Some days it seems like it was only yesterday, some days I feel the decades behind me. I can still remember the planning meetings around Judy Chomsky’s kitchen table — to be clear, Judy was the only one among us who actually had a kitchen table, not to mention other actual pieces of furniture — as we four soon-to-be graduates of Temple Law School hatched an idea to start a non-profit law firm for children.
As I approach my retirement, I am facing two directions. I am looking back over the past near decade that I have served as CEO of Juvenile Law Center, and I am looking forward to Riya Saha Shah leading the office as the next CEO, our 50th Anniversary and the work ahead in 2025.
Today, Juvenile Law Center announced the appointment of its next Chief Executive Officer, Riya Saha Shah. She will assume the position in the new year.
“It’s often very easy to see what’s right in front of you and to make a difference in the space where you currently live,” says Dr. Alexis A. Thompson. “But if we’re able and willing to step out just a little bit and to see that we are global citizens, that we have the possibilities of having an impact in our lifetime around the world, perhaps in the lives of [those] we’ll never meet — to be daring enough and bold enough to actually think that we can do that is a real privilege.”
The article (“Fresh push to crack down on juvenile crime,” Oct. 24) cited Bernalillo County District Attorney Sam Bregman’s proposals to “curb crime” by youth. In it, Bregman said the New Mexico Children’s Code is not working. He was correct.
On October 20 and 21, Juvenile Law Center hosted our third national Debt Free Justice convening in Berkeley, California with partners from the National Center for Youth Law and Berkeley Law School’s Policy Advocacy Clinic. The convening gathered over fifty advocates from around the country working to eliminate fees and fines in the juvenile legal system.
October is Youth Justice Action Month, an opportunity to elevate youth in the justice system, the issues they face, and their incredible resilience. On October 2nd, Juvenile Law Center launched the Broken Promises: Futures Denied, the second edition of their powerful Broken Bridges report that has been used by policymakers, state agencies, and others to help guide their work.
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