Presenters

Dr. Anthony Schembri

Dr. Schembri currently serves as County Administrator for Citrus County, Florida. He was the Sir Leon Radzinowicz Professor of Criminology, Law & Police Science, University of Florida, Department of Criminology, Law and Society, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Dr. Schembri earned his Juris Doctor -Doctor of Law from Pace University School of Law; an SES from Harvard University, Kennedy School of Government; and his M.A. and B. S. from John Jay College of Criminal Justice. Dr. Schembri has received numerous awards and published many articles on his work.

Shay Bilchik

Mr. Bilchik is the founder and Director of the Center for Juvenile Justice Reform at Georgetown University’s Public Policy Institute. The Center’s purpose is to focus the nation’s public agency leaders, across systems of care and levels of government, on the key components of a strong juvenile justice reform agenda. Prior to joining the Institute, Mr. Bilchik was the President and CEO of the Child Welfare League of America; headed the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) in the U.S. Department of Justice; served as an Assistant State Attorney in Miami, Florida and as a trail lawyer, juvenile division chief, and Chief Assistant State Attorney. Mr. Bilchik earned his B.S. and J.D. degrees from the University of Florida. He and his wife Susan are the proud parents of two young adults, Melissa and Zach.

Stephanie Autumn

Ms. Autumn is a member of the Hopi Nation and has lived and worked as a grassroots community activist, trainer, facilitator, organizer and program director in urban & reservation communities in South Dakota and Minnesota for the past thirty -three years. Twenty-five years of experience in administration of education, social service, pre and post release prison programs for American Indian adults & juveniles, criminal justice and restorative justice programs. In the past twenty- two years has participated in numerous human rights commissions in Geneva, Switzerland, Japan, Russia, Africa, and Libya and throughout Europe. Ms. Autumn is currently working on a Masters Degree in Public Policy and is a Technical Assistant Specialist for the National Center for Mental Health Promotion and Youth Violence Prevention and Project Director for Educational Development Center’s Tribal Youth Training and Technical Assistance Center.

James Bell

Mr. Bell is Founder and Executive Director of the W. Haywood Burns Institute where he and his colleagues are working with systems and community stakeholders to reduce disproportionality of youth of color in the juvenile justice system in 23 jurisdictions throughout the country. Mr. Bell has extensive experience in the international juvenile justice arena: he assisted the African National Congress in the administration of the juvenile justice system in South Africa; worked with Palestinians and Israelis on alternatives to juvenile incarceration; and trained government officials and activists on the human rights of children in Cambodia, Kenya, Brazil and France. Prior to founding the Burns Institute, Mr. Bell served as a Staff Attorney at the Youth Law Center in San Francisco. He is the recipient of a Kellogg National Leadership Fellowship, the Livingstone Hall Award from the American Bar Association and Advocate of the Year from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention and recently received the James Irvine Foundation Leadership Award. He earned his J.D. from Hastings College of the Law.

Trish Beuhring, Ph.D.

Trisha Beuhring, Ph.D., is a research scientist in the Institute on Community Integration at the University of Minnesota. She has a Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology from the University of Southern California. Dr. Beuhring has extensive experience in program development, instrument design and validation, and theory-relevant evaluation. She has spent the past decade forming University-community partnerships that ground intervention practices in theory and research. Her research interests include early-onset delinquency; risk and resilience; translating research into practice; and the benefit-cost tradeoffs of interventions for extreme-risk children and families.

Mike Boehm MS, LPC, NCC

Associate Director at the Family & Children's Center for past seven years, with primary responsibility of overseeing the agencies 13 Minnesota programs. Mr. Boehm has a MS in Community Counseling from Winona State University and over the years has worked in a variety of professional roles including group therapist, individual and family counselor, crisis intervention trainer, and case management. Professional interests include program development, mental health education/advocacy, and innovative ways of approaching crisis.

Chris Bray, Ph.D.

