News  Charlestown Chief Michelle Williams is elected president of NECCD and also featured panelist in Drug Court webinar

Charlestown Chief Probation Officer Michelle Williams was recently elected president of the New England Council on Crime and Delinquency (NECCD), an organization run by volunteer professionals in the areas of Corrections, Probation, Parole, Juvenile Justice, and Law Enforcement. NECCD’s membership includes criminal justice professionals from six New England states—Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, Maine, Rhode Island, and Connecticut.

"It is an honor to be recognized and selected by my peers to lead the organization. The theme I selected for this year is 'Adapting to Innovations in a Changing Climate,'" said Ms. Williams, who has served as the first Haitian American Chief Probation Officer for the Massachusetts Trial Court in the Charlestown Division of the Boston Municipal Court since 2011.

Among her “top goals” for the organization are to offer "robust and current training opportunities which members will find useful for their professional development." The organization, which is comprised of approximately 400 members, provides professional development opportunities such as conferences and trainings as well as scholarship opportunities for college students who are pursuing careers in Criminal Justice.

Ms. Williams also served as one of four featured panelists during a Drug Court webinar on “Team Dynamics in Treatment Courts,” offered by NECCD. The webinar focuses on how to strengthen team relationships in Drug and treatment courts, how to ensure each member understands their role on the team, and how to improve communication and collaboration.

In addition to Ms. Williams, the other three panelists included Barnstable District First Justice John M. Julian; Heather Scheiwe Kulp— an attorney, educator, and Circuit Court Administrator for the New Hampshire (NH) Judicial Branch; and Stephen Von Sitas, MS, Regional Treatment Court Coordinator for the State of Vermont Judiciary. The panel was moderated by Christine McKenna, Rockingham County Drug Treatment Court.