Laurence E. Busching
Chief of the Family Court Division, New York City Law Department, New York City

Denise Coleman
Program Director, Community Assessment and Referral Center

Michael Finley
Site Manager, W. Haywood Burns Institute

Bruce Fisher
Executive Director, Huckleberry Youth Programs, San Francisco, California

Joanne Fuller
Director, Department of County Human Services, Multnomah County, Oregon

Jay Henry
Director of Truancy Prevention, Philadelphia Department of Human Services

Judge Tommy Jewell
Retired Children’s Court Judge, Albuquerque, New Mexico

Judge Jerrauld Jones
Judge, Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court, Norfolk, Virginia

Judge Kurt Kumli
Judge, Superior Court of California, County of Santa Clara

Clinton Lacey
Site Manager, W. Haywood Burns Institute

Robin L. Lubitz
Juvenile Services Division Director, Arizona Supreme Court

Scott MacDonald
Assistant Chief, Santa Cruz County Probation Department, California

Lawrence F. Murray
National Director of CASASTART, National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University

Toyce Newton
Executive Director of Phoenix Youth & Family Services, Inc., Arkansas

Sheila Poole
Commissioner, Department for Children, Youth and Families, Albany County, New York

John P. Rhoads
Retired Chief Probation Officer, Santa Cruz County, California

Dee Richter
Executive Director, Florida Network of Youth and Family Services

Michael J. Rohan
Director of Juvenile Probation and Court Services, Cook County, Illinois

Juan Sanchez
Executive Director, Southwest Key Programs, Austin, Texas

David R. Schmidt
Executive Director, New Mexico Council on Crime and Delinquency

Mark Steward
Retired Director, Missouri Division of Youth Services

Cherie K. Townsend
Director of Juvenile Justice Services, Clark County, Nevada

Judge Sharon Townsend
Family Court Administrative Judge, Eighth Judicial District, Erie County, New York

Rick Velasquez
Executive Director of Youth Outreach Services, Inc., Chicago, Illinois

Roscoe Wilson
Vice President of Program Development and Marketing, Associated Marine Institutes

Mary C. Winter
Commissioner of Probation, Onondaga County, New York

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Laurence E. Busching
Chief of the Family Court Division, New York City Law Department, New York City

Laurence E. Busching is Chief of the Family Court Division of the New York City Law Department. The Division is responsible for the prosecution of juveniles throughout New York City as well as for the enforcement of interstate child support orders. Some of the major juvenile justice initiatives established by Mr. Busching include a victims’ services initiative, a major revamping of the Division’s approach to case disposition and the establishment of a Major Case Unit.

From 1990-2004, Mr. Busching served as an Assistant District Attorney in the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office. The last 4 years of his time in that office were spent as Chief of the Family Violence and Child Abuse Bureau. He has investigated and prosecuted thousands of domestic violence and child abuse cases and also handled other types of homicides and major cases. He also served as Chair of the District Attorneys Association’s committee on sex crimes and family violence legislation.

Mr. Busching is a member of a large number of committees and task forces and serves on the Board of Directors for the New York City Alliance Against Sexual Assault. Mr. Busching is a graduate of Boston College and St. John’s Law School and is an adjunct professor at Cardozo Law School. Denise Coleman
Program Director, Community Assessment and Referral Center

Denise Coleman is Director of Huckleberry Youth Program’s Community Assessment and Referral Center (CARC) based in San Francisco, California and has been working at CARC since 1999. CARC is a public/private collaboration that provides a single point of entry for crisis intervention, assessment, service integration and referral of arrested youth.

Ms. Coleman has extensive experience working with diverse populations in both residential and community-based organizations. She ensures effective services for arrested youth and is responsible for the oversight of staff, program evaluation, case management services, and system collaborations. Ms. Coleman co-chairs the Juvenile Justice Providers Association of San Francisco, a member of the Contra Costa County Juvenile Systems Planning Advisory Committee (JSPAC), and a member of the Board of Directors for the San Francisco Police Athletic League (PAL).

Ms. Coleman has a BA in Child and Adolescent Development and is currently pursuing a Masters in Social Work from San Francisco State University. Michael Finley
Site Manager, W. Haywood Burns Institute

Michael Finley is a Site Manager with the W. Haywood Burns Institute, providing technical assistance to the Institute’s four Illinois sites. Mr. Finley works closely with jurisdictional site coordinators and advisory boards comprised of a diverse group of community stakeholders to address issues of disproportionate minority confinement.