Dr. Bray started her career in corrections by working in a women's prison in Oklahoma. She spent most of her career in Ramsey County Community Corrections as a probation officer, supervisor and manager. Dr. Bray came to the Minnesota Department of Corrections as Assistant Commissioner and returned after earning her doctorate to lead a statewide initiative for Commissioner Joan Fabian related to juveniles in the juvenile justice system with mental health or co-occurring disorders. She earned her B.A. degree from the University of Minnesota, her M. A. at St. Thomas University and her PhD. at the University of Minnesota.

Susan Carstens

Ms. Carstens has been the juvenile specialist with the Crystal Police Department for many years. In this capacity, she works with delinquent youth, runaways, truants, curfew violators, and substance abusers. She investigates child physical and sexual abuse, neglect, and vulnerable adult cases. Part of her work involves police diversion as an alternative to a referral to juvenile court for youth who commit law violations. Ms. Carstens has a bachelor’s degree in psychology and sociology from the University of Minnesota, a master’s degree in psychology from the University of the Pacific, and a doctoral degree in counseling psychology from the University of St. Thomas. She is licensed as a psychologist in the state of Minnesota.

S. Jason Carver

Mr. Carver is the Juvenile Supervision Center Manager with The Link. He joined The Link as a Truancy Case Manager/Youth Advocate four years ago, and then worked as the Community Relations Assistant for the Minnesota Timberwolves for over a year. He rejoined The Link as a Case Manager for Lindquist Apartments prior to his current position. Mr. Carver brings with him a passion for working with youth, young adults, and people from different walks of life. He earned his B.A. from Aquinas College and received Health Realization training at The Link.

Sally Dandurand

Ms. Dandurand received her degree in Social Work at Moorhead State University Moorhead. As a licensed social worker she worked eight years with families and youth experiencing homelessness, the past five years she has been employed with Clay County Reentry Services, as a Transitional Coordinator. Ms. Dandurand provides support to juvenile offenders returning to the community from out-of-home placements for approximately 6- 12 months. She assists youth with setting goals that include but are not limited to: employment, education, personal, sobriety, and positive activities. Throughout her career she has been involved in numerous community projects. Ms. Dandurand and her husband live in Moorhead and have three children.

Autumn L. Dickman

Ms. Dickman works at the Juvenile Law Center, as the Project Manager for the Pennsylvania Models for Change Initiative. Ms. Dickman works to advance the goals of the initiative at both the state policy level and in the pilot counties, links national resources to the Pennsylvania efforts, enhances coordination and communication of a wide spectrum of stakeholders within the state, and tracks state progress to report to the MacArthur Foundation and national resource bank partners. Previously Ms. Dickman worked at the National Youth Employment Coalition (NYEC) on PEPNet (Promising and Effective Practices Network) and the Children’s Defense Fund (CDF) in the Violence Prevention and Youth Development division. Ms. Dickman received her Masters in Social Service and her Masters in Law and Social Policy from the Bryn Mawr Graduate School of Social Work and Social Research; she received her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the University of Virginia.

Elizabeth Drake

Ms. Drake is a Research Associate for the Washington State Institute for Public Policy. The Institute was created by the legislature to carry out practical research on issues of importance to Washington State. Ms. Drake received her BS from Bowling Green State University and her MA from Washington State University; her degrees are in Criminal Justice. Prior to her career at the Institute, Ms. Drake was employed as a researcher at the Department of Corrections. She has professional experience conducting outcome-based program evaluations in adult and juvenile justice.

Shelley Ford

Ms. Ford is a Career Corrections Agent with the MN Department of Corrections in the Moorhead State Contract office. Ms. Ford has a Criminal Justice and Social Work degree and is a licensed Social Worker in the State of MN. Ms. Ford has extensive experience in the juvenile corrections field and is an active member of the Clay County Collaborative. Ms. Ford has assisted in developing programming for youth in Clay County, including the Truancy Diversion Program, The Restorative Justice Program, the Reentry Service Project and the Juvenile Offender Restitution Program. In addition to managing a caseload of adult and juvenile offenders, Ms. Ford administers the Reentry Services Project in Clay County. The Reentry Services Project provides intensive case management services to high risk youth returning to the community from out of home placement.

