Press Release - November 2, 2000
Office of the Commissioner of Probation

NEWTON WOMAN IS NAMED SECOND DEPUTY
COMMISSIONER OF PROBATION

     Elizabeth V. Tavares, Esq., was recently appointed Second Deputy Commissioner of Probation in Massachusetts.

     Tavares, a resident of Newton, has worked for the Massachusetts Probation Service for more than 20 years. As the Second Deputy Commissioner of Probation, she reports to the Massachusetts Commissioner of Probation John J. O'Brien and works collaboratively with First Deputy Commissioner John F. Cremens, Jr. in the Office of the Commissioner of Probation. The Commissioner's Office oversees the operation of the Massachusetts Probation Service which is comprised of 105 Probation Departments throughout the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

     A former Deputy Commissioner of the Programs Division, Tavares first joined the Massachusetts Probation Service as a Probation Officer in 1980. She has also served as an Assistant Chief Probation Officer at the Taunton Division of the District Court and associate legal counsel to the Commissioner of Probation.

     Originally from Dorchester, Tavares earned an undergraduate degree in Human Resources from Fitchburg State College, a master's degree in Criminal Justice/Human Resources from Boston University, and a juris doctorate from Suffolk University School of Law. She is a member of the American Probation and Parole Association, the Commission for Justice Across the Atlantic, the Massachusetts Bar Association, the Federal Bar Association and the American Bar Association.