Prior to joining the Institute, Mr. Finley was the Disproportionate Minority Confinement Coordinator with Maryland’s Governor’s Office of Crime Control and Prevention (GOCCP) where he worked with local and state leaders to develop plans to reduce racial disparities throughout the state. An attorney, he began his legal career as a Soros Justice Postgraduate Fellow with the Youth Law Center in Washington, D.C. At the Youth Law Center, he was involved with reform litigation and legislative and administrative advocacy in legal matters related to children, with a particular emphasis on improving the conditions of confinement for children in state custody and the overrepresentation of minority youth in the justice system. Prior to joining the Youth Law Center in 1999, Mr. Finley served as the judicial clerk for the Honorable David B. Mitchell in the Circuit Court for Baltimore City. He is a graduate of Morehouse College and George Washington University School of Law. Bruce Fisher
Executive Director, Huckleberry Youth Programs, San Francisco, California

Bruce Fisher has been Executive Director of Huckleberry Youth Programs (HYP) since 1988. HYP serves approximately 6,000 at-risk youth annually in San Francisco and Marin County through a variety of shelter, counseling, health and juvenile justice programs.

Prior to joining HYP, Fisher was a principal at the URSA Institute, serving as Principal Investigator/Project Director in numerous national studies of child/adolescent abuse, runaway youth, juvenile justice and corrections. Among the projects was a 5-year analysis of juvenile commitment and release decision-making for the National Institute of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention and several national studies of adolescent abuse and runaway behavior for the National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect and the Family and Youth Service Bureau, US DHHS. Mr. Fisher, an attorney, was also a member of California's Status Offender Task Force and has taught juvenile law at UCLA and USF law schools.

Mr. Fisher has a B.A. from the University of Washington and a J.D. from Harvard Law School. Joanne Fuller
Director, Department of County Human Services, Multnomah County, Oregon

Joanne Fuller, M.S.W., currently serves as Director for the Multnomah County Department of County Human Services. Previously she served as the Director of the Multnomah County Department of Community Justice (DCJ).

At DCJ, Ms. Fuller furthered the redesign of the adult community corrections system through the implementation of outcome-based case management and a deepened the Department’s commitment to evidence-based practices. She led an initiative, with funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, to implement comprehensive system reform in juvenile alcohol and drug services.

During her 18 years with DCJ, Ms. Fuller worked to develop enhanced continuums of service and increased collaboration between stakeholders. She worked closely with substance abuse treatment providers, especially in the juvenile system, to develop a more coordinated continuum of treatment for juvenile offenders, including the development of a juvenile treatment court and a 16-bed juvenile secure residential alcohol and drug treatment unit.

In conjunction with the Annie E. Casey Foundation, she led the development of and championed juvenile detention reform, the objectives of which include eliminating inappropriate or unnecessary use of secure detention, and reducing detention rates and facility overcrowding. In addition the initiative focuses on redirecting public resources from expensive secure facilities to community-based programming that can serve effectively and efficiently as alternatives to secure custody.

She co-chaired a collaborative effort to develop a Strategic Plan for Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. This plan uses national research on what works best to prevent and intervene early in delinquency to provide a strategic focus for the full array of groups across Multnomah County who are committed to working on these issues.

Ms. Fuller was also instrumental in the development of the School Attendance Initiative. This initiative began in the fall of 1996 as a collaborative effort between the Department and its school partners, community-based service providers, and County-supported Family Service Centers on the issue of school attendance. The Initiative provides school attendance monitoring, family intervention and case management services to K-9th graders.

In addition to her work with DCJ, Ms. Fuller is also an adjunct faculty member at Portland State University School of Social Work and presents frequently at statewide and national conferences as an expert in detention reform, services to offenders, system change, and organizational collaboration.

From 1994 to 2000, Ms. Fuller served for six years as the Chair of both the Governor’s Council on Domestic Violence and the statewide Domestic Violence Coordinating Council. During her tenure as Chair, she advocated for domestic violence legislation; led the development of blueprints for statewide domestic violence practices; and completed a domestic violence prevalence study, in coordination with a state conducted women’s health survey. In 1997, she co-published an article in the Willamette Law Review titled Mediation Guidelines: Best Practices in Domestic Violence Mediation. Jay Henry
Director of Truancy Prevention, City of Philadelphia Department of Human Services

Since April 2003, Jay Henry has served as the Director of the Office of Truancy and Delinquency Prevention in the Philadelphia Department of Human Services (DHS). As Director, Mr. Henry is responsible for the development, coordination and implementation of comprehensive citywide truancy and delinquency prevention. Prior to this director role, Mr. Henry served as Associate Director, Service System Reform Consultant and Manager for the Philadelphia’s Mayor’s Children and Families Cabinet. In this position, he implemented a citywide system reform plan for community-based family support through the coordination of informal and formal community-based assets and resources. And in 1997 and 1998, Mr. Henry was the Family Service System Reform Manager at the Office of Community Family Service Centers in Philadelphia.

Mr. Henry has many other accomplishments that he is proud to note. They include the creation of the Philadelphia Community Collaboration Board, coordination of the 1997 PATCH Conference, implementation of the Pre-kindergarten Head Start Initiative, and the development of the community-based family support component of the regional truancy courts and the community-based truancy prevention program.

Mr. Henry has a B.S. in criminal justice with a minor in child psychiatry from Wheeling Jesuit University. Judge Tommy Jewell
Retired Children's Court Judge, Albuquerque, New Mexico

A trial Judge in Albuquerque, New Mexico since 1984, Tommy Jewell was the Presiding Judge of the Second Judicial District Children’s Court until his retirement in September 2005. He is on the State Justice Institute Board of Directors and has extensive judicial education and community involvement. He has chaired a collaborative effort in Juvenile Detention and System Reform in Bernalillo County since 1999.

Judge Jewell was recognized for Outstanding Judicial Service by the State Bar of New Mexico in 1997 and was selected Outstanding Judge by the Albuquerque Bar Association in 2001. His service on the Children’s Court was profiled at the 37th annual Governor’s Prayer Breakfast. He was also featured in the December issue of “The Perspective” magazine.

Judge Jewell was recognized for Outstanding Judicial Service by the State Bar of New Mexico in 1997 and was selected Outstanding Judge by the Albuquerque Bar Association in 2001.

Judge Jewell has served as a trustee for the Albuquerque Academy and on the Board of Visitors of the University of New Mexico School of Law, from where he also recently received the “Distinguished Achievement Award.” He has been an Honorary Commander of Field Command, Defense Nuclear Agency in 1991-1992 and also with Special Operations Wing, USAF, 2001-2003, at the Kirtland Base.

Judge Jewell received his Bachelor of Arts in Government, from New Mexico State University in 1976, and his Juris Doctor from the University of New Mexico School of Law in 1979. Jerrauld Jones
Judge, Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court, Norfolk, Virginia

When he was sworn in on June 3, 2005, as a Judge of the Norfolk Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court, Jerrauld Corey Jones became one of the few persons in Virginia history to hold office in each branch of government.

On July 1, 2002, Governor Mark R. Warner appointed him to be the Director of the Department of Juvenile Justice for the Commonwealth of Virginia. As head of the youth authority, Director Jones was responsible for the incarceration, rehabilitation, and transitional reentry of juvenile offenders in the state. He became nationally recognized as a leader in the movement for juvenile detention reform. Prior to his gubernatorial appointment, Jones was eight times elected as a Delegate to the Virginia General Assembly where he served for fifteen years. While in the state legislature, he served on the finance and judiciary committees, and he chaired Virginia’s Commission on Youth. He enacted many positive and progressive changes within the juvenile justice system. In addition, Delegate Jones was the long time chair of the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus.

After graduating with honors from Princeton University and the School of Law at Washington and Lee University, he began his legal career as the first African-American to serve as a law clerk for the Supreme Court of Virginia. He prosecuted for two years as Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney for the City of Norfolk, Virginia. For twenty-five years he was a member of the Virginia State Bar and numerous other professional, political, and civic organizations. During his law practice, he established a reputation as a zealous trial lawyer who handled many challenging and high profile cases. He has received numerous awards and citations for his contributions to law and public service. His affiliations and honors include the Associated Marine Institutes (AMI), Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity, Who’s Who in American Politics, and Who’s Who in America.

He has served as a consultant to the Annie E. Casey Foundation, the MacArthur Foundation, and the Vera Institute of Justice. Since his judicial appointment, Judge Jones has been elected to the Board of Governors of the American Judges Association and the Commission on Accreditation of the American Correctional Association. A renowned public speaker, he has served on the faculty of the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges and the National Juvenile Defender Center. He has appeared before Congress and President Clinton appointed him to be a delegate to the White House Conference on Youth Violence. Virginia’s Chief Justice appointed him to serve on several Supreme Court advisory committees and the Governor has appointed him to serve on the State Advisory Group (SAG) on juvenile justice.

A jazz music enthusiast, Judge Jones is married to attorney Lyn M. Simmons, a veteran Norfolk prosecutor. They have one son, Jay, a college freshman. Judge Kurt Kumli
Judge, Superior Court of California, County of Santa Clara

Kurt Kumli is Judge of the Superior Court of California in Santa Clara County. Previously, he served as Chief Deputy District Attorney in the Santa Clara County (California) District Attorney’s Office. He was responsible for policy related to Children and Families in the office, which serves a jurisdiction of 1.8 million residents. Prior to that, he worked as the Supervising Deputy of the Delinquency Division and a Trial Deputy in the Gang Prosecution Unit. Over the last decade, Kurt has been instrumental in the creation of specialized delinquency courts for drug offenders, family violence, restorative justice and mental health. He also created Santa Clara’s juvenile deferred entry of judgment (DEJ) process, which now accounts for nearly 30 percent of all first time court referrals in the county. Mr. Kumli is also the Chief Legal Advisor for the Office of Child Development, Neuropsychiatry and Mental Health (OCDNMH), which is an affiliate of the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges.

