Linda Penner, Chair of the Board of State and Community Corrections
Composition: The Chair of the Board is a full-time paid position, appointed by the Governor and subject to Senate confirmation.
Linda Penner has served as a member of the Board of State and Community Corrections since 2012 and its predecessor, the Corrections Standards Authority Board, from 2007 until 2012. Governor Edmund G. “Jerry” Brown appointed her chair of the BSCC in 2013.
As Chair, Ms. Penner has led work on some of the agency’s most complex rehabilitative grants, including Proposition 47, the Adult Rehabilitative Grant program and the federal Justice Assistance Grant. She represents the Board at stakeholder meetings across California.
Ms. Penner served as Chief Probation Officer for the County of Fresno from 2005 to 2012. Through her stewardship the department transitioned to Evidenced-Based Practices for recidivism reduction while ensuring community safety. Ms. Penner created a culture of integrity and professionalism through fairness and equity to both the courts and to system-impacted individuals. Ms. Penner recognized that public safety services include rehabilitation services, and through her leadership Fresno County Probation initiated policies, practices and services to reduce crime through assessment-based accountability programs.
As Chief, Ms. Penner led the local effort introducing the concepts of Public Safety Realignment through innovative supervision and service programs designed to reduce recidivism, including a multiagency supervision team and evidence-based services.
Early in her career Ms. Penner held multiple positions at the Fresno County probation department, including probation division director, services manager, probation officer and group counselor. She also has been a member of the State Advisory Committee on Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention since 2007. Additionally, she chaired the Fresno County Community Corrections Partnership for two years.
In 2011, Ms. Penner served as the president of the California Probation Officers Association of California, working closely with Governor Brown on the design and implementation of the groundbreaking Public Safety Realignment legislation that has influenced justice reform nationwide.
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Scott Budnick, Founder of Anti-Recidivism Coalition
Composition: A community provider of rehabilitative treatment or services for adult offenders, appointed by the Speaker of the Assembly
Scott Budnick is the founder of the Anti-Recidivism Coalition (ARC), an organization of very high-achieving formerly incarcerated young adults who work to support one another, while stopping the flow of men and woman into the criminal justice system.
Mr. Budnick grew up in Atlanta, Georgia and graduated from Emory University in 1999 with degrees in Business and Film. He began his film career working in casting and as an Assistant to director Todd Phillips for DreamWorks. He went to work for TriStar Pictures chairman, Mike Medavoy at Phoenix Pictures, and worked first-hand in the development of over forty films. He later returned to work with Phillips and was chosen as Executive Vice President of Phillips’ Production Company producing projects under the Green Hat Films banner, now based at Warner Bros Studios. He has produced such films as the The Hangover series, Old School, Project X, Starsky and Hutch, School for Scoundrels, and Due Date.
Mr. Budnick is a fierce champion for children in need. For his work with youth in the criminal justice system, Governor Jerry Brown named him California’s Volunteer of the Year for 2012. He also received the Volunteer of the Year award from the Los Angeles County Supervisors and was interviewed by Chelsea Clinton for NBC Nightly News, Making a Difference series. He is a teacher and sits on the advisory board for InsideOUT Writers, is a board member of the Los Angeles Conservation Corps, and is a member of the advisory board for the Loyola Law School, Center for Juvenile Law and Policy.
In addition to the above, Mr. Budnick works closely with the Los Angeles Probation Department, the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department and the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, in giving incarcerated youth a path to education, success and rehabilitation before their release. He can often be found walking the tiers of California jails and prisons on his nights and weekends, giving hope and words of advice to the many incarcerated youth who have been through his classes.
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Cindy Chavez, Santa Clara County Supervisor
Composition: A county supervisor or county administrative officer. This member shall be appointed by the Governor, subject to Senate confirmation
Recently appointed by the Governor to the BSCC, Supervisor Cindy Chavez represents more than a half million people in East, Central and South San Jose. She serves as Chair of Bay Area Air Quality Management District and is a member of the CalTrain Board of Directors. As a commissioner she represents Santa Clara County on the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, and she serves on the Valley Transportation Authority Board of Directors.
Supervisor Chavez’s policies have played a vital role in Santa Clara County’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic providing outreach to ensure all county residents have access to vaccines. Ms. Chavez worked to expand and improve services for abused children at the new Children’s Advocacy Center; to provide comprehensive services and resources for Santa Clara County’s foster youth; to make expansive structural changes so school children in disadvantaged areas will have digital and broadband services; and to provide health care for all children. In collaboration with non-profit agencies in the County, Board President Chavez led a movement to get a 400 percent increase in funding for survivors of sexual assault, human trafficking and gender-based violence. The funding provides services including affordable housing, mental health, job training, education and childcare.
