Chair, Members & Staff
Former Chief Judge Judith S. Kaye, Chair
Commission Members
Deborah Benson, Executive Director, New York State Council on Children and Families
Steven Blatt, M.D., Associate Professor of Pediatrics, SUNY Upstate Medical University
Katherine Briar-Lawson, Ph.D., Dean, School of Social Welfare, University at Albany
Angela Burton, Esq. Interim Assistant Dean for Student Affairs and Associate Professor of Law, CUNY School of Law
Geoffrey Canada, President, Harlem Children’s Zone
Gladys Carrión, Esq., Commissioner, New York State Office of Children and Family Services
Michael I. Cohen, M.D., Chairman Emeritus, Department of Pediatrics Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Montefiore Medical Center
Hon. Michael Corriero, Director of the New York Center for Juvenile Justice, New York Foundling Vincent J. Fontana Center for Child Protection; Retired Justice, Supreme Court Criminal Term, New York County
Carol Dankert, Commissioner, Erie County Department of Social Services
Hon. Kathie E. Davidson, Supervising Judge, Family Courts, Ninth Judicial District
Hon. Monica Drinane, Supervising Judge, New York City Family Court, Bronx County
Sheila Evans-Tranumn, Chair, Casey Family Programs Board of Trustees
Hon. Simcha Felder, Chair, Senate Standing Committee on Children and Families
Karen Freedman, Esq., Executive Director, Lawyers for Children
Hon. Michael Gage, Retired Administrative Judge, New York City Family Court
Judy Gerber, Esq., Educational Consultant
Michael Green, Executive Deputy Commissioner, New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services
Hon. Douglas Hoffman, Supervising Judge, New York City Family Court, New York County
Michael F. Hogan, Ph.D., Commissioner, New York State Office of Mental Health
Hon. Martha Walsh Hood, Judge, Onondaga Family Court
Mary F. Kelly, Esq., Kelly and Knaplund
John King, Ph.D., Commissioner, New York State Education Department
Hon. Howard Levine, Whiteman, Osterman & Hanna, LLP
Hon. Donna Lupardo, Chair, Assembly Children and Families Committee
Robert Maccarone, Deputy Commissioner and Director, Office of Probation and Correctional Alternatives, New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services
Hon. Sondra Miller, Retired Associate Justice Appellate Division, Second Department
Elba Montalvo, Executive Director, Committee for Hispanic Children & Families
Nicolette M. Pach, Retired Judge, Suffolk County Family Court
Hon. Jane Pearl, Judge, New York City Family Court, New York County
Jim Purcell, Chief Executive Officer, Council of Family and Child Caring Agencies
Hon. Edwina Richardson-Mendelson, Administrative Judge, New York City Family Courts
Hon. Ronald E. Richter, Commissioner, New York City Administration for Children's Services
Hon. Jeanette Ruiz, Supervising Judge Kings County Family Court
Hon. Helene Sacco, Supervising Judge, Richmond County Family Court
Nirav Shah, MD., MPH, Commission, New York State Department of Health
Andrew Schepard, Esq., Director of Center for Children, Families and the Law, Hofstra University
Charles S. Sims, Esq., Partner, Proskauer Rose LLP
Jane Spinak, J.D., Professor, Columbia Law SchoolÂ
Tamara Steckler, Esq., Attorney-in-Charge, Juvenile Rights Practice, Legal Aid Society
Hon. Carol Stokinger, Supervising Judge, New York City Family Court, Queens County
Hon. Margaret Walsh, Judge, Albany County Family Court
Lucia B. Whisenand, Esq., Lucia Beadel Whisenand, P.C.
Hon. Hope Zimmerman, Supervising Judge, Nassau County Family Court
Commission Staff
Executive Director
Kathleen R. DeCataldo, Esq.
Deputy Director
Toni A. Lang, Ph.D.