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., Director of Quality Enhancement, Parent Representation, New York State Office of Indigent Legal Services
Hon. Gladys Carrión, Commissioner, New York City Administration for Children’s Services
Michael I. Cohen, M.D., Chairman Emeritus, Department of Pediatrics Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Montefiore Medical Center
Hon. Michael Corriero, Director, New York Center for Juvenile Justice; Retired Justice, Supreme Court Criminal Term, New York County
Hon. Carol Dankert-Maurer, Commissioner, Erie County Department of Social Services
Hon. Kathie E. Davidson, Supervising Judge, Family Courts, Ninth Judicial District
Hon. Monica Drinane, Retired Supervising Judge, New York City Family Court, Bronx County
Sheila Evans-Tranumn, Trustee, 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
Hon. 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
Hon. Martha Walsh Hood, Judge, Onondaga Family Court
Mary F. Kelly, Esq., Kelly and Knaplund
Hon. Howard Levine, Former Associate Judge, New York State Court of Appeals; Senior Counsel, 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
Hon. Jane Pearl, Judge, New York City Family Court, New York County
Hon. Karen Peters, Presiding Judge, Appellate Division, Third Department
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, Judge, Queens County Family Court
Hon. Rosalyn Richter, NYS Supreme Court Appellate Division, First Department
Hon. Jeanette Ruiz, Deputy Chief Administrative Judge and Supervising Judge Kings County Family Court
Hon. Helene Sacco, Supervising Judge, Richmond County Family Court
Andrew Schepard, Esq., Director of Center for Children, Families and the Law, Hofstra University
Hon. Carol Sherman, Supervising Judge, New York City Family Court, Bronx County
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
Bonnie Strauss, Broadcast Journalist and Documentary Filmmaker
Hon. Roberto Velez, Acting Commissioner, New York State Office of Children and Family Services
Hon. Margaret Walsh, Judge, Albany County Family Court
Lucia B. Whisenand, Esq., Lucia Beadel Whisenand, P.C.
Hon. Hope Zimmerman, Supervising Judge, Nassau County Matrimonial Parts; and Justice, Supreme Court, 10th Judicial District
Commission Staff
Executive Director
Kathleen R. DeCataldo, Esq.
Deputy Director
Toni A. Lang, Ph.D.