Todd R. Clear
Todd Clear is Distinguished Professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, City University of New York. He has authored 11 books and over 100 articles and book chapters. His most recent book is Imprisoning Communities, by Oxford University Press (May 2007). Other books focus on the topic of community justice, including What is Community Justice? (Sage, 2002), The Community Justice Ideal, (Westview, 2000), and Community Justice (Wadsworth 2003). Dr. Clear has also written on community-based correctional methods, intermediate sanctions, and sentencing policy. He is currently involved in studies of religion/spirituality and crime, the economics of justice reinvestment, and the concept of “community justice.” Dr. Clear has served as president of The American Society of Criminology, The Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences, and The Association of Doctoral Programs in Criminology and Criminal Justice. His work has been recognized through several awards, including those of the American Society of Criminology, the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences, The Rockefeller School of Public Policy, the American Probation and Parole Association, the American Correctional Association, and the International Community Corrections Association. Dr. Clear was the founding editor of the journal Criminology & Public Policy, published by the American Society of Criminology. He received his Ph.D. in Criminal Justice from The University at Albany.
 

Richard Dudley
Dr. Dudley is a leading clinical and forensic psychiatrist based in New York. His work is divided between a clinical practice focused primarily on the evaluation and treatment of African-American adolescents, and a forensic practice. As a forensic psychiatrist, Dr. Dudley is frequently called upon to provide expert opinion and testimony in connection with both criminal and civil matters throughout the United States. In both practices, he focuses on the mental health of young men of color in the criminal justice system. Earlier in his career, Dr. Dudley was Deputy Commissioner of the New York City Department of Mental Health, Mental Retardation and Alcoholism Services. In that role, he was instrumental in developing new clinical programs in mental health services. Subsequently, he became Medical Director of the Washington Heights-West Harlem Community Mental Health Center. He has held teaching appointments at New York University School of Law and at the City University of New York Medical School at City College, and currently serves on the board of the Vera Institute of Justice and Housing Works, Inc. He is a graduate of Temple University School of Medicine
 

Dean Esserman
Colonel Esserman is Chief of Police of the City of Providence and has spent virtually his entire career in public service as a law enforcement practitioner. Colonel Esserman served as an Assistant District Attorney in Brooklyn, New York from 1983 to 1987 and then as General Counsel to Chief William Bratton of the New York City Transit Police from 1987 to 1991. He began his career in law enforcement as Assistant Chief of Police in New Haven, Connecticut from 1991 to 1993, where he put into effect a community-policing plan, the state's first federally funded drug gang task force, and cut crime city-wide. He then became Chief of Police for the M.T.A. Metro North Police Department and served from 1993 to 1998. Colonel Esserman was appointed in 1998 as Chief of Police in Stamford, Connecticut, where he brought his nationally renowned philosophy of community oriented policing and cut crime by 50%. While in Stamford, he introduced many innovations and developed a national reputation as a police leader. Dean Esserman is a graduate of Dartmouth College (B.A.), and New York University School of Law (J.D.), and holds a faculty appointment at the Yale University Child Study Center. He is a member of the New York and Massachusetts Bar. He is currently serving as the Senior Law Enforcement Executive-in-Residence at the Roger Williams University Justice System Training and Research Institute and also serves as a member of the Board of the Police Executive Research Forum.
 

Susan Herman
Susan Herman is an Associate Professor in the Department of Criminal Justice at Pace University. With more than 25 years of leadership experience in government, criminal justice, and social services, Ms. Herman is an internationally recognized spokesperson for victims of crime and a national advocate for a new vision of justice for victims called parallel justice, a separate social obligation to repair the harm caused by crime, above and beyond the arrest and adjudication of offenders. From 1997 through 2004, Susan Herman served as the Executive Director of the National Center for Victims of Crime, the nation's leading resource and advocacy organization for crime victims. Under Ms. Herman's leadership, the National Center designed and piloted innovative approaches to serving victims, in such critical areas as bringing victims into community policing and helping victims seek remedies through the civil justice system. Before joining the National Center, Ms. Herman served as Director of Community Services at The Enterprise Foundation. Ms. Herman also served as Director of the Domestic Violence Division of Victim Services (now Safe Horizon) in New York City, Special Counsel to the Police Commissioner of the New York City Police Department, and Director of Mediation Services at the Institute for Mediation and Conflict Resolution. She has practiced law at the NOW Legal Defense and Education Fund, and taught at the NYU School of Law and the NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service. She is a graduate of Bryn Mawr College and the Antioch School of Law.
 

