VIP Sacramento: Focus on Leadership
by Angela S. Tillotson

Volunteers In Parole Sacramento is a chapter of VIP, Inc., the statewide nonprofit organization that recruits attorneys, and only attorneys, to mentor men and women on parole. VIP Sacramento mentors California Department of Corrections parolees. We are honored to have as members of our Advisory Committee, Tom Johnson, Supervising Deputy District Attorney, and Linda Harter, Assistant Federal Defender.
Johnson's dedication to VIP has spanned 15 years and includes service on the VIP Statewide Board of Governors from 1998-2000. Having been matched with his match partner, Sergio, in 1998, Johnson and Sergio are VIP Sacramento's oldest match. Johnson is currently chair of the VIP Sacramento Advisory Committee.

Supervising Deputy District Attorney Tom Johnson and Assistant Federal Defender Linda Harter

Harter began her participation in 1996 while she was working in Fresno as an Assistant Federal Defender. She found her match to be very rewarding, and in fact her mentorship grew into a wonderful friendship. Prior to transfer to the Federal Defender's Office in Sacramento, Harter contacted VIP Sacramento. She quickly became a valued addition to the program and a member of the local advisory committee where she serves as chair-elect.

Johnson and Harter agree that their experience as mentors has been much less demanding than one might think. Being a VIP mentor is "a very positive experience and particularly rewarding without being too difficult to maintain," Johnson said.. Harter reiterated this by adding, "If I was taking my daughter ice skating, I could ask my match and her daughter to go too. I found it really easy."

For someone who has spent a large portion of his or her life in custody and has never had anyone take the time to offer guidance or support, mentoring can mean the difference between success and failure. "It's about having someone solid and consistent in our lives -- some other person who is a stabilizer," Harter said. "We all need someone like that -- someone who we can talk to, someone who wants us to do well."

Why is mentoring so rewarding? Johnson explained that "the mentees in the program are doing everything they can to have a good life. Getting there is tough. Many lack basic skills that we all take for granted. Some don't know how to get a job, interview for a job, or keep a job. It is a tremendous experience to understand how other people struggle through life. You would not find a more satisfying program to be involved in."

Johnson and Harter have shown incredible dedication and determination to their match partners and that commitment has carried over to their involvement with the VIP Sacramento Advisory Committee. As the Chair and Chair-Elect, they provide consistent insight and support and make themselves readily available for VIP. To quote Harter: "We all need someone solid and consistent in our lives." Tom Johnson and Linda Harter have not only been solid and consistent for their mentees, but for the VIP program as well.

VIP Sacramento is grateful to have such superbly dedicated and enthusiastic members of its local advisory committee.

If you would like to learn more about Volunteers In Parole, or you are interested in becoming a mentor, please contact Angela S. Tillotson, Program Director, at (916) 324-4141, extension 259, by fax at (916) 445-8864.