June 14, 2022
NJJN

***FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE***

June 14, 2022

Contact:  
Courtney McSwain 
202-792-9915  
mcswain@njjn.org 


(Washington, D.C.) --

NJJN Names Tucker and Clements Permanent Co-Executive Directors

The National Juvenile Justice Network (NJJN) is pleased to announce that Tracey Tucker and Alyson Clements have been appointed as permanent Co-Executive Directors after serving in an interim capacity since February. Together Tracey and Alyson have been part of NJJN for 16 years and bring with them a deep understanding of the network’s programs and communities.

The past few years have underscored the need for community and a vibrant network of people to lean on for hope, inspiration, and support. “We are lucky that NJJN has been that community for each of us,” said Tracey and Alyson. “As we look to the future, we are committed to making NJJN a space where young people too can find community and where together we fiercely advance policies that center healing and safety over justice and punishment.”

Niaz Kasravi assumes Board Chair position from John Williams

Dr. Niaz Kasravi has been voted as the new Chair of NJJN’s Board of Directors. Niaz is a national expert and advocate for criminal, social, and racial justice and is a long-time member of the NJJN community, having formerly served as the Deputy Director of NJJN member organization the Anti-Recidivism Coalition. Currently, Niaz is the Founder and Director of the Avalan Institute for Applied Research. She is also the former NAACP Director of Criminal Justice.

RISE for Youth’s Valerie Slater Named Vice Chair

Long-time advocate and NJJN member Valerie Slater has been voted as the new Vice Chair of NJJN’s Board of Directors. Valerie is the Executive Director of NJJN member organization RISE for Youth Coalition, a graduate of NJJN’s Youth Justice Leadership Institute and is a former winner of NJJN’s Youth Justice Emerging Leader Award. Previously, Valerie was a Juvenile Justice Attorney with Legal Aid Justice Center and coordinated RISE efforts while it was housed in the JustChildren Program of LAJC. Valerie also worked to protect the rights of children with disabilities in community, residential and juvenile justice facilities throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia at the disAbility Law Center of Virginia. Valerie has dedicated her life’s work to advocacy in its many forms to preserve and protect our most valuable resource,
our youth.

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The National Juvenile Justice Network leads a membership community of 60 state-based organizations and numerous individuals across 42 states and D.C. We all seek to shrink our youth justice systems and transform the remainder into systems that treat youth and families with dignity and humanity. Our work is premised on the fundamental understanding that our youth justice systems are inextricably bound with the systemic and structural racism that defines our society; as such we seek to change policy and practice through an anti-racist lens by building power with those who are most negatively affected by our justice systems, including young people, their families and all people of color. We also recognize that other vulnerable populations - including LGBTQIA+, those with disabilities and mental illness, girls and immigrants - are disparately and negatively impacted by our justice systems, and thus we also seek to center their concerns in our policy change work.

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