A nationally recognized expert in juvenile law and policy, Mr. Kumli serves on the faculty at San Jose State University and the National District Attorneys Association’s National Advocacy Center. He recently served on the California Judicial Council’s Family and Juvenile Law Advisory Committee, where he served as the group’s sole prosecution representative. He is a 2003 recipient of a Pickett fellowship at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government, and is a recent graduate of Harvard’s Senior Executive in State and Local Government Program. Kurt is also a featured speaker for the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, the University of California, the California District Attorneys Association and the Juvenile Courts Bar Association.

Mr. Kumli’s publications cover a range of subjects including gang prosecution, juvenile justice reform, juvenile mental health court, and California’s adult court certification (Fitness) process. He is also the co-author of California Juvenile Courts: Practice and Procedure, which is currently in its tenth annual edition. Clinton Lacey
Site Manager, W. Haywood Burns Institute

Robin L. Lubitz
Juvenile Services Division Director, Arizona Supreme Court

Rob Lubitz is Director of the Juvenile Services Division of the Arizona Supreme Court. Previously, he served as Florida's State Courts Administrator. He is a former Senior Deputy Director of the Administrative Office of the Courts in North Carolina. His areas of knowledge include the development of sentencing guidelines and sentencing policy, the development of statistical databases to monitor and evaluate sentencing practices, the development of population impact projection models for correctional systems, and federal funding process and grant administration.

Mr. Lubitz began his career as a court programs analyst for the Philadelphia Court of Appeals, and spent 10 years with the Pennsylvania Commission on Sentencing, where he played a role in the development and enactment of Pennsylvania’s sentencing guidelines. From 1990 to 1997, Mr. Lubitz was the Executive Director of the North Carolina Sentencing and Policy Advisory Commission, where he was instrumental in the development of the Structured Sentencing Act and the corresponding State-County Criminal Justice Partnership Act. He subsequently was appointed Executive Director of the North Carolina Governor’s Crime Commission. Prior to his current position he served as the Deputy Administrator for the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.

Mr. Lubitz has written and co-authored a number of articles in the Federal Sentencing Reporter, Justice Quarterly, Overcrowded Times, Journal of Crime and Delinquency, and the Justice Research and Policy Journal. Mr. Lubitz was the chair of the National Association of Sentencing Commissions from 1995 to 1997. He was on the Board of Directors and the Advisory Council for the National Criminal Justice Associations.

Mr. Lubitz earned his B.A. in Psychology from Grove City College and his M.S. in Industrial and Labor Relations from West Virginia University. Scott MacDonald
Assistant Chief, Santa Cruz County Probation Department, California

Scott MacDonald is Assistant Chief of the Santa Cruz County Probation Department. The Santa Cruz County Probation Department operates a full continuum of services integrated with the County Children’s Mental Health system and community based providers. It is considered a model in restorative justice, detention reform, reduction in disproportionate minority confinement, and best practices in juvenile justice. Mr. MacDonald also serves as Project Director for Reclaiming Futures, Santa Cruz and is on the Board of Directors of Vera’s Adolescent Portable Therapy program.

Mr. MacDonald has lectured at the University of California at Santa Cruz in the area of juvenile justice reform and has conducted research on effective probation strategies, disproportionate minority confinement, court processes, juvenile justice programs, and jail programs. He was selected by the California Board of Corrections to work on a team to write the curriculum for standard basic training for probation officers. In 2001 he consulted with the Policy Research Associates on juvenile diversion programs.

Mr. MacDonald has over a decade of experience in adult probation services, where he is presently working on jail alternative programs. His research on effective probation practice in the courtroom has appeared in Federal Probation and he contributed to three chapters for a book on juvenile reentry, which is pending publication by the Federal Office of Juvenile Justice Delinquency Prevention. He has been a principle architect for a number of existing programs based on the best available research on effective practices in juvenile justice. He holds an M.S. in Administration of Justice. Lawrence F. Murray
National Director of CASASTART, National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University

Larry Murray is a Fellow at the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University. In this position he serves as the national director of the CASASTARTsm (Striving Together to Achieve Rewarding Tomorrows) substance abuse and violence prevention program. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, a division of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention of the U.S. Department of Justice have designated CASASTARTsm as a model program. The U.S. Department of Education has named it an Exemplary Safe Disciplined and Drug-Free Schools Program and it has also been deemed effective as a violence prevention program by the U.S. Surgeon General’s Office.

During his career Mr. Murray has served in executive management positions at the community, municipal and state levels in juvenile justice and youth development organizations. In addition, he was a member of the inaugural class of the Annie E. Casey Foundation Children and Family Fellowship Program and remains an active member of its alumni association, the Fellows Network. Toyce Newton
Executive Director of Phoenix Youth & Family Services, Inc., Arkansas

Toyce Newton is the Executive Director of Phoenix Youth & Family Services, Inc., an organization she established in 1995 to provide resources and services for youth and families in Southeast Arkansas. Mrs. Newton began her career with the Department of Human Services where her primary emphasis and impact was on status offenders and abused and neglected youth. She has also worked as Coordinator of Youth Services Programs for a five county Juvenile Justice Program in Southeast Arkansas based out of a local, community mental health center. In that position she developed local and state policies on placement and services for status offenders and delinquents.