Priscilla Hall
The Honorable L. Priscilla Hall was appointed Justice of the Appellate Division, Second Department by New York State Governor David Patterson in March 2009. Prior to this, Justice Hall was the Administrative Judge of the Criminal Division of the Kings County Supreme Court, a position she has held since February 2008. She has also served as Judge of the New York State Court of Claims; Acting Justice of the Supreme Court of Kings County; a Judge of the Criminal Court of New York City, and as Inspector General of the New York City Human Resources Administration. Justice Hall believes that the courts must work to maintain the public confidence in our judicial system and has worked to achieve this objective. She has served as president of the New York State Association of Women Justices, vice-president of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York, chair of the Board of Directors of the Metropolitan Black Bar Association, and president of the Association of Black Women Attorneys. After graduating magna cum laude from Howard University with the distinction of being a member of the Phi Beta Kappa Society, Justice Hall pursued a Master of Science degree from Columbia University School of Journalism, graduating in 1969. She received her Juris Doctor from Columbia University School of Law in 1973.
 

Henderson Hill
Mr. Hill is a partner with Ferguson, Stein, Chambers, Gresham & Sumter, P.A. His areas of practice are criminal defense, medical negligence, civil rights, death penalty defense, and general civil trials. Mr. Hill received his B.A. degree from Lehman College at the City University of New York and his J.D. degree from Harvard Law School. In 1991 he became the director of the North Carolina Death Penalty Resource Center, in Raleigh. In 1995 he founded and served as director of the non-profit organization, the Center for Death Penalty Litigation, Durham, North Carolina. Henderson is a Commissioner of the Indigent Defense Services Commission, in North Carolina. He is a frequent presenter and lecturer for many programs and professional organizations on Trial Advocacy and Death Penalty Defense and has served as a Lecturer at Duke University School of Law and as an adjunct professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Mr. Hill is a member of the North Carolina Bar Association and the North Carolina Academy of Trial Lawyers where he formerly served on the board of Governors. In 1999, Mr. Hill was a founding member of The Charlotte Coalition for Moratorium Now, a grass roots organization that led the successful drive for a resolution supporting a Moratorium on executions by the Charlotte City Council and is a leading organization in the statewide effort to enact a Moratorium in North Carolina.
 

Patricia Jessamy
Patricia Coats Jessamy is the State’s Attorney for Baltimore City, Maryland. Mrs. Jessamy was appointed State’s Attorney in February 1995 and has won elections in 1998, 2002, and 2006. Since becoming State’s Attorney, Mrs. Jessamy has implemented many new programs in Baltimore. She has instituted vertical prosecution for all felony cases so that one attorney now handles a case from felony charging through arraignment and trial. She also expanded the Homicide Division and created the Firearms Investigation Violence Enforcement (FIVE) Division to prosecute all gun violations and non-fatal shooting cases. She has prioritized domestic violence cases and created a Felony Family Violence Division, focusing on domestic violence victims and children who have witnessed violence. In 2006, she created a new Collateral Unit to handle post-conviction/violation of probation matters. Before becoming State’s Attorney, Mrs. Jessamy practiced law in Mississippi, Michigan, and Missouri. Mrs. Jessamy has received national recognition for her public service efforts and has worked to address issues of witness intimidation, identity theft, and human trafficking. She has also been recognized and honored by numerous legal and civic organizations and is a role model and a mentor. She is a graduate of Jackson State University (B.A.) and the University of Mississippi School of Law (J.D.).