The JJAC is comprised of 15-33 experts in the area of juvenile justice and child welfare who are appointed by the Governor of Massachusetts . The experts represent various fields such as law enforcement, juvenile courts, private non-profit organizations, juvenile mental health workers, and public agencies concerned with delinquency prevention or treatment. The JJAC aims to have one-fifth of its members be under the age of 24 at the time of their appointment and at least 3 who have been under the jurisdiction of the juvenile justice system at some point in their life. A majority of the members cannot be full-time employees of Federal, State, or local government.

Current Juvenile Justice Advisory Committee Members

Robert P. Gittens, Esq.
JJAC Chair
Vice President of Public Affairs, Northeastern University
Office of Government Relations and Community Affairs
 

Cecely Reardon
JJAC Vice Chair
Supervising Attorney, Committee for Public Counsel Services, Youth Advocacy Project
 

Lael Chester, Esq.
Executive Director, Citizens for Juvenile Justice
 

Wesley Cotter
Chief Operating Officer, Key Program, Inc.
 

Glenn Daly
Director of Youth Development
Executive Office of Health and Human Services
 

Robert Kinscherff, Ph.D., Esq.
Director of Forensic
Massachusetts School of Professional Psychology
 

Catherine Harris
Private Citizen


Roland Milton
Pyramid Builders, Inc.
 

Edward Dolan
Commissioner, Department of Youth Services


Gloria Y. Tan
Clinical Instructor, Harvard Law School, Criminal Justice Institute


Jeff Butts
Director of Public Funding, Boys and Girls Club of Boston


Bessie DiDomenica
MBA, Doctoral candidate
secretaryofinnovation.com


Rita Dixon
Private Citizen


Whitney Galusha
Private Citizen


Barbara Kaban
Director of Juvenile Appeals
Committee for Public Counsel, Youth Advocacy Division


Ken Smith
Executive Director, YouthBuild Boston


Jennifer Larson Sawin
Executive Director, Communities for Restorative Justice


Robert Riley
Private Citizen


Natalie Petit
Private Citizen


Cory Lanier
Private Citizen