Mrs. Newton has been on the cutting edge of juvenile services advocacy for over 25 years. She is well known and respected throughout the state as one of its foremost authorities on juvenile justice. Currently, she serves on the National Youth Employment Coalition’s Executive Board and is a member of the Arkansas Youth Services Providers Association. She has been appointed to gubernatorial committees including the Rape and Sexual Assault Board and the Child Abuse and Neglect Board. She is a former member of the 4-H State Advisory Board. Mrs. Newton also extends her services to local civic clubs and boards, serving on the Crossett Youth Center Board, United Way, and Rotary.

A human relations expert, Mrs. Newton is committed to bringing people together to create new programs, improve access to services, and challenge inequality and unfair practices. She reaches past boundaries and works in a wide range of community initiatives that are bound by geography, socio-economic strata, religion, ideas, and values. Through the years, she has tackled tough social problems with effective and systemic solutions. Mrs. Newton holds a B.A. and a M.A. in Sociology from Henderson State University. Sheila Poole
Commissioner, Department for Children, Youth and Families, Albany County, New York John P. Rhoads
Retired Chief Probation Officer, Santa Cruz County, California

John P. Rhoads retired in 2002 after five and one-half years as the Chief Probation Officer of Santa Cruz County, California. Prior to Santa Cruz, he worked for the Probation Department of Sacramento County, California for over 29 years. He now consults nationally on juvenile justice with JPR Consulting of Reno, Nevada.

Mr. Rhoads has made positive changes in the reform of juvenile justice. He has served as Chairperson of the Bay Region branch of the Chief Probation Officers of California, the Probation Services Task Force, the Family and Juvenile Law Advisory Committee of the Judicial Council of California, and the Santa Cruz County Criminal Justice Council. In addition, he has served on many statewide committees, including the Blue Ribbon Commission on Out-of-State Probation Placement, the California State Board of Corrections Standard Review Executive Steering Committee, and the California Coalition Against Sexual Assault (CALCASA) Strategic Forum. Mr. Rhoads has been affiliated with the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s Juvenile Detention Reform Initiative since its inception in 1992.

In a consulting capacity, Mr. Rhoads has assisted jurisdictions in California, Florida, Idaho, Louisiana, New York, New Mexico, and Oklahoma with detention reform. Additionally, he has addressed conferences in California, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Nebraska, New York, and Washington D.C. on the subject.

Mr. Rhoads holds a B.A. in sociology from California State University at Sacramento and an M.A. in correctional counseling from Chapman College. He is also a licensed marriage, family and child counselor. Dee Richter
Executive Director, Florida Network of Youth and Family Services

Dee Richter is Executive Director of the Florida Network of Youth and Family Services, Inc. (FNYFS), an association of 23 non-profit agencies that serve status offenders by providing shelter and family counseling services for runaway, homeless, truant and troubled youth and their families. The community-based agencies that comprise the association operate 31 youth crisis shelters and offer counseling at over 150 locations.

Ms. Richter came to FNYFS in 1999 after five years in the Office of Family Safety and Preservation at the Florida Department of Children & Families (DCF). She began at DCF as Chief of Permanency Planning and then took on the title of Chief of Child Protection Interventions, overseeing the state’s prevention, protective investigations and supervision, foster care, and adoption services. Prior to her work with DCF, she spent 12 years with Boys Town USA, where she replicated the Father Flanagan’s Boys’ Home campus model in Tallahassee, Florida – the first community-based Boys Town residential program outside of the company’s headquarters in Nebraska. She also spent three years on the Girls and Boys Town Campus in Nebraska, first as a Family-Teacher of nine boys and then as an administrator.

Ms. Richter is a current member of the Florida Juvenile Justice Quality Assurance Advisory Board, the Florida Children’s Campaign, the National and Southeastern Networks for Youth, Florida’s Foster Care Behavioral Services Project Advisory Council, and the Child Welfare League of America. Her work has been recognized by the national office of Girls and Boys Town and the statewide Network for Severely Emotionally Disturbed Children and their Families (SEDNET). In addition, she has served on two Governor’s task forces regarding children’s issues (youthful sexual offenders and runaway foster children). Michael J. Rohan
Director of Juvenile Probation and Court Services, Cook County, Illinois

Michael J. Rohan has been the Director of Juvenile Probation and Court Services for the Circuit Court of Cook County since January of 1994. In this capacity, he is responsible for the administrative leadership of 600 staff and an annual budget of $43 million. The department supervises approximately 6,000 minors under the age of 17 through a myriad of nationally recognized community-based programs that are responsive to the individualized treatment needs of delinquent minors within a sound framework of public safety. Through collaboration with community-based agencies, the staff of the Probation Department assists minors in reforming their behavior in the context of increased accountability, enhanced community restoration, and expanded personal competencies.

