Our team

The people behind OTR

Licensed behavioral health expertise, frontline correctional experience, military service, national security, and internal-affairs investigative background. Here's the leadership and board behind OTR, and why their backgrounds matter.

Executive leadership

The team running OTR day to day

OTR's executive leadership team is responsible for the organization's strategy, operations, partnerships, and program design. Kelly Young, Mike Bumpus, and Ashley Miller also serve on OTR's Board of Directors, keeping governance closely connected to the organization's mission and day-to-day work.

Kelly D. Young, J.D.

Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer Board Member

Law · Corrections Oversight · Partnerships & Growth

Kelly D. Young is an attorney with nearly two decades of experience inside the criminal justice and corrections systems, spanning prosecution, criminal defense, agency compliance and oversight, and public-safety technology.

He began his career as an Assistant District Attorney and Special Assistant United States Attorney in Nashville, where he worked alongside the Metro Nashville Police Department's Gang Unit and agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to help build the first violence-based gang wiretap investigation in the city's history. The investigation led to a federal RICO indictment involving more than thirty alleged members and associates of a Bloods criminal street gang.

Kelly later served as Senior Assistant General Counsel and Inspector General for the Tennessee Department of Correction. In that role, he built the agency's Office of the Inspector General from the ground up and oversaw compliance, risk mitigation, and $1.8 billion in contracts and procurements for a department with a $1.2 billion annual budget. His legal career also includes private criminal defense practice, service as agency counsel for the Tennessee Department of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, and service as an Assistant District Attorney in New York, where he spearheaded the Allegany County Welfare Fraud Task Force.

Kelly earned his Juris Doctor from the University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law. He is admitted to practice in Tennessee and New York, as well as before the United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee, the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, and the Supreme Court of the United States.

Kelly co-founded OTR to apply his firsthand understanding of the systems, pressures, and culture surrounding law enforcement, corrections, and public safety to staff wellness. As Chief Executive Officer, he leads OTR's vision, partnerships, and growth, helping ensure its services are credible to agencies, trusted by individuals, and built to create lasting impact.

Mike Bumpus, MBA

Chief Operating Officer Board Member

Internal Affairs · Operations · Implementation

Mike Bumpus brings a career grounded in corrections, Internal Affairs, investigations, and organizational operations. His experience working inside correctional facilities gives him a firsthand understanding of the security, staffing, administrative, investigative, and budgetary considerations that shape decision-making in jails and prisons.

As Chief Operating Officer, Mike bridges the gap between a strong wellness concept and the operational realities of public-safety organizations. He understands that administrators need programs that are cost-effective, scalable, practical to implement, and capable of producing meaningful results. He helps ensure OTR's services align with institutional priorities and real-world workflows while remaining responsive to the people they are designed to support.

Mike holds a Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice Management and a Master of Business Administration. His professional background has also led to service as a subject-matter expert and expert witness in matters within his areas of expertise.

At OTR, Mike leads operations and implementation strategy. He brings the structure, accountability, and operational discipline needed to turn OTR's mission into a dependable service, one that agencies can implement and public-safety professionals can trust.

Ashley Miller, MSN, RN, PMHNP-BC

Co-Founder & Chief Program Officer Board Member

Correctional Mental Health · Program Design · Clinical Care

Ashley Miller, MSN, RN, PMHNP-BC, is a board-certified Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner, Co-Founder and Chief Program Officer of OTR, and Founder and CEO of Mind Rehab. She brings nearly a decade of frontline experience in correctional mental health, with work spanning intake, medical units, housing units, facility management, and psychiatric care.

Working inside correctional environments gave Ashley a close view of the human cost of public-safety work. She saw correctional officers, medical staff, supervisors, and administrators absorb chronic stress, trauma, grief, burnout, and hypervigilance while operating in cultures where asking for help can feel professionally risky. She co-founded OTR to create a confidential and credible place outside the employer's chain of command where public-safety professionals can speak honestly, decompress, develop practical skills, and receive support without judgment.

As Chief Program Officer, Ashley leads OTR's program strategy and clinical design. She works to ensure that every service is clinically responsible, operationally realistic, and useful in the moments when people need it most. Her correctional background informs OTR's approach to confidentiality, peer support, trauma, stress, sleep, grounding, emotional regulation, resilience, and the realities of working in high-pressure environments.

Through Mind Rehab, Ashley also develops mental-health, substance-use, court-literacy, and reentry education for incarcerated and justice-involved individuals. Her guiding principle across both organizations is simple: never judge; treat everyone as an equal.

Board of Directors

Governance grounded in the work

OTR is governed by a six-member Board of Directors with experience across law, corrections, behavioral health, military service, national security, federal law enforcement, corrections operations, and homeland security. In addition to Kelly Young, Mike Bumpus, and Ashley Miller, the following directors complete the board.

Yalda Safai, MD, MPH

Board Member

Psychiatry · Public Health · Clinical Governance

Yalda Safai, MD, MPH, is a board-certified psychiatrist and public-health-trained physician with extensive experience in correctional, residential, and inpatient mental health. She has worked alongside Ashley Miller in correctional settings for five years and has served as Chief Psychiatric Officer of Mind Rehab, helping strengthen the clinical accuracy and psychiatric integrity of behavioral-health education designed for incarcerated populations.

