Senior Program Manager, Training & Technical Assistance, TASC Center for Health and Justice
Email Denyse

As Senior Program Manager for Training and Technical Assistance at TASC’s Center for Health and Justice (CHJ), Denyse Stoneback leads the team of coaches providing assistance to 100+ corrections and community-based grantees building and executing reentry programs through the Department of Justice's National Second Chance Act.

Denyse has a long career in education, educational publishing, project management, and violence prevention. She founded two nonprofits and is a leading voice for bold and comprehensive change to reduce gun violence and advance ethics in politics. She leads the National Extreme Risk Protection Order (ERPO) Working Group.

In 2020 Denyse was elected state representative of the Illinois House 16th District. Denyse’s passion for social justice was demonstrated through her work in the legislature. Denyse co-sponsored multiple bills to improve the corrections, reentry, and criminal justice systems. She introduced multiple bills to improve healthcare and reduce gun violence, and was the author and chief sponsor of a major bill to improve Illinois’ Firearms Restraining Order, which passed and was signed into law in 2021. She authored two more domestic violence bills which passed unanimously in the House and Senate in 2021. She co-sponsored the Protect Illinois Communities Act, which banned assault weapons in Illinois. She served on the Housing Committee, the Mental Health and Addiction Committee, and the Judiciary Criminal Committee, among others.

She is known nationally for her knowledge and work on Extreme Risk Protection Orders. Denyse obtained a Bachelor's degree from Marquette University in Criminology and Law Studies and Spanish and a Masters degree in Translation from the University of Madrid Spain.