Special Notice / Hearing: None__
Vote Required: Majority
To: Honorable Board of Supervisors
From: Neal I. Taniguchi, Court Executive Officer
Subject: Juvenile Justice & Delinquency Prevention Commission Appointments
RECOMMENDATION:
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Recommendation for three appointments to the Juvenile Justice & Delinquency Prevention Commission:
A) Victor Lecha III, for an initial partial term ending December 31, 2021; and
B) Rocsana Enriquez, for an initial term ending December 31, 2024; and
C) Karin Huber-Levy, for an initial term ending December 31, 2024.
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BACKGROUND:
For the efficient and effective statutory compliance of the review of juvenile operations in this county, the Court and the Board have agreed that the appointees by the Court to the Juvenile Justice Commission are appointed concurrently by the Board of Supervisors to the Juvenile Justice & Delinquency Prevention Commission.
DISCUSSION:
With the recommendation of the Juvenile Judge Susan Irene Etezadi, Presiding Judge Leland Davis III has appointed Victor Lecha III, Rocsana Enriquez and Karin Huber-Levy to the Juvenile Justice & Delinquency Prevention Commission for the term prescribed by law. Victor Lecha III is being recommended to serve a partial term ending December 31, 2021 for a seat previously held by Daniel Casillas who no longer serves on the commission. Rocsana Enriquez and Karin Huber-Levy are being recommended to serve full terms ending December 31, 2024. This is a request that the Board of Supervisors appoints the above-listed commissioners to the Juvenile Justice & Delinquency Prevention Commission.
Victor Lecha III is a social worker, licensed mental health clinician, activist, and former legislative assistant. His social work focuses on juvenile behavioral health and he has deep experience working with juveniles in the dependency and delinquency systems who have experienced domestic violence, commercial sexual exploitation, and addiction. As a clinician, he has collaborated with Children and Family Services, Probation, and coordinated transition services in Contra Costa County, Alameda County, and Santa Clara County. He has recently been employed by Puente, a nonprofit community resource center for the coastside of San Mateo County, to provide therapy to elementary and high school students. He also has experience as an activist for tenants in San Jose, as a Congressional Assistant to Zoe Lofgren, as a Commissioner for the Alcohol and Other Drugs Advisory Board in Contra Costa County and as a nonprofit board member. He has strong empathic and communication skills, understands policy, and has demonstrated effectiveness in creating alliances and in negotiation. He is bilingual in English and Spanish.
Rocsana Enriquez is a therapeutic yoga instructor for the Art of Yoga in YSC and Camp Kemp and a business development program manager with AbleWorks - a program that offers financial and life skills for youth and young families in East Palo Alto. She experienced the San Mateo County dependency system and the YSC as a youth. She was raised in and lives in North Fair Oaks - an underserved and a targeted neighborhood for our work. Her undergraduate work was in administrative justