Staff & Volunteering

Heather Bland

Executive Director

Heather Bland is a recovery advocate whose work is shaped by her lived experience with incarceration and long-term recovery. Having navigated the criminal legal system firsthand, she brings an authentic understanding of reentry challenges. Her focus includes recidivism advocacy, peer support, and system-level change grounded in the belief that lived experience is a powerful asset. As Executive Director, Heather is committed to creating meaningful pathways to recovery, stability, and lasting transformation.

Misty James

Assistant Director
A woman with long, grayish-brown hair and glasses smiling outdoors in front of green pine tree branches.
A woman with long, grayish-brown hair and glasses smiling outdoors in front of green pine tree branches.

Originally from Ellettsville, IN, Misty has lived in Bloomington for the past 22 years. Having battled addiction herself, she understands the complex struggles of such things as substance misuse and houselessness. Today she lives a life centered around helping others seeking support to improve their quality of life. She’s very involved in her local recovery community, assisting women in helping maintain a life without drugs. She has two wonderful children and shares a home with her loving boyfriend and two parakeets, Jane and Charlie.

Payton Prospal

Read To Me Program Coordinator

Payton is currently a MSW student, expecting to graduate this December. She has always been passionate about social work, and truly loves helping, supporting, and advocating for those who are often unable to advocate for themselves. She is excited for this chapter as the Program Coordinator for Read to Me, where she gets to connect with incarcerated individuals in a unique way by helping them stay bonded with their children through reading.

Volunteering

  • A woman with short blonde hair wearing an orange sleeveless top and beige pants sitting on a beige cushioned bench, writing in a book, with a large green houseplant and a wooden slat wall behind her, and a wall with shadowed window panes on her right.
  • A man with gray hair, wearing a blue sweater and beige pants, is sitting on the edge of a bed with a neutral expression, with his hands resting on the bed, in a softly lit room.
  • A woman with curly hair sitting on a bench against a wall with wooden paneling, natural light casting shadows.
Learn More