Biographies of Our Board Members 

Susan Dillard, Esq. is Northeast Regional Counsel for the Department Social Services. Prior to joining DSS in 2006, Attorney Dillard was Co-Director of the statewide Children and Family Law Program of the Committee for Public Counsel Services. Since 1980 Attorney Dillard's practice has focused on the field of child welfare. She has represented children and parents as assigned counsel in child welfare trials and appeals as well as private clients and agencies in adoption-related work.

Joshua Dohan is the Director of the Youth Advocacy Project, the only juvenile defender unit of the Massachusetts statewide public defender agency. He is a graduate of Harvard College (1980) and Northeastern University School of Law (1988). Joshua Dohan became a public defender in 1988 and joined YAP , at its inception, as its first staff attorney in 1992 and assumed the role of Director in 1999. Mr. Dohan is a returned Peace Corps volunteer, Ghana (1982-84). He is the 1998 recipient of the Access to Justice Award from the Massachusetts Bar Association. Mr. Dohan is on the Board of Directors of the African American Federation of Greater Boston, a founding Member of the Equal Justice Partnership, a Eureka Fellow, a member of the LeadBoston class of 2001, and a member of the Community Advisory Board of the Institute on Race and Justice.

Thomas Grisso, Ph.D., a clinical psychologist, is Professor of Psychiatry and Director of the Law and Psychiatry Program at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. His research interests include clinical forensic assessment in criminal and juvenile cases, developmental issues in juvenile law, mental health needs of youths in the juvenile justice system, and risk of violence in adults and youths with mental disorders. Among Dr. Grisso's many accomplishments (too many to list here) is his participation in the renowned MacArthur Foundation Research Network on Adolescent Development and Juvenile Justice .

John J. Larivee is the Chief Executive Officer of Community Resources for Justice, a 126-year-old non-profit corporation located in Boston , MA . CRJ's services include research, public education and advocacy on critical issues in criminal and juvenile justice. CRJ also provides residential and day services to adult offenders, troubled youth, and mentally retarded/developmentally disabled individuals helping them to live civil and productive lives. John has been with CRJ for 30 years, serving as its Chief Executive since 1985. John is President and a founding member of Citizens for Juvenile Justice, a member of the Board of the Massachusetts Council of Human Service Providers, and Past President of the International Community Corrections Association. For the Commonwealth of Massachusetts , John has served on the Governor's Advisory Council on Corrections and the Advisory Council Youth Services.

William Lyttle has been President of Key since 1977. Bill holds a B.A. in Psychology from Boston University , and a M.Ed. in Leadership and Educational Administration from Worcester State College. He has served in numerous public policy leadership positions including President of the Massachusetts Council of Human Service Providers, Chairperson of the Children's League of Massachusetts, and Chairperson of the Trustees of Worcester State College. Bill is a founding member of Citizens For Juvenile Justice and has received many awards for leadership including the Richard J. Bond Award for Excellence in Human Services.

Rebecca Pries, LMHC , serves as Executive Director of Adolescent Consultation Services (ACS). ACS operates the Middlesex County Juvenile Court Clinics, which provide a range of diagnostic and therapeutic services for high-risk, court-involved youth and their families. Rebecca has a particular interest in effective treatment responses and delivery of services for youth with mental health and behavior problems. She supervises the clinical work of child psychiatry fellows and graduate student interns placed at the Cambridge Juvenile Court Clinic. She is co-author of the book, Kids and the Law: A User's Guide to the Court System , a practical guide to laws and court practices that affect juveniles, currently available in Spanish-English and Khmer-English editions.

Jeanne M. Schuster, Esq., CPA is a senior tax manager at Ernst & Young LLP specializing in tax-exempt organizations.  Her experience with tax-exempt organizations includes representation during IRS and state audits, including IRS CEP examinations, mergers and reorganizations of exempt and taxable corporations, applications for exempt status, unrelated business income tax, employment tax, information reporting and sales tax issues.  She is an Adjunct Professor at Suffolk University and  teaches a course on Tax-Exempt Organizations.   Ms. Schuster is a member of the American Bar Association, Boston Bar Association and Mass Bar Association. She is also a member of the Healthcare Financial Management Association-Tax Committee. Schuster received her B.S. Degree in Accounting from Bentley College , her Juris Doctor from the New England School of Law and her LL.M. Degree from Boston University School of Law.

Ed Stern , President of CfJJ from 2001-2003, began his involvement representing juveniles in Massachusetts as a staff attorney at the Boston Legal Assistance Project/Juvenile Court Advocacy Program. From there he moved on to the Legal Counsel for Treatment Alternative to Street Crime for Juveniles at the Youth Activities Committee for the City of Boston . He has been teaching juvenile delinquency and criminal and juvenile justice classes with internships at the University of Massachusetts at Boston for the past 29 years. Presently, most of his time is split between the private practice of law and academic interests. He writes a regular column in The New England Psychologist (formerly The Massachusetts Psychologist) covering a number of juvenile issues in several of the articles.

Scott Taberner has been Chief Executive Officer of the Massachusetts Behavioral Health Partnership since October 2005. Previously, Mr. Taberner was the Chief Financial Officer at MBHP for three years. Prior to joining MBHP in 2002, Mr. Taberner worked within state government for 21 years, 13 of which were at the Department of Youth Services. At DYS he held a number of senior positions, including Assistant Commissioner for Administration and Systems and Assistant Commissioner for Community Services. He also served as Finance Director at the Massachusetts Parole Board for five years, and began his career as a senior budget analyst at the Senate Committee on Ways and Means. Mr. Taberner received his B.A. from Assumption College and earned his Masters in Public Administration at the University of Massachusetts.

Susan Wayne is Vice President for Development at the Justice Resource Institute and President of Wayne Associates. She served as Chief Executive of the Justice Resource Institute from 1979 until September of 2006. She has served as Deputy Commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Youth Services, Deputy Commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Community Affairs, and Director of Program and Staff Development at the New York State Urban Development Corporation. She has also held other public and private positions in New York, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Minnesota.

Cheryl Vince Whitman has been a Senior Vice President at Education Development Center and Division Director of EDC's Health and Human Development Programs since 1992. She has also served as the Director of the World Health Organization's Collaborating Center since 1997. Ms. Whitman received her B.A. in Psychology from Boston University and her Masters in Education (EdM) in Human Development from Harvard University's Graduate School of Education.