Hillary Freeman

Ms. Freeman has worked as a Crime Prevention Specialist for the Minneapolis Police Department since 1996. Since 2004 she has worked as a shared employee with the Greater Minneapolis Council of Churches co-directing the Community Justice Project, a reentry program whose focus is to increase public safety by changing offender behavior. She is the only shared employee between a police department and a faith-based organization in this country. Ms. Freeman holds a Master's Degree in Divinity and a Master's Degree in Adult Education. In addition Ms. Freeman is a community faculty at Metropolitan State University in the School of Law Enforcement.

Ed Frickson

Mr. Frickson is a master’s level psychologist in Ramsey County providing mental health services for children and youth involved in the Child Protection or the Juvenile Justice system. He is currently working with Ramsey County Department of Corrections to develop an onsite juvenile mental health assessment center. Mr. Friskson also manages the regionally and nationally recognized All Children Excel (ACE) program, which identifies children under age 10 at high risk for serious, violent and chronic offending and provides long-term wrap around case management. He serves on several statewide task forces developing improved processes for the children’s mental health system. Additionally, Mr. Frickson was involved in a pilot project with private pediatric clinics in the St. Paul area to incorporate automated mental health screening of children within the clinic process and provide co-located mental health services on-site. He maintains a small private practice and has experience in community based mental health, hospital based work with young children, and providing outpatient mental health therapy to children and families.

Linda Hanson

Ms. Hansen received her Master’s degree at Antioch University in 1985. As a licensed Psychologist, she has worked in the field of mental health over the past 23 years, the past seven years with Dakota County Corrections. In addition to providing direct services, she provides consultation with the juvenile division’s programs to provide support in meeting clients’ mental health needs. Ms. Hanson is an active member on the Subcommittee on Children’s Mental Health and has chaired the Mental Health/Juvenile Justice work group. She also has participated on committees to move forward efforts of the Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative (JDAI) in Dakota County. She is passionate about bringing system change to better meet the mental health needs of clients interacting with the juvenile justice systems.

Lucy Hayes, LICSW

Lucy Hayes is a Senior Social Worker in Olmsted County and an original member of the Children’s Mental Health Resource Center in Olmsted County Community Services, formed in 1994. She received her Master's of Social Work in 1999 from the University of Minnesota and is licensed as a LICSW. She currently provides case management, family therapy, group work and clinical supervision to other case managers at the CMHRC. Her insight and leadership has been instrumental in positive outcomes associated with children's mental health services in Olmsted County. Integral to her work duties is collaboration with other social service and correction entities. She became involved in the collaborative effort with mental health services and juvenile corrections as these two systems saw an increase in shared clients. She previously worked in other social service capacities in Olmsted County and several counties in the State of Virginia.

Andrea Hendel, MA, LMFT

Ms. Hendel is a Clinical Coordinator at Volunteers of America Bar None, doing intakes, treatment planning, aftercare, individual and family therapy and facilitating therapy groups, including a self-esteem and objectives group. She is a Minnesota State Board approved Supervisor for Marriage and Family Therapists and is completing the requirements to become an AAMFT nationally approved supervisor. Previously she worked as an individual, family and group therapist at Volunteers of America’s Mental Health Clinics and worked with adolescents as an in-home family therapist, Day Treatment Therapist with Family Networks and Probation Officer/Counselor at Lino Lakes Regional Juvenile Center.

James Kambiri

Mr. Kambiri is the Program Director for The Link. He oversees all programmatic operations of The Link and has ten years experience working with youth in various settings via his work as a counselor and teacher with youth at risk and youth offenders. Mr. Kambiri has volunteered as a chemical dependency group facilitator and with a church-based youth group. He earned his B.A. degree from St. Scholastica and has received Health Realization training at The Link.