In 2016, Ms. Chavez was instrumental in getting a $950-million affordable housing bond passed for Santa Clara County. Additionally the County, working with the City of San Jose and non-profits, launched the Heading Home program to help house the county's homeless families. Soon the Affordable Housing Units for Seniors will open in San Jose. Due to Supervisor Chavez's tireless efforts, many projects are underway to address homelessness and affordable housing.
Inspired by the 100th anniversary of women's right to vote in August 2020, Ms. Chavez worked to mobilize and register voters and underscore the need for an accurate 2020 Census. She organized a pre-pandemic march to mark the anniversary milestone and bring attention to inequities that remain for women and people of color.
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Norma Cumpian, Assistant Deputy Director, Women's Department, Anti-Recidivism Coalition
Composition: A public member, appointed by the Governor, subject to Senate confirmation
Norma Cumpian, the Anti-Recidivism Coalition’s (ARC) Women and Non-Binary Services Manager, joined ARC in March 2016 as a Life Coach after nearly five years working in the criminal justice reform and nonprofit sector. As a formerly incarcerated woman, Norma has firsthand experience in the many challenges of reentry, making her a compassionate and effective guide for young people learning to navigate society after coming home from prison.
Norma is a fierce advocate for incarcerated women and girls. She has traveled to the California State Capitol to educate legislators, spoken on panels, and presented in numerous classrooms in order to affect change for incarcerated women, mothers, and girls and to create a fairer justice system for all. In 2019, she co-designed and launched ARC’s first Women and Non-Binary Services department to better serve the needs of 1,300+ formerly incarcerated members, as well as 50+ incarcerated women through inside programming at the California Institution for Women in Corona, CA. In all of her work, Norma seeks to carve out spaces to ensure that everyone’s voices are heard and valued.
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Shannon D. Dicus, Sheriff, San Bernardino County
Composition: A county sheriff in charge of a local detention facility which has a BSCC rated capacity of over 200 inmates, appointed by the Governor, subject to Senate confirmation
Shannon D. Dicus was appointed as the 36th Sheriff-Coroner for San Bernardino County on July 14, 2021. San Bernardino County has over 2 million residents and is the nation’s largest county geographically spanning more than 20,056 miles. The Department oversees the unincorporated county areas, operates the county jail systems, provides marshal services in the county courts and contracts law enforcement services to 14 of the 24 incorporated cities within the county. The Department consists of 2007 sworn personnel, 2073 professional employees and 1552 volunteers, with an annual budget of over $800 million dollars.
Shannon was raised in a law-enforcement family and has lived in San Bernardino County for over 40 years. Shannon always knew he wanted to go into law enforcement and became a Sheriff’s Explorer Scout while still in high school. After graduating, he enlisted in the United States Army and was assigned to the 101st Airborne Division where he served as a Military Police Officer at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, and in Sinai, Egypt. After his military service, Shannon worked for the Department of Veterans Affairs Police Department in Loma Linda, California until he was hired by the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department in 1991. Shannon graduated the 106th Basic Academy session and has since held positions at every rank within the Department. His past assignments include Corrections as well as Patrol in Barstow, Apple Valley, Victorville City, and the Victor Valley Station. He has also worked specialized details to include Narcotics, SWAT, and Criminal Intelligence. More recently, Shannon served as the Department’s Undersheriff, where he oversaw day-to-day operations, as well as the Internal Affairs, Civil Liabilities and Bureau of Administration Divisions. Shannon has a bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice from California State University San Bernardino and a master’s degree in Communications from California Baptist University.
As a longtime resident of San Bernardino County, Shannon is devoted to the citizens of the county and is always looking for new and innovative ways to better serve them. Shannon believes in developing progressive programs that not only assist the public, but also those reentering society. Shannon has led the way in instituting programs focusing on inmate rehabilitation and reentry, department crisis/mental health response and county homelessness; to name a few. Shannon also takes great pride in being part of developing the Department’s NextGen Info Exchange. This program focuses on communicating with our younger community members (ages 16-35) where they can voice their concerns and ask questions about important issues that are vital to their generation. Through all this, Shannon maintains his priorities of improving community relationships, public confidence and affecting positive change from within the Department.
