Extraordinary Before and After 40

Pictured above: Robert Scott, Board Member Elizabeth Scott, Executive Director Sue Mangold, and Board President Barry Zubrow at Juvenile Law Center's 40th Anniversary Dinner.

During the winter holidays, many of us gather to give thanks. I am especially grateful this holiday season as I return to the Juvenile Law Center family as the new Executive Director and reflect upon both its remarkable past and the exciting opportunities that lie ahead. What I have recognized upon returning to Juvenile Law Center is that our everyday work is extraordinary! The same day we celebrated our 40^th anniversary, Marsha, Emily Keller and other attorneys from our team were at the U.S. Supreme Court, serving as co-counsel in Montgomery v. Louisiana, and arguing for the retroactivity of the Supreme Court’s ruling a few years ago that mandatory life without parole (LWOP) sentences for juvenile defendants are unconstitutional.

One week after the anniversary dinner, Kate Burdick, Jessica Feierman, and I were in Washington, D.C., working with our colleagues at Education Law Center and the ABA Center for Children and the Law on education for youth in foster care. Back at the office, Riya Shah was addressing the misuse of juvenile sexual offender registries, and Jenny Pokempner was engaged in consultations and trainings to share her national expertise on older youth in foster care. At the same time, Kacey Mordecai was researching policies on LBGTQ youth in foster care.

Above: Juvenile Law Center attorneys (left to right) Emily Keller, Jean Strout, and Marsha Levick with (left to right) law professor Jeffrey Pokorak, attorney Sean Collins, Louisiana public defenders Mark Plaisance, Linsday Jarrell Blouin, and Michael A. Mitchell.

The following week, our Board President, Barry Zubrow, hosted a reunion dinner for former Zubrow Fellows where the alumni discussed the Fellowship’s impact on their impressive legal careers. Since 2001, 12 Zubrow Fellows have “graduated” from the 2-year fellowship at Juvenile Law Center. Jean Strout and Kee Tobar are our current outstanding Fellows, assisting in all aspects of our child welfare and juvenile justice work.

Looking forward, our legal team is assisting local defense attorneys across the country on LWOP and other extreme sentencing cases. Our juvenile justice education efforts have a new partner, Southern Poverty Law Center. Our work on behalf of older youth in foster care is being reorganized and expanded, and Karen Lindell, our Skadden Fellow, is working on the legal needs of older youth with disabilities in foster care. We are also developing strategies to involve former Zubrow Fellows in our ongoing work and are expanding our collaborations with cutting-edge researchers.

Left: On November 13, youth advocates from Youth Fostering Change spoke at a federal legislative briefing focused on homeless and foster youth.

Juvenile Law Center’s youth engagement programs continue to recruit creative, passionate young people who want to help reform the child welfare and juvenile justice systems. Recently, Crystal, an alumna of our Juveniles for Justice program, was invited to participate in a White House event focused on girls of color and the justice systems. We hope you will support the efforts of Crystal and other amazing young adults like her, and all of the work of our youth engagement programs, on Giving Tuesday, December 1^st.

This is just a snapshot of the ordinary yet extraordinary work that goes on at Juvenile Law Center every day. Many of you already support our work, others are new to the Juvenile Law Center family. Please consider making a donation on Giving Tuesday to support our youth advocates' reform work and continue to follow our communications in the New Year. Here's to the next extraordinary 40 years!