Director of Deflection
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TASC Director of Deflection Nicole Parham Munoz works closely with community stakeholders and first responders (e.g. law enforcement officers, emergency medical services, firefighters) across Illinois to build deflection opportunities in urban, suburban, and rural communities.

Deflection helps people who are in crisis or at risk of overdose to engage in needed services within the community, instead of being sent to the emergency room or jail. Initiatives are co-developed with local partners/resources, with TASC providing active outreach, service linkage, and specialized case management to establish trust, minimize harm, and engage individuals in services according to their particular level of need and readiness for change.

Nicole brings two decades’ of in-depth experience to this work including expertise in workforce development, violence prevention, and re-entry and substance use disorder rehabilitation services for justice-involved individuals and youth.

Nicole joined TASC (Treatment Alternatives for Safe Communities) in 2019, as an administrator for TASC’s Center for Health and Justice (CHJ) deflection technical assistance and program collaboration. Before TASC, she spent two years with the North Lawndale Employment Network (NLEN) in Chicago, where she provided reentry support, career training, and job placement services for justice-involved participants between the ages of 25 to 60. While at NLEN, Nicole connected more than 70 program participants with promising career opportunities, created pathways to entrepreneurship, planned and executed expungement summits, and supported clients in creative and artistic endeavors in the community. Nicole has also worked as a business education and outreach specialist for WestCare Foundation, where she directed initiatives and programs for people who are underemployed.

A native Californian, Nicole moved to Chicago in 1994 and earned both her BA in general studies and MA in training and development from Roosevelt University. She holds additional certifications in performance consulting and instructional design.