JPRC

JPRC teammates win WestEd staff awards

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JPRC teammates win WestEd staff awards

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Each year, WestEd announces employee awards in several categories. Two of our teammates, Sarah Russo and Anthony Petrosino, each won an award.

Sarah Russo

Sarah Russo, Ed Myers Award for Exceptional Contribution to the WestEd Community

The Ed Myers Award, named for the late Chief Administrative Officer at WestEd, celebrates recipients who make positive and sustainable impacts to WestEd’s culture and/or the way it works. Sarah, a research associate on the JPRC team, won this award for, among other things, exemplifying the ethos of building and sustaining a positive culture within WestEd through her unwavering commitment to fostering collaboration, nurturing genuine relationships, and promoting a reflective mindset.

Anthony Petrosino

Anthony Petrosino, Glen Harvey Award for Uplifting and Empowering Colleagues

This award, named for WestEd’s former CEO (who retired in 2023 after 26 years), honors those who support their teammates through impactful mentoring, thought partnership, and inquiry. Anthony, JPRC Director, was given this award to recognize how he systematically uses his position in the field to uplift junior researchers and support their growth.

 

Launch of OJJDP-funded Continuum of Care Project for Youth in Pennsylvania

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The Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency (PCCD), in partnership with the JPRC, were funded by the Office of Juvenile Justice & Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) under its Continuum of Care for Local Communities grant program to implement the Supporting Youth Success in PA – Statewide Planning & Assessment Initiative project.

This funding will support the design, implementation, and sustainment of local coordinated continuums of care and opportunity for at-risk and system-involved youth in the Commonwealth, particularly in areas with limited resources/high levels of need. The project will engage state and local partners throughout Pennsylvania’s youth-serving infrastructure through a comprehensive and collaborative systems mapping, assessment, and planning process. The ultimate objective is the creation of a comprehensive statewide plan built on detailed cross-system data analysis offering funding, policy, and program recommendations to guide PA’s youth-focused services.

A press conference to launch this project and another Continuum of Care grant awarded to the City of Philadelphia, was held on Friday, April 12. Speakers included OJJDP Administrator Liz Ryan, PCCD Executive Director Michael Pennington, Deputy Director of Philadelphia’s Office of Criminal Justice Lisa Varon, the Founder/Executive Director of the Bench Mark Program Will Keifer, and Shylah Searfoss and Trevor Losch, Youth Participants in the Bench Mark Program. Lori Toscano, the JPRC’s Director of Justice Technical Assistance (pictured), also gave remarks about the project.

New JPRC Teammate: Josh Carmouche

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We are excited to welcome Josh Carmouche to the WestEd JPRC team.

Josh is a School Safety Technical Assistance Specialist. He brings specialized experience in emergency management, physical security, and behavioral threat assessment strategies for the K-12 and junior college audiences.

You can learn more about Josh and all JPRC staff at the Who We Are page.

 

Josh Carmouche

New JPRC teammate: Jeff Caldwell, school safety specialist

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We are excited to welcome Jeff Caldwell to the WestEd JPRC team.

Jeff is a Senior Lead in School Safety in the Justice and Prevention Division. He is the former Associate Director of School Safety Readiness at the Texas School Safety Center, where he was involved in the creation and implementation of statewide initiatives for school safety. You can learn more about Jeff and all JPRC staff at the Who We Are page.

Jeff Caldwell