instrumental in the repeal of the State Vagrancy Statute and the allocation of $600,000 in outreach funding to provide alternatives to arrest and incarceration for members of law enforcement dealing with the chronically homeless. He also led efforts to revise or repeal a variety of city ordinances which disproportionately impacted the homeless in Minnesota. These efforts led to a number of awards and recognitions, as well as, inclusion on a variety of Commissions, Task Forces and Boards of Directors, including at the national level.

In 2005 he was hired on by the Council on Crime and Justice as Lobbyist and Advocacy Coordinator. It was during his tenure there that he successfully organized and led a variety of highly successful initiatives He led an effort that achieved wide recognition at the national level, Ban-the-Box, making Minneapolis-St. Paul the second and third cities in the US to enact ex-offender friendly hiring practices. He then organized and led an event\effort called Second Chance Day on the Hill which put over 900 second chance advocates in the rotunda of the State Capitol.

The State of Minnesota, in 2008, became the second State in the US to pass sentencing mitigation legislation for military veterans, diverting them from incarceration to treatment. Gambill organized and led that effort as well and went on to a variety of national involvements in the realm of veterans at the intersection of our justice systems, including with the Department of Defense, Veterans Administration and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Association (SAMHSA). He wrote many articles and was interviewed by major media. In 2009, he also received SAMHSA's Veterans-Peer Award and received recognition from the White House for his efforts.

The culmination of his work with veterans in the realm of justice came in 2010 with receipt of the prestigious Senior Justice Fellowship from the Open Society Institute in New York. He worked out of the Justice Policy Institute (JPI) during the course of his Fellowship and went on to make major contributions on behalf of veterans. From 2010-2015 he spent the majority of his time, however, in Guadalajara, Mexico. His wife, Maria Perez-Alvarez, is a native "Tapatia" (from Guadalajara, Mexico) whom he first met in 1988. Together, they have four children, the youngest, Ivana, is 12 years of age.

Guy continues with his help and consultation with a variety of organizations, including the well-known veteran's organization, the Uniformed Services Justice & Advocacy Group (USJAG). USJAG focuses on the improper separations from military service of combat veterans under less than honorable conditions.

In addition to the above, Guy has worked on a wide variety of other efforts and issues, including; minority language preservation, immigration and mental health care access-related issues.

His experience spans more than three decades and multiple issue areas. Guy has a very broad understanding of the critical social justice-related issues facing our nation today. He brings to the table that depth of understanding along with a wide range of contacts and relationships. In addition, he has a sound knowledge of web-based technologies and how they may be brought to bear in the realm of non-profits and justice advocacy.

CueOps thanks Guy for all he's done and all he continues to do now with the team.