People and Culture

Carrie Baker is a strategic People & Culture leader at the Innocence Project, bringing over a decade of experience in talent and performance management across academia and the nonprofit world. Before joining the Innocence Project in 2022, she spent several years at a non-profit organization focused on advancing criminal legal reform in the pre-trial space.

At the IP, Carrie focuses on developing people-centered systems that support staff growth and development initiatives. She leads initiatives related to performance management, professional development, and workforce planning, and partners with the DEI Subcommittee and People & Culture team to bring in organization-wide learning opportunities that foster an inclusive and thriving workplace.

Outside the IP, Carrie enjoys long walks, diving into a good book, and exploring her creative side through singing and songwriting classes.

Carrie is passionate about criminal legal reform and is proud to support the Innocence Project’s staff and mission to exonerate the wrongly convicted through DNA testing and other scientific advancements and reform the criminal legal system to prevent future injustice.

As the chief people and culture officer, Corinne Padavano sets the strategic vision for how the organization attracts, develops, engages, and retains talent in alignment with its mission and values. She leads the evolution of people-centered practices across compensation, benefits, recruitment, diversity and inclusion, employee experience, and policy infrastructure. She ensures not only operational integrity, but a thriving, equitable workplace culture that supports long-term organizational success.

Corinne joined the Innocence Project in April 2006 after working in non-profit finance, human resources, and operations support roles with organizations such as the American Institute of Architects and the Brain Injury Association of New York State. She also owned and operated a storefront arts business for several years in Queens.

Donna Kenton graduated from Hofstra University with a degree in English. She taught junior high school English then studied music and acting, singing briefly with an R&B band. For 31 years, she worked on Wall Street, mostly for Merrill Lynch, focusing on municipal bonds. In her retirement, she has been privileged to volunteer for this wonderful organization, acting as the volunteer coordinator. It is her joy to match someone who is passionate about giving their time to ensure justice for all with a department in need of their skills.

Erika joined Innocence Project in September 2014. She previously worked with community nonprofits (Henry Street Settlement and University Settlement) in the Lower East Side. She also had the opportunity to work for Project Hope, the FEMA-funded program created after Hurricane Sandy.

Yvette Patterson received her JD from Seattle University School of Law and her career has spanned a mix of HR and litigation roles such as Civil Rights Analyst with the Seattle Office for Civil Rights, Tucson Equal Opportunity Office, and University of Arizona Institutional Equity Office, and as a Human Resources Specialist with the Seattle Department of Transportation.  Most recently she served as a supervising attorney and in-house advisor with the Pima County Attorney’s office in Tucson. This mix of training and experience allows Yvette to bring both expert people skills and mediation and conflict resolution experience to the role, in addition to a solid understanding of employment laws, and a commitment to equity and fairness in policy, process and practice. Yvette is an empathetic, people-centered professional who is passionate about criminal legal reform.

Zeus Rivera joined the Innocence Project as an HR manager in May 2021. He has almost a decade of HR experience under his belt working in a few industries, including hospitality, architecture, and nonprofit. His nonprofit experience comes from working his way up in the HR department at HANAC, a social service organization in Astoria, Queens.