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.
The 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.