Angelique Kedem

Originally from South Africa, Angelique Kedem received her Master’s degree in Public Administration from the University of the Western Cape, School of Government. She worked in youth programming and public policy education with the Women’s Initiative for Self Empowerment (WISE) and the State Council on Black Minnesotans. Angelique lead Dakota County in implementation of the JDAI (Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative) from 2006-2007 and is now the Minnesota State coordinator, overseeing JDAI development for Minnesota sites including Hennepin, Ramsey, and Dakota County. Angelique’s interests are in Systems Change Management, Program Development, Community Organizing, Public Relations and she has a clear passion for advocating for youth and families of color.

David Richard Kisch

Stillwater School Resource Officer/Oak Park Heights Police Department and has served as a police officer for the past twelve of his fifteen years in law enforcement. Officer Kisch is a graduate of Stillwater Area High School with authentic ties to the school and community. He trained as a school resource officer with the St. Paul Police Department and believes his role in the school is to educate youth, provide resources, and offer students opportunities to be respectful and contributing members of the school and community.

Mary Leadem Ticiu

Assistant Principal at Stillwater Area High School since 1999. Her work involves student discipline and improving school climate in a building of over 2,300 10-12 students and 125 staff. She involves direct participants in a peaceful process to repair harm and seek alternatives to formal consequences/systems of intervention, working side by side with staff, students and the school resource officer. She previously served as a Restorative Justice Planner and Circle Keeper for the South St. Paul community and schools.

Angela Lettner

Ms. Lettner is a Probation Officer with Juvenile Corrections of Olmsted County and serves as the liaison between her department and Family and Children’s Center, a private agency, contracted to provide day treatment services for at risk youth in Olmsted County. Ms. Lettner was instrumental in conceptualizing the Youth Night Campus program and has been a leader in the planning and implementation of this collaborative venture. She has been involved in the juvenile justice field for over 10 years, and her range of experience was central to the vision that resulted in this collaboration. This unique partnership was designed to address a gap in the continuum of care for youthful offenders by offering community based services for youth at risk of placement or returning from placement. Ms. Lettner graduated from Winona State University with a Bachelor’s of Science in Sociology, Criminal Justice. For the past eleven years she has worked with youth and families in both the private and public sector. She resides in Rochester with her husband and son.

Kenneth J. Martinez, Psy.D.

Dr. Martinez is a licensed clinical psychologist and currently Principal Research Analyst and Mental Health Resource Specialist with the Technical Assistance Partnership for Children and Families Mental Health at the American Institutes for Research in Washington, D.C. Dr. Martinez is lead for the Technical Assistance Partnership’s Cultural Competence Action Team which developed the Cultural and Linguistic Competence Implementation Guide and several other cultural and linguistic competence related products. Dr. Martinez was the State Children’s Behavioral Health Director in New Mexico prior to his current position. He is also Clinical Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center. He is currently on the Board of Directors of the National Latino Behavioral Health Association, the National Alliance of Multi-Ethnic Behavioral Health Associations and a member of: the Steward Group of National Network to Eliminate Disparities in Behavioral Health; the Advisory Board for the Research and Training Center at the Florida Mental Health Institute; the Practice Based Evidence Study at the Research and Training Center at Portland State University; and the Expert Advisory Panel for the Cultural Competence Center of Excellence at Nathan Kline Research Institute in New York State.

Susan E. Mills

Executive Director for Tri-County Community Corrections, where Ms. Mills previously served as Deputy Administrator and Director of Intensive Supervision Program for Adolescent Offenders. Member of the Polk County, Red Lake County and Norman County Children and Family Service Collaboratives and the Northwest Council of Collaborative’s Governing Board. Ms. Mills sits on the Crookston School Board, the Minnesota Association of Community Corrections Acts Counties Board and is a member of the Minnesota School Board Association and the American Probation Parole Association.

Brenda Morrison, Ph.D.

