About Us
About STRAP
Seeking the Right Amendable Path — intervention, mentoring, education and support for youth and families in Gwinnett County.
Our Story
A path shaped by guidance and possibility
STRAP — Seeking the Right Amendable Path — is a juvenile justice intervention program founded in 2012 by Gwinnett County Sheriff's Deputy Steven Cooley and Gwinnett County Juvenile Court Judge Rodney Harris.
Their work within the juvenile justice system led them to recognize that many young people needed greater guidance and support. Rather than focusing only on consequences, they created STRAP to help youth understand the consequences of their decisions while also seeing what is possible when they make better choices.
Along with dedicated partners and volunteers, they developed STRAP to provide intervention, mentoring, community exposure, education and support for participating youth and families.
Organizational video
The STRAP Story
Learn how STRAP began and how its intervention and mentoring program works with youth and families in Gwinnett County.
Our purpose
Mission & Vision
Mission
To empower at-risk youth with decision-making skills to amend their life choices and become reformed and productive members of our community.
Vision
A community where every youth who experiences the mentoring, guidance, and support of STRAP becomes a productive member of society who will continue to give back by returning to be a STRAP mentor for other at-risk youth.
Organizational leadership
Founders & Leadership
Meet the founders and partners whose experience, service and commitment helped shape STRAP.
Steven Cooley
Chief Executive Officer / Co-Founder
Deputy Steven Cooley has served with the Gwinnett County Sheriff Department since 2003 and currently serves at the Gwinnett County Justice Administration Center. A retired Army service member with more than 21 years of military experience, he is also an ordained minister and holds a bachelor's degree in business and a master's degree in biblical studies.
Cooley teaches Sunday school in the Outreach Ministry of Greater Piney Grove Baptist Church. Inspired by a divine calling, he co-founded the STRAP Youth Intervention/Mentoring Program in 2012.
His community service has been recognized with the Gwinnett Rotary Club Deputy Sheriff of the Year Award in 2013, Gwinnett County Bar Association Liberty Bell Awards in 2014 and 2023, the Daily Point of Light Award presented by President George H. W. Bush, and a Lifetime Achievement Award from Bishop Ray C. Thomas, Sr. of Faith Ministry Church of God, Inc.
Judge Rodney Harris
Co-Founder
Judge Rodney S. Harris, a Duluth, Georgia native, serves as a Juvenile Court Judge. He previously served on the Recorder's Court bench from 2011 to 2019. A graduate of Duluth High School, Presbyterian College and Georgia State University College of Law, he practiced as a criminal defense attorney specializing in Juvenile Court matters for more than 15 years before joining the bench.
Harris co-founded the STRAP Youth Mentoring Program and has mentored young people, volunteered as a youth football coach and participated in youth programs throughout Gwinnett County.
His community involvement has included the Advisory Board for Central Gwinnett High School and the United Way Gwinnett and United Ebony Society boards. His service has been recognized with the Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Service Award and the Chief Justice Robert Benham Community Service Award.
Edgar Derricho
Founding Partner / Co-Director of Education
Edgar Derricho, a founding partner at STRAP, serves as Co-Director of Education, leading curriculum development and overseeing social and educational programs. He is also a Technical Project Management Advisor II at Fiserv, Inc. and has practiced amateur photography and videography for more than two decades.
Before STRAP, Derricho held leadership and technical roles at AT&T, formerly BellSouth, in managerial coaching, strategic planning, human resource development and program and project management. He retired in 2008 after 30 years of service.
A Ph.D. candidate in Applied Management and Decision Science, his research interests include knowledge-worker development, the social impact of artificial intelligence and cloud-based auditing in financial technology. He earned an MBA from Kennesaw State University, holds the Certified Managerial Coach designation and earned his undergraduate accounting degree from Georgia State University's Robinson College of Business.
Derricho serves as Deacon Officer and Children/Youth Church Ministry Advisor at The Greater Piney Grove Baptist Church in Atlanta. His affiliations include Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., Project Management Institute, ISACA and Beta Gamma Sigma.
Andie Derricho
Founding Partner / Co-Director of Education
Andie Derricho, a founding partner of STRAP, serves as Co-Director of Education. A graduate of Spelman College and Nova Southeastern University, she brings decades of classroom and curriculum-development experience and retired as an educator from Gwinnett County Public Schools.
Her early exposure to teaching while shadowing her mother in preschool and Vacation Bible School shaped her belief that teachers who love teaching help children love learning. During her career, Derricho served as a teacher leader and mentor, held several leadership roles, received Teacher of the Year honors in multiple districts and received nominations for Who's Who Among Teachers in America.
Her community service has included roles with the Shiloh Community Foundation, United Way and Morgan Remote Tutorial Services. She owns H.Q. Academy in Lilburn, Georgia, serving children ages two to five. Outside of work, she enjoys time with family, local theatrical and church productions, and travel.
The people who serve
Our Staff
STRAP staff support the organization's work with participating youth and families.
Mamie Aaron
L-STRAP Director
Allison Cauthen
Instructor
Betty Cooley
Secretary
Judge Erica Dove
Instructor
Michael Moise
Instructor/Mentor
Michael Mathews
Instructor/Mentor
Attorney Chelsey Penson-Murray
Instructor
Vincent Long
Instructor/Mentor