Melodee Hanes to serve as new acting administrator at OJJDP

After nearly three years of serving as acting administrator for the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), Jeff Slowikowski has decided to step down. He will now serve as OJJDP's acting deputy administrator for policy. In a press advisory released today, Laurie O. Robinson, Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Justice Programs, announced that Melodee Hanes will step in as acting administrator for the OJJDP.
From the release:

“We have welcomed the expertise and energy that Melodee Hanes has brought to the office in her role as counselor to the acting administrator--and will continue to bring to her new leadership role. Improving the quality of life for children, while ensuring their safety, is a priority for the Attorney General and I look forward to her leadership within the Office of Justice Programs,” said Assistant Attorney General Robinson. “I want to thank Jeff for his exceptional service. Jeff’s leadership has been vital to the important work of OJJDP and to the many successes we have had in the office over the past three years.”
During his tenure as acting administrator, Slowikowski oversaw distribution of more than $1.5 billion in funding to support juvenile programs, including $50 million for the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Forces under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. He revitalized OJJDP’s research program, helped OJJDP launch important work in areas such as school discipline and tribal and military-youth mentoring, and oversaw OJJDP’s national symposium, a meeting of over 3,000 youth professionals.
Before serving as counselor to the acting administrator, Hanes spent 16 years as a deputy county attorney in Des Moines, Iowa, and Billings, Mont., primarily prosecuting child abuse, sexual assault and homicide cases. She has trained child protection investigators and served as an adjunct professor of law at Drake University, where she taught child abuse law, forensic medicine and forensic law. Hanes is a graduate of Drake University Law School.

 hat tip: JJIE.org

Liz Wu is a Digital Accounts Manager at Prichard Communications, where she oversees digital outreach for Reclaiming Futures and edits Reclaiming Futures Every Day. Before joining the Prichard team, Liz established the West Coast communications presence for the New America Foundation, where she managed all media relations, event planning and social media outreach for their 6 domestic policy programs. Liz received a B.A. in both Peace and Conflict Studies and German from the University of California at Berkeley. She tweets at @LizSF.
 
 
 
 
* Photo at top by Flickr user ryanjreilly