Dr. Morrison is Co-Director of the Centre for Restorative Justice and an Assistant Professor in the School of Criminology, Simon Fraser University, British Columbia, Canada. She is a social psychologist with field experience in outdoor education, government administration and restorative justice. A particular focus of her work relates to safe schools and communities, and building capacity amongst institutions that serve these communities. Her research and development projects range from establishing primary intervention programs in elementary schools, to working with senior administrators that serve courts and schools, establishing collaborative policy initiates, and then evaluating their effectiveness. Dr. Morrison is Co-Chair of the Safe Schools and Communities Special Interest Group of the American Education Research Association and a member of the Scientific Committee of the International Observatory of Violence in Schools. She has also chaired many panels on restorative justice and schools for the World Congress of Criminology, as well as a number of other Associations. She is the author of the first international review of restorative justice and schools in the Handbook of Restorative Justice (Johnstone and VanNess, 2007) and “Restoring Safe School Communities: A Whole School Response to Bullying Violence and Alienation” (Willan, 2007). She is currently editing a volume on international perspectives of restorative justice and schools.

Trina Osher

Ms. Osher is President of Huff Osher Consulting, Inc and has spoken at the Carter Center and many major national conferences. She has been an author and lead writer for pieces published by the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law, the Center for Effective Collaboration and Practice, the Council for Exceptional Children, and the Center for Mental Health Services. Her scholarly work is published in the Journal of Child and Family Studies, the Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders, and the Journal of Behavioral Services and Research. Her experience includes serving as Coordinator of Policy & Research for the Federation of Families for Children's Mental Health; Director of Project FORUM at the National Association of State Directors of Special Education; and work with the New Hampshire State Department of Education . Ms. Osher was educated at Pratt Institute, Columbia University Teacher's College, and Harvard Graduate School of Education. She is the parent of three children, and has six grandchildren.

James Payne

Mr. Payne is currently a consultant and technical assistance provider for the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative. A graduate of New York University School of Law, Mr Payne began his career as an Assistant District attorney in the New York County District Attorney’s Office. In 1982, Mr. Payne was appointed New York City’s Chief Juvenile Prosecutor, and after six years in this position, he was appointed Commissioner of the New York City Department of Probation. After leaving government service, Mr. Payne held the following positions: General Counsel and Legislative Advocate for Covenant House, New York; Director of Pre-Trial Services for the Vera Institute of Justice; Executive Director for the Center for Redirection Through Education; and Director of Adult Services for Westhab, Inc., Westchester County New York’s largest provider of services to homeless families, adults and persons in re-entry from state prison.

Cindy Powell, MSW LGSW

Ms. Powell is a senior probation officer with Juvenile Corrections of Olmsted County, and a leader in efforts to better serve youth for more than ten years. During this time, Ms. Powell developed an expertise in the field of juvenile assessment and delivery of probation services, and is an active member of Olmsted County’s Children’s Mental Health Collaborative. She is credited by her colleagues for expanding their awareness of and insight into the clear connection between juvenile justice and unmet mental health needs among the youth of her community, and has been instrumental in bringing to life a new collaborative protocol for effectively assessing and meeting these unmet needs. Ms. Powell has a Master of Social Work Degree and is a Licensed Graduate Social Worker completing her supervision hours. She facilitates weekly groups with at risk youth in Olmsted County and resides in Rochester with her husband and two children.

Honorable Robert G. Rancourt

Judge Rancourt is a District Court Judge in Chisago County, Minnesota. He was appointed on February 8, 2002 and since that time has attended numerous training opportunities on the rise of methamphetamine, addressing substance abuse and dual diagnosis problems in the courts, and the implementation of a juvenile drug court. He has worked with a team of dedicated professionals in implementing the drug court in the Tenth Judicial District. In addition to involvement in drug court, Judge Rancourt is a member of the Chisago County Domestic Abuse Task Force, the Chair of the Tenth Judicial Task Force on Innovative Judicial Interventions, the Backup Judge on the Children’s Justice Initiative in Chisago County, a member of the Tenth District Pro-Bono Committee, a member of the Minnesota Supreme Court Appeals Panel and a member of the Supreme Court Chemical Dependency Task Force. Judge Rancourt was also recently elected to serve as a Director on the National Drug Court Association. Prior to his appointment, Judge Rancourt worked in private practice in Center City, Minnesota.