Dr. Safai has spent the majority of her career working in correctional settings. Her clinical work includes treating incarcerated individuals living with serious mental illnesses, including schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, with an emphasis on recovery, stability, and successful reentry. Her leadership experience also includes service as Chief Psychiatrist at Bridges to Recovery in Beverly Hills and psychiatric practice across residential and inpatient environments.

Dr. Safai earned both her medical degree and Master of Public Health and completed her psychiatry training at New York Medical College. She is licensed to practice psychiatry in California, Connecticut, Florida, and New York. In addition to her clinical work, she is an experienced medical communicator whose work has included ABC News, Good Morning America, and other national media outlets.

As an OTR board member, Dr. Safai provides expertise in clinical governance, psychiatric accuracy, ethical program design, and the mental-health needs of professionals working in high-stress institutional settings. Her perspective helps OTR remain clinically responsible while building support that is practical, understandable, and relevant to public-safety culture.

Dr. Richard A. Vargus

Board Member

Military Leadership · Law Enforcement · National Security

Dr. Richard A. Vargus is a retired United States Army lieutenant colonel, national-security and law-enforcement leader, author, and public-administration scholar whose career reflects more than four decades of military and public service.

Dr. Vargus served in both the United States Marine Corps and the United States Army. After initially retiring in 1995 following twenty-four years of military service, he continued his career in federal and local law enforcement. He was recalled to active duty in 2005, deployed in support of operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, and later served at United States Central Command as Chief of Law Enforcement.

Following active military service, Dr. Vargus entered federal civilian service as the Department of the Army Canine Program Manager. In 2018, he became the Department of Defense Canine Program Manager, helping shape policy, readiness, and coordination for military working-dog programs across the Department of Defense until his retirement in 2020. He is also the author of Warrior Dogs: Getting to the Battlefield, which draws on his experience supporting military working-dog operations in high-consequence environments.

Dr. Vargus is a graduate of the United States Army Command and General Staff College, the Air War College, and senior leadership and national-security programs at George Washington University. He holds a master's degree in National Defense Studies and a doctorate in Public Administration.

As an OTR board member, Dr. Vargus brings a strategic perspective on leadership, organizational culture, operational readiness, and the cumulative human demands placed on military, law-enforcement, and public-safety professionals. His experience helps keep OTR's work grounded in the realities of service, responsibility, and performance under pressure.

Lee R. Dotson, MPA

Board Member

Homeland Security · Corrections Operations · Executive Leadership

Lee R. Dotson, MPA, is Assistant Commissioner of the Tennessee Office of Homeland Security and a public-safety executive with more than four decades of experience across local law enforcement, state service, federal law enforcement, corrections, and homeland security.

Lee began his law-enforcement career in 1984 as a patrol deputy with the Robertson County Sheriff's Department. He later served with the Springfield Police Department in patrol, emergency response, crime prevention, and DARE before joining the Tennessee Alcoholic Beverage Commission as a special agent. In 1996, he joined the United States Secret Service.

During his Secret Service career, Lee held assignments in Nashville, Washington, D.C., Jackson Hole, Dallas, San Antonio, and the United Kingdom. He served in firearms, protective intelligence, emergency medical coordination, and protective-detail training roles; conducted investigations and protective advances in the United States and abroad; held multiple supervisory positions; and retired in 2017 as Special Agent in Charge of the San Antonio Field Office.

Lee then joined the Tennessee Department of Correction as Chief Interdiction Officer and was later appointed Assistant Commissioner of Prison Operations. In that role, he oversaw fourteen prisons as well as statewide K-9, tactical, and enforcement programs. He returned to Tennessee state service in 2023 as Director of Special Programs for the Tennessee Office of Homeland Security and was promoted to Assistant Commissioner in March 2024.

Lee holds a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice from the University of the State of New York–Regents College and a Master of Public Administration from the University of Wyoming. He is a graduate of the 174th Session of the FBI National Academy and the National Crime Prevention Institute at the University of Louisville, and he has served as a visiting instructor at the International Law Enforcement Academy in Gaborone, Botswana.

As an OTR board member, Lee brings a rare view across the full public-safety continuum. His experience helps keep OTR's work grounded in operational reality, executive responsibility, workforce culture, and the importance of trusted support for people serving in high-consequence roles.

Clinical & Advisory Network

Beyond our leadership and board, OTR is supported by a growing network of licensed clinicians, experienced public-safety professionals, and subject-matter advisors. Their perspectives help us keep our work clinically responsible, operationally practical, and responsive to the people and agencies we serve.

Interested in contributing? Get in touch →

Professional titles and affiliations are listed solely for biographical identification. Board members serve OTR in their individual capacities. Their service does not imply endorsement of OTR by any government agency, employer, military branch, law-enforcement organization, political party, or campaign.

Trust starts with people who understand the work

Have a question about OTR, our leadership, or how our programs protect confidentiality? We're glad to talk.