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