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Janet Gaard, Retired Judge, Yolo County
Composition: A judge appointed by the Judicial Council of California
Janet Gaard was appointed to the Yolo County Superior Court in 2008. She presided over criminal, juvenile, civil, and family law cases, and she served as the court's Presiding Judge and Assistant Presiding Judge. For many years, she presided over the court's collaborative courts, and, in 2019, she was awarded the Yolo Outstanding Mental Health Community Service Award from the local chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness. Gaard began her legal career in 1983 as a staff attorney for the Third District Court of Appeal. In 1984 she joined the California Office of the Attorney General, where she remained until her judicial appointment. She served as a Deputy Attorney General in the Criminal Division; Special Assistant Attorney General and Director of Legislative Affairs; and Chief Assistant Attorney General for the Division of Public Rights.
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Kirk Haynes, Chief Probation Officer of Fresno County
Composition: A chief probation officer from a county with a population over 200,000, appointed by the Governor, subject to Senate confirmation
Chief Kirk Haynes, a 27-year veteran of the Fresno County Probation Department, is a graduate of the University of Oregon, and United States Marine Corps Reserve veteran. During his Probation career, Chief Haynes worked multiple assignments in the Adult, Juvenile, and Institutional Divisions. He led the department’s efforts in the design and implementation of the Community Corrections Performance Incentive Act of 2009 (SB 678), and the department’s AB 109 program established by the California Public Safety Realignment Act of 2011.
A primary tenet of this historic legislation was the introduction of Evidence-Based Practices (EBP). He quickly became the department’s leader in EBP and has spent countless hours training staff and representing the department’s goals and strategies to the Courts, and other justice and community-based partners. As Chief, he is committed to deploying innovative interventions with good research support that encourage positive quantifiable outcomes.
Chief Haynes is a strong advocate for developing staff’s ability to provide effective supervision through identifying the individual risks and recognizing cultural inequities impacting those we supervise in the community. He encourages a continual reexamination of the department’s service delivery, which is fundamental to sound culturally sensitive, evidence-based practice development. He continually reinforces how the work of Probation directly correlates to public safety, striking the balance between Probation’s multi-faceted role as law enforcer, protector of victims, and advocate for the clients they serve.
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Jason Johnson, Director, Division of Adult Parole Operations (CDCR)
Composition: Ex-Officio Member
Jason Johnson, of Redlands, was appointed as the Director of the Division of Adult Parole Operations at the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation by Governor Gavin Newsom in September 2023. Prior to that Director Johnson has been the Chief Deputy Regional Administrator since 2023 and held several positions from 2006 to 2023, including Parole Administrator, Parole Agent Supervisor and Parole Agent. Johnson was a Probation Officer at the San Bernardino County Probation Department from 2001 to 2006. He is a member of the Los Angeles County Police Chiefs’ Association, Orange County Chiefs of Police and Sheriffs Association, and the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation Career Development Advisory Committee. Johnson earned a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Redlands and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Criminal Justice from California State University, Fullerton.
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Jeffrey Macomber, Secretary, California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR)
Composition: Ex-Officio Member
Jeff Macomber’s career at CDCR has spanned nearly three decades, beginning as a Correctional Officer at Ironwood State Prison in 1993. He has diverse experience at CDCR, including leadership roles in custody, administration, and health care.
Secretary Macomber served in various roles at CDCR Headquarters from 1994 to 2004, then as Correctional Business Manager at Richard A. McGee Correctional Training Center from 2000 to 2004. He was Chief of the Program Support Unit and Transportation Unit from 2004 to 2007, and then started at California State Prison-Sacramento (SAC) as a Correctional Administrator in 2008. While at SAC, Macomber served as Chief Deputy Warden in 2009, then again from 2010–2013, and as Warden from 2013–2016. Following his tenure at SAC, he became Deputy Director of Facility Support in the Division of Adult Institutions from 2016 to 2018. In 2019, Mr. Macomber served as the Director of Corrections Services for California Correctional Health Care Services before becoming the Undersecretary of Administration. In late 2020, he transitioned to Undersecretary of Operations and in December 2022, was appointed Secretary.
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Andrew Mills, Chief of Police, City of Palm Springs
Composition: A chief of police, appointed by the Governor, subject to Senate confirmation
Andrew Mills was appointed the Chief of Police for the City of Palm Springs in November 2021. Prior to that he was Chief of Police for the City of Santa Cruz, With nearly four decades of law enforcement experience, he has strived to become a community-centric and effective crime fighter. He compassionately confronts some of society’s most challenging problems openly and transparently.
Mills was the 2000 recipient of the Police Executive Research Forum’s Gary P. Hayes award for his contributions to improving the quality of police service nationally. Mills managed one patrol team that won the Herman Goldstein Award for Excellence in Problem-Oriented Policing and three others that were finalists. His work in the field is documented in several publications by PERF and the COPS Office. Chief Mills has authored and published in several other periodicals.