Vernon Rowe

Mr. Rowe is currently Assistant Principal at Roosevelt High School in Minneapolis MN. He has worked for Minneapolis Public Schools for 14 years as a Social Studies Teacher for 8 years and as an Administrator on the Middle and High School levels for 6 years. Prior to joining Minneapolis Public Schools Mr. Rowe worked for Monsanto Agricultural Company in Sales and Marketing from 1991 – 1994. He received his B.S. degrees from the University of Minnesota (Economics) and St. Cloud State University (Education) and his M.A. from St. Mary’s University of Minnesota (Human Development). Mr. Rowe’s beliefs for education are building positive relationships with shareholders, especially students, to create a constructive learning environment where TRUST and RESPECT is always considered and practiced. Also, taking a marketing approach to the creative development and administering of curriculum for students. “Concentrating on these two aspects alone will alleviate many of the behavioral problems that schools experience with students.” “Trust and Respect, along with innovative curriculum that challenges the intellect of students make all the difference with teacher and student success.”

Rick D. Steele

Mr. Steele is the Aftercare Specialist for the Pennsylvania Juvenile Court Judges’ Commission and Center for Juvenile Justice Training & Research. Prior, Mr. Steele worked in the Northumberland County (PA) Juvenile Probation Department, including as Chief Juvenile Probation Officer, and as Deputy Executive Director of the Northwestern Academy, an adjudicated delinquent residential facility. Mr. Steele has been involved with issues and activities related to juvenile justice at both the local and state level for many years, serving on numerous committees and workgroups, including the Executive Committee of the Pennsylvania Council of Chief Juvenile Probation Officers. He also served as an adjunct faculty member in the Criminal Justice Department of Luzerne County Community College. Mr. Steele received his undergraduate degree from Gettysburg College and his Masters Degree from Shippensburg University. He has four children and currently lives in Elysburg, PA with his wife, Lori.

Terry Thompson

Mr. Thompson currently serves as the Director of Bar-None Residential Treatment Services and the Avanti Center for Girls, both with Volunteers of America. He has worked at Bar-None for 20 years. Prior, he worked at the St. Cloud Children's Home for 17 years in a variety of positions. Mr. Thompson has given training sessions on both the state and national level, including on youth empowerment.

Judge Korey Wahwassuck

The Honorable Korey Wahwassuck was appointed Chief Judge of the Leech Lake Tribal Court in Cass Lake, Minnesota in 2006. She received her Bachelor of Journalism in 1987 and her Juris Doctor in 1991 from the University of Missouri-Columbia. Judge Wahwassuck is Vice-Chair of the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges’ Tribal Courts/ICWA Committee and an Advisory Member of the Council’s Diversity Committee. She also serves on the Minnesota Supreme Court’s Drug Court Initiative and Racial Fairness Committees.

Gail A. Wasserman, Ph.D.

Dr. Wasserman is a Professor of Clinical Psychology in Child Psychiatry in the Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at the College of Physicians and Surgeons at Columbia University. She directs Columbia’s Center for the Promotion of Mental Health in Juvenile Justice, a research and policy entity that offers guidance to juvenile justice agencies in how to best structure their services to allow for efficient identification and referral for services for youth with mental health service needs. She has been conducting research on developmental psychopathology for 30 years. Recent work focuses on individual and family risk for early antisocial behavior, the development o f antisocial behavior in high-risk girls, and the assessment of mental health concerns in juvenile-involved youth. Dr. Wasserman has authored or co-authored approximately one hundred papers for academic and practitioner audiences. Current initiatives of the Center include the study of psychiatric disorder in juvenile justice system youth in multiple field sites, the development of ways to implement best mental health assessment practices in juvenile justice settings, and improving coordination across state and county mental health and juvenile