On June 6, 2024, members of the 8th cohort of the Transforming Youth Justice Program celebrated their graduation from the nine-month program. Guests and graduates heard from Andrew Ferguson, Co-CEO of Dalio Education, and Dr. Jens Frederiksen, University of New Haven President during the ceremony.  

During the nine-month program, graduates listened to presentations on juvenile justice reform, adolescent development, results-based accountability and more. These presentations and the conversations they engaged in helped to expand their knowledge of best practices and resources in Connecticut. Cohort members also complete a capstone project, with the goal of bringing the program or initiative they create back to their agency. We were honored to celebrate at the University of New Haven with insightful remarks from Keynote Speaker Andrew Ferguson, Co-CEO, Dalio Education, Jens Frederiksen, President of the University of New Haven, Distinguished Lecturer and Executive Director of Justice Programs, William H. Carbone, and Erika Nowakowski, Executive Director of Tow Youth Justice Institute. Special thanks to Cohort 8 members Dishon Rucker and Veronica Maldonado for their closing remarks to their peers.

 

Members showcased their capstone projects to guests during the “cap-tail.” This year’s projects focused on several important issues, like chronic absenteeism, diversion, reentry, and juvenile transfers to adult courts.

  • Leveraging Financial Incentives to Increase High School Attendance Rates  | Abby Alter (Lead Planning Analyst – CT Office of Policy and Management) & Taurien Sowell (Chief Adult Probation Officer – CT Judicial Branch) 
  • The Juvenile Recidivism Program | David Zanelli (Assistant Police Chief – New Haven Police Department), Larry Hoffler Jr. (Sergeant – Waterbury Police Department), Shaun Goggins (Sergeant – Waterbury Police Department) & Peter Kisela (Officer – West Hartford Police Department) 
  • Juvenile Transfer Evaluation Training on Best Practices for Forensic Evaluators in CT | Dawn Crimmins (Social Worker – Division of Public Defender Services, Waterbury and Torrington) & Danae Dwyer (Supervisory Assistant Public Defender – Division of Public Defender Services, Waterbury and Torrington) 
  • Healing the Harm: Implementing Restorative Practices in Correctional Facilities | Kimberly Rodriguez (CT Dept. of Corrections – Manson Youth Institute) 
  • Community School Re-Entry Project | Jules Calabro (Carelon Behavioral Health) & Tanesha Jones (Yale University Yale Behavioral Health) 
  • Proposal for Implementing Opportunity Academy: Addressing Overaged, Under-Credited Students’ Educational Needs | Veronica Maldonado (Director of Organizational Capacity and Development – Our Piece of the Pie) 
  • From the Ground-Up: Creating After Care Programs for the Entire Family | Sheree Amankwah (Shift Manager – Bridgeport Detention) , Amanda DeCrescenzo (Juvenile Probation Officer) & Dishon Rucker (Assistant Program Manager – CPA Hamden REGIONS Program) 
  • Preemptively Addressing Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACES) in Connecticut Schools, a Wholistic Trauma-Informed Approach to Supporting Disengaged Youth | Thomas Pereira (Dean of Student Life – Greenwich High School) 
  • Morale Compass | Woody Vereen (Juvenile Probation Officer II) 

Find out more about each capstone here: Cohort #8 | The Tow Youth Justice Institute (newhaven.edu)

Going forward, graduates of cohort 8 will join an alumni network of more than 100 program graduates.