Mr. Rohan has held a variety of advanced management positions during his 27 years with the Circuit Court. During his tenure, he has served as the Acting Director of both the Cook County Adult Probation Department and the Forensic Clinical Services Department. His administrative experience also includes assignments as Director of Human Services and a Systems Analyst for the Circuit Court. He previously held an Instructor/Research position in the Criminal Justice Department with the University of Illinois and currently is an adjunct Professor/Lecturer in Criminal Justice at Loyola University. His educational background includes a Masters of Science in Industrial Relations from Loyola University and a Masters of Art from the University of Illinois in Criminal Justice Administration.

In his management capacity, he is responsible for the development and coordination of multiple grant initiatives that have provided critical resources to expand department programs and services. He chairs his Court’s detention reform initiative as well as the statewide detention replication project which has dramatically reduced chronic over-crowding in detention centers across the state. The Cook County Juvenile Court has been designated a national reform site and regularly hosts delegations from across the nation who are exploring replication of the Circuit Court of Cook County’s system reform initiatives. Rohan recently completed his third two-year term as President of the Illinois Probation and Court Services Association which represents approximately 1,200 court professionals from across the State of Illinois. Juan Sanchez
Executive Director, Southwest Key Programs, Austin, Texas

Dr. Juan Sanchez has dedicated his professional career to finding alternatives to detention and the long-term institutionalization of youth, primarily poor youth from communities of color. In 1987 he founded The Southwest Key Program, Inc., a community based not-for-profit organization whose mission is to develop alternative programs for children, youth and their families. Today, Southwest Key Program operates 50 different programs in every major city in Texas, as well as programs in Arizona, New Mexico, New York, California, Wisconsin, Georgia, Delaware and Louisiana. These programs offer a continuum of community-based treatment programs that serve children, youth and families. Southwest Key serves over 5,000 children and their families on a daily basis.

Dr. Sanchez has developed a national reputation working with National Head Start, the Annie E. Casey Foundation, the National Council on Crime and Delinquency, and the Youth Law Center addressing issues related to the juvenile justice and child welfare systems. He was asked by Senator Joseph Biden to testify before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee on the need to provide alternatives to incarceration for youth. Southwest Key has recently partnered with the New York City-based Voices of Youth Program to promote a positive youth development approach to practice in both the child welfare and juvenile justice systems nationally.

Dr. Sanchez received an M.S. in social work from the University of Washington and an Ed.D. from Harvard University, where his dissertation focused on alternative education. David R. Schmidt
Executive Director, New Mexico Council on Crime and Delinquency

David R. Schmidt has been the Executive Director of the New Mexico Council on Crime and Delinquency (NMCCD) since 1971. The NMCCD, formerly the National Council on Crime and Delinquency in New Mexico, is a citizen action agency that accomplishes its objective by employing a wide variety advocacy techniques including: public education, administrative/program change, executive/judicial direction, litigation, and legislation. The NMCCD is currently re-writing the New Mexico Children’s Code, including detention reform, having been requested to do so by the legislature for the eighth time since 1972. This includes delinquency, families in need of services (status offenses), abuse and neglect, adoption, mental health and developmental disabilities, and miscellaneous articles.

Mr. Schmidt has consulted, trained, lectured and made presentations in 49 states over his career utilizing a wide variety of training techniques. He has been a registered lobbyist and advocate for progressive causes for over thirty years.

Currently, Mr. Schmidt is Chair of the New Mexico Juvenile Justice Advisory Committee (was a charter member in 1974), is the Western Region Chair of the Coalition for Juvenile Justice (CJJ), and is on their National Steering Committee, and serves as the first national Chair of the newly created Federal Advisory Committee on Juvenile Justice, which advises the President, Congress and the Administrator of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention on juvenile justice issues.

Mr. Schmidt received his Bachelor of Science degree from Drake University and his Master of Arts in Social Work from Indiana University. Mark Steward
Retired Director, Missouri Division of Youth Services

Mark D. Steward recently retired as Director of the Missouri Division of Youth Services having served in this capacity since 1988. The agency provides statewide comprehensive treatment services to the 1,300 youth committed to its custody by the juvenile courts. This includes operating 720 beds in 32 residential facilities, 11 day treatment programs, as well as case management services, foster care services, preventive efforts, tracking services, family therapy counseling, and training of DYS and juvenile court staff. The agency's budget is $62 million with treatment and education services provided to youth committed by the juvenile courts. The division also operates special needs programs for youth who fall outside the mainstream of established state services. Missouri's treatment programs have received national acclaim including the National Council on Crime and Delinquency's Award of Excellence in Adolescent Care. More recently Missouri was cited as a "model" state juvenile justice system in the report, Less Cost More Safety, sponsored by the American Youth Policy Forum and written by Richard Mendel. Missouri’s Youth Services programs have been visited by 15 different states during the past year or so.

