Executive member of Mayor Muriel Bowser's administration serving the youth and families of the District of Columbia with a comprehensive continuum of care for youth involved with the juvenile justice system.

We provide system reform guidance, policy development, technical assistance, research methods, data analysis, leadership development, expert witness testimony and advocacy for criminal and juvenile justice systems as well as youth development and violence intervention providers.

Served as interim director to manage the agency and recruit talent while a search for a permanent director was conducted.

• Appointed by Governor Martin O’Malley in 2011 and Governor Larry Hogan in 2015.• Responsible for the management and operation of the State’s juvenile justice system. • Led over 2500 employees and maintained an operating budget of $280 million. • Oversaw all phases and services of the agency, to include support services, operations, intake, probation supervision, detention, treatment and aftercare of committed youth.Key accomplishments include: • Drove down the detained youth population by 64% while also successfully advocating to hold youth charged as adults in juvenile detention rather than adult jails.• Drove down the population of youth awaiting placement by 87% and out of state placement population by over 90%.• The cumulative impact of over a decade of reforms resulted in overall youth crime declining 78% statewide.• Member, National Academy of Sciences committee on a prioritized plan to implement a developmental approach in juvenile justice reform. The resulting report, Implementing Juvenile Justice Reform, The Federal Role has been adopted by the United States Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. • Chair, Statewide Juvenile Justice Reform Council whose recommendations were adopted into law in the 2022 Maryland General Assembly session and included the establishment of a minimum age of delinquency jurisdiction at 13 years old for most offenses, prohibition of incarceration for misdemeanors except firearms offenses, prohibition of incarceration for technical violations of probation and expands the department’s diversion authority to include non-violent felonies.

Appointed by Governor Tim Kaine to oversee of an agency budget of over $200 million, as well as management of a personal budget of nearly $1 million annually.

Prosecuted felony and misdemeanor crimes in the Juvenile, General District, and Circuit Courts of Sussex County. Range of casework included DUI and other traffic felonies, fraud, drug, and homicide offenses.