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Brian Richart, Chief Probation Officer, El Dorado County
Composition: A chief probation officer from a county with a population under 200,000, appointed by the Governor, subject to Senate confirmation
Brian Richart has served as the Chief Probation Officer for the County of El Dorado since 2013. Chief Richart served three years as the Probation Chief of Staff in the county of Alameda and served a thirteen-year career with the County of Shasta, including four years as Chief Probation Officer. Chief Richart is a member of the Chief Probation Officers of California (CPOC) where he was President of the association in 2020 and has served in various roles such as Vice President, Secretary, Sacramento Regional Chair, and committee chair. He is a member of CPOC’s President’s Round Table, Legislative Committee, Juvenile Services Committee, and Executive Steering Committee. Chief Richart was recently re-appointed by the Chief Justice of the California Supreme Court to the Family and Juvenile Law Advisory Committee of the California Judicial Council. Chief Richart is a member of the Robert F. Kennedy National Resource Center for Juvenile Justice Practice Network, and a contributing member of the American Probation and Parole Association. He has participated in many state and national initiatives to improve practices and outcomes in the fields of juvenile and criminal justice as well as child welfare. Chief Richart advocates for the safety of all communities through the evolution of health, well-being, and accountability for all those probation serves.
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Eric Taylor, Sheriff, San Benito County
Composition: A county sheriff in charge of a local detention facility which has a BSCC rated capacity of 200 or less inmates, appointed by the Governor, subject to Senate confirmation
Eric S. Taylor is the 16th Sheriff-Coroner (Marshal) of San Benito County. He was most recently assigned as a Captain and Commander of the Operations Division prior to his appointment to Sheriff-Coroner in June of 2021 and Election as Sheriff-Coroner in June of 2022. His term began January 3, 2023.
San Benito County has approximately 68,000 residents and spans nearly 1400 square miles. The Office provides patrol and investigative services to the unincorporated county areas. The Sheriff operates the county jail system, provides marshal services to county residents, provides security to the superior court, maintains a search and rescue team, provides coroner services, and contracts law enforcement services to one of two incorporated cities within the county. The Office consists of 34 sworn personnel, 36 non-sworn correctional officers and 10 professional employees. Our annual budget is approximately 16 million dollars.
Eric was born and raised in Watsonville, California. After high school, Eric went on to college at San Diego State University. While there, he entered the “Police Cadet” program at the San Diego Police Department. This experience fueled his passion for entering into policework. Prior to his policing career, Eric was the Stadium Operations Manager for the Oakland Athletics Baseball Co. In 1999, he left the A’s to pursue law enforcement in his hometown of Watsonville. In 2014, Eric left the Watsonville Police Department and became the Operations Captain for the San Benito County Sheriff’s Office. In addition, he is a founding member of the Family Impact Center with First 5 San Benito, a founding member of the Opioid Task Force in San Benito County, a Hollister Rotarian, a Director for the San Benito Saddle Horse Show & Rodeo, a member of LULAC and the LULAC Farm Worker Task Force and was the Co-Chair of the Child Abuse Prevention Council. Sheriff Taylor draws on his experience from the Watsonville Police Department where he was a Patrol Officer, Field Training Officer, Corporal, Gang Detective, Task Force Member, Patrol Sergeant, and Detective Sergeant.
Eric and his wife moved to Hollister in 2003 and have raised their children in San Benito County. Eric’s wife was born and raised in Michoacan, Mexico and their two daughters are of dual ethnicity. It is his immersion in the Mexican culture that has fueled Eric’s work with the Migrant Farmworker Task Force, LULAC, the San Benito County Latino Coalition and his launch of a program from Watsonville Police Department called “Agua con la Chota.”
Once he took over as Sheriff-Coroner of San Benito County, Eric has worked internally to bring a new level of structure, accountability, and customer service. He has a deep love and passion for his farming/ranching community and strives to make his office better each and every day.
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Angeles D. Zaragoza, Attorney, Los Angeles County Alternate Public Defender’s Office
Composition: A community provider or advocate with expertise in effective programs, policies, and treatment of at-promise youth and juvenile offenders, appointed by the Senate Committee on Rules
Angeles has been with the Los Angeles County Alternate Public Defender’s Office for nine years and is currently wearing two hats, serving as a Resource Attorney doing special education advocacy, and as the Division of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) Attorney for her office where she represents youth detained within the DJJ facilities. Angeles is a graduate from UCLA Law school and received her B.A. from UC Berkeley. She is a resident of East Los Angeles where she resides with her husband and two boys, ages 5 and 3.
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