Steward has worked in Missouri's juvenile and adult corrections field for over 35 years, beginning as a caseworker and counselor. He is an active member of the American Correctional Association and was elected to the Delegate Assembly of ACA for the 1998-2000 term. Steward is also a member of the Council of Juvenile Correctional Administrators, has served on the Executive Board, and is currently the President of the Association. He also serves on the National Association of Juvenile Correctional Agencies, National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, National Council on Crime and Delinquency, National Criminal Justice Association, Citizens for Missouri's Children, Missouri Juvenile Justice Association, Missouri Bar Commission on Children and the Law, Supreme Court Task Force on Children and the Law, Governor's Task Force on School Violence, the University of Missouri-Columbia School of Social Work Professional Advisory Board, and other state and national youth related organizations. Cherie K. Townsend
Director of Juvenile Justice Services, Clark County, Nevada

Cherie Townsend was appointed Director of Juvenile Justice Services (DJJS) of Clark County, Nevada in November 2005. She previously served as the Director of Juvenile Court Services with the Superior Court of Arizona in Phoenix for almost 10 years. Prior to relocating to Arizona, Cherie was the director of community services at the Texas Youth Commission in Austin, Texas and director of the victim/witness assistance division for Travis County in the District Attorney’s office in Austin, Texas. As director of Clark County DJJS, Cherie oversees early intervention services, probation supervision, placement, detention, and a youth camp for children ages 18 and under who are involved in delinquency. She continues to also manage a number of ongoing programs including the Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative (JDAI).

Ms. Townsend is active in many professional organizations, including the National Association of Probation Executives, American Probation and Parole Association, American Corrections Association, National Association of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, and the Nevada Association of Juvenile Justice Administrators. She serves as a Commissioner and as Vice-Chair for the American Corrections Association Commission on Accreditation. Ms. Townsend also serves as a Commissioner on the Nevada Juvenile Justice Commission and chairs the Policy and Legislation Committee.

The focus of Ms. Townsend’s professional work has been community building. She believes that community involvement and a continuum of community-based alternative services are essential for an effective juvenile justice system. Ms. Townsend is known as an advocate for investment in prevention and early intervention efforts and is often called upon at local and national conferences to speak on these topics.

In 2001, the National Association of Probation Executives and Sam Houston State University awarded the Executive of the Year Award to Ms. Townsend. In 2003, she was recognized by the National Juvenile Court Services Association and received the Juvenile Court Administrator Award. Ms. Townsend holds an M.B.A. from the University of Texas, an M.P.A. from Southern Methodist University, and a B.A. from Rockford College. Judge Sharon S. Townsend
Administrative Judge, Eighth Judicial District, Erie County, New York

The Honorable Sharon S. Townsend was appointed Administrative Judge of the Eighth Judicial District on January 1, 2003, the first woman to be named to this position in this district and the first Family Court Judge in the State to be appointed Administrative Judge. Judge Townsend was elected to the New York State Supreme Court in November, 2003. She was previously elected to the Family Court in 1991 and was re-elected to a second 10 year term in November, 2001. In 1996, Judge Townsend was named Supervising Judge of the Family Court of the Eight Judicial District. Prior to her election to the Family Court bench, Judge Townsend was a Village Justice in the Village of Williamsville, New York for seven years.

A native of Connecticut, she is a graduate of the University of Rochester and the University of Connecticut School of Law. Judge Townsend serves on the Board of Trustees and was a model court lead judge for the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges. She is a member of the Permanent Judicial Commission on Justice for Children, and in 2007 was named Chair of the Court Improvement Project Advisory Committee. She has been a Vera Associate since 2003, working on detention reform in New York State. She also served as chair of the Family Court Advisory and Rules Committee for the New York State Office of Court Administration for four years.

Judge Townsend has been recognized for her work on behalf of children and families by receiving the Court Appointed Special Advocates Light of Hope award, the Gateway Friend of Children award and the Erie County Bar Association named her the Jurist of the Year in 2001. In March, 2004, she was recognized by the County of Erie as one of the Women Making History in Erie County. In 2006, Judge Townsend received the “Susan B. Anthony Award” from the Interclub Council of Western New York. Rick Velasquez
Executive Director of Youth Outreach Services, Inc., Chicago, Illinois

Rick Velasquez is the Executive Director of Youth Outreach Services, Inc., a not-for-profit community-based organization in Chicago, Illinois, which serves approximately 3000 children and youth annually through a variety of prevention, early intervention and intervention programs.

Mr. Velasquez earned a master's degree in Social Work from the Jane Addams College of Social Work at the University of Illinois. He has dedicated the past twenty-six years to delivering youth and family services and to addressing the related public policy and legislative issues. He has focused his efforts in the areas of juvenile justice, adolescent substance abuse treatment, and child welfare services.

His experience in the field of juvenile justice is wide-ranging. In 1980, Governor James Thompson appointed Mr. Velasquez to the Governor's Special Task Force on Services to Troubled Adolescents, a collaboration that designed the statewide Comprehensive Community-Based Youth Service (CCBYS) system which was created to address the needs of delinquent and status-offending youth throughout Illinois. He has developed and administered a variety of community-based prevention, early intervention and diversion programs including: station adjustment services, pre-trial services, and juvenile detention alternatives. Recently, his work with the Cook County Juvenile Court earned a five-year award from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to improve the integration of substance abuse and juvenile justice services. Mr. Velasquez is active in the development of Balanced and Restorative Justice principles and practices in Illinois. He is a member of the Illinois delegation to the Special Emphasis States Initiative, which is comprised of representatives from ten states that are dedicated to exploring and sharing information related to the implementation of Balanced and Restorative Justice concepts. He is also a member of the Illinois Restorative Justice Initiative.

Mr. Velasquez is also active in the field of child welfare. Since 2001, he has served as a gubernatorial appointee to the Illinois Children and Family Services Council, whose purpose is to evaluate the extent to which state and local agencies effectively carry out their child protection responsibilities. In 1999, the Director of the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services appointed him to the Child Welfare Advisory Council. He is a founding member of the Latino Child and Family Consortium, which is dedicated to delivering culturally responsive child welfare services in Illinois. He is also a member of the Child Care Association of Illinois and has served as Vice-President of its Board of Directors.

In the field of substance abuse, Mr. Velasquez served as the President of the Illinois Certification Board from 1988 to 1990 and was involved in the merger and creation of the Illinois Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Professional Certification Association, Inc. Since 1987, Mr. Velasquez has been a member of the Institutional Review Board for the Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse (OASA). He provides both training and technical assistance specific to adolescent substance abuse treatment and has held adjunct faculty positions at several colleges in Chicago. Roscoe Wilson
Vice President of Program Development and Marketing, Associated Marine Institutes

Roscoe Wilson is the Vice President of Program Development and Marketing for the Associated Marine Institutes (AMI). AMI is a non-profit organization founded in 1967, to help delinquent youth by providing alternative education and behavior modification treatment services through marine and wilderness components. Over 30,000 troubled teenagers have attended the AMI programs. The company contracts with the South Carolina Department of Juvenile Justice, as well as Juvenile Justice Agencies in Georgia, New Mexico, Texas, Virginia, Louisiana, Florida and the Cayman Islands. Mr. Wilson has served AMI since 1988 in a variety of capacities. He currently supervises the growth and implementation of new programs ranging from young offenders day/residential, programs specifically for females, and programs for serious violent offenders. He also serves as AMI’s legislative/governmental liaison.

Mr. Wilson has a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology and Physical Education from Benedict College. He is a former College All-American basketball player. He played professional basketball in Europe from 1974-1984, where he also started his graduate study in Global Human Behavior and Scandinavian Linguistics at the University of Stockholm. Upon his retirement from European professional basketball, he coached at the college-level for four years before starting with AMI. He is continuing his graduate studies with Georgia Southern University in Special Education, with a concentration on administration and treatment. Mary C. Winter
Commissioner of Probation, Onondaga County, New York

Mary C. Winter is the Commissioner of the Onondaga County Probation. Ms. Winter also has broad experience in both the Criminal and Juvenile Justice systems. She developed her agency’s Electronic Home Confinement, Day Reporting and local Conditional Release program. In the past ten years she has changed the agency’s Juvenile Justice policy and practice by establishing an array of alternative to placement programs and thus reducing the number of out-of-home placements by 73 percent. These programs include Multisystemic Therapy and PRISM which received the 1998 National Community Partnership Award from Mutual of America Life Insurance Company.

In 1998, Ms. Winter was awarded the Liberty Bell Award which is presented annually by the Onondaga County Bar Association to a non-attorney who has advanced the course of freedom and liberty. In May 2001, the New York State Division of Probation and Correctional Alternatives awarded her the Probation Centennial Management Award honoring probation professionals who have demonstrated consistency, leadership and creativity. In April 2005, Governor George Pataki appointed Ms. Winter to the Office of Children and Family Services Advisory Board. In 2006, she received the “Can Do award from the Salvation Army for “outstanding dedication to serving those in our community in need”.

Ms. Winter is currently a member of the Board of Directors of Aurora of Central New York, the Executive Committee of the City of Syracuse/Onondaga County Drug and Alcohol Commissioner, the Board of Managers of the YMCA, Chair of the YMCA Residence Committee and a member of the Executive Committee of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception.

She is past President of the Board of Directors of the Rape Crisis Center of Syracuse and also served on the Boards of Directors and Executive Committees of the Junior League of Syracuse, Huntington Family Center, the YWCA, and the New York State Probation Officers Association. Additionally, she works as an associate for the Vera Institute of Justice in New York City.

Ms. Winter holds a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Syracuse University’s Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs.