California Blue Ribbon Commission on Children in Foster Care

Members

For more detailed information on the members of the commission, see their biographies (PDF).

Hon. Carlos R. Moreno, Chair
Associate Justice
Supreme Court of California

Hon. Michael D. Antonovich
Los Angeles County
Board of Supervisors,
Fifth Supervisorial District

Ms. Mary Ault

Hon. Karen Bass
Assembly Member
California State Assembly,
47th Assembly District

Hon. Richard C. Blake
Chief Judge
Hoopa Valley Tribal Court

Mr. Lawrence B. Bolton
Deputy Director/Chief Counsel
California Department of Social Services

Mr. Curtis L. Child
Director
Office of Governmental Affairs
Administrative Office of the Courts

Ms. Miryam J. Choca
Director
California Strategies
Casey Family Programs

Mr. Joseph W. Cotchett
Attorney
Law Offices of Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy

Mr. Michael S. Cunningham
Deputy Director
Program Services Division
Department of Alcohol and Drug Programs

Hon. Kathryn Doi Todd
Associate Justice of the Court of Appeal,
Second Appellate District, Division Two

Jill Duerr Berrick, Ph.D.
Professor
School of Social Welfare and
Codirector, Center for Child and Youth Policy,
University of California at Berkeley

Hon. Leonard P. Edwards (Ret.)
Judge-in-Residence
Center for Families, Children & the Courts
Administrative Office of the Courts

Mr. Raul A. Escatel
Tax Counsel
California Franchise Tax Board

Ms. Deborah Escobedo
Staff Attorney
Youth Law Center

Hon. Terry B. Friedman
Judge
Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles

Mr. Robert E. Friend
Director
California Permanency for Youth Project

Hon. Richard D. Huffman
Court Oversight Subcommittee Chair
Associate Justice
Court of Appeal,
Fourth Appellate District, Division One

Hon. Susan D. Huguenor
Funding & Resources Subcommittee Chair
Presiding Judge of the Juvenile Court
Superior Court of California, County of San Diego

Ms. Teri Kook
Senior Program Officer
Child Welfare
The Stuart Foundation

Ms. Miriam Aroni Krinsky
Special Consultant
Center for Families, Children, & the Courts
Administrative Office of the Courts

Ms. Amy Lemley
Policy Director
John Burton Foundation for
Children Without Homes

Mr. Will Lightbourne
Director
Santa Clara County Social Services Agency

Hon. Bill Maze
Assembly Member
California State Assembly,
34th Assembly District

Ms. Donna C. Myrow
Executive Director
L.A. Youth

Hon. Michael Nash
Accountability for Better Outcomes Subcommittee Chair
Presiding Judge of the Juvenile Court
Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles

Mr. David Neilsen
Chief
Children and Family Services
California Department of Mental Health

Ms. Diane Nunn
Division Director
Center for Families, Children & the Courts
Administrative Office of the Courts

Mr. John O'Toole
Executive Director
National Center for Youth Law

Mr. Derek Peake
Partner
Costly Grace

Mr. Jonathan Pearson
Legislative and Policy Coordinator
California Youth Connection

Ms. Linda Penner
Chief Probation Officer
Fresno County Probation Department

Mr. Anthony Pico
Legislative Aid
Office of Assembly Member Fiona Ma

Ms. Patricia S. Ploehn, LCSW
Director
Los Angeles County Department of Children
and Family Services

Ms. Maria D. Robles, R.N

Mr. Gary C. Seiser
Senior Deputy County Counsel
Office of County Counsel

Mr. Alan Slater
Chief Executive Officer
Superior Court of California, County of Orange

Mr. Joseph L. Spaeth
Public Defender
County of Marin

Hon. Darrell S. Steinberg
Senator
California State Senate,
Sixth Senate District

Hon. Dean T. Stout
Case Management & Data Exchange Systems Subcommittee Chair
Presiding Judge
Superior Court of California, County of Inyo

Mr. John A. Wagner
Director
California Department of Social Services

Ms. Jacqueline Wong
Consultant
Foster Youth Services Program
California Department of Education
Counseling, Student Support & Service Learning Office

Ex Officio
Hon. John Burton
Former President pro Tempore of the California State Senate
John Burton Foundation for Children Without Homes

Staff to the commission
Center for Families, Children & the Courts
Administrative Office of the Courts

Mr. Christopher Wu
Executive Director
California Blue Ribbon Commission on Children in Foster Care

Ms. Carolynn C. Bernabe
Staff Analyst

Ms. Megan Lafrenz
Coordinator

Mr. David Meyers
Attorney

Ms. Chantal Sampogna
Attorney

Ms. Sonya Tafoya
Research Analyst

Ms. Leah Wilson
Supervising Court Services Analyst

Ms. Renée Wessels
Consultant
Renée Wessels & Associates