Governor's Office Appoints Nine to TJJD Board

By TJJD Communications

We’re excited to announce that on Tuesday, Dec. 19, the Office of the Governor appointed nine members to TJJD’s newly structured governing board.

New TJJD Board MembersThe new nine-member board will be composed of three returning members:

  • Chairman Scott Matthew, the Chief Juvenile Probation Officer for Williamson County
  • Chief Edeska Barnes, the Chief Juvenile Probation Officer for the First Judicial District in East Texas
  • Judge Cindi Wheless, the presiding judge of the 417th District Court in Collin County

And six new members:

  • Joe Barton, Ph.D., of Canyon, a licensed professional counselor and the chief juvenile probation officer for Randall County
  • Jerry Bullard of Colleyville, a shareholder and attorney with Adams, Lynch & Loftin, P.C.
  • William “Will” Durham of Huntsville, the criminal district attorney for the Walker County Criminal District Attorney’s Office
  • Stephanie House of Liberty Hill, a school principal at Georgetown ISD
  • Luis Leija of Port Lavaca, the chief juvenile probation officer with Calhoun County
  • Manny Ramirez of Fort Worth, a Tarrant County commissioner and a 15-year veteran police officer

In a message to members today, Executive Director Shandra Carter welcomed appointees to the TJJD family. She also emphasized TJJD’s quest to use significant investments from state leadership to become a much improved, “unrecognizable” agency.

"We’ve been taking this legislative directive seriously over the past several months, resulting in bold and research-based initiatives aimed at increasing safety, accountability, and transparency – TJJD’s core values,” Carter wrote. “I’m eager to see what we can achieve together for Texans.”

The board’s first public meeting is scheduled for Feb. 16 in Waco.

Please see additional biographical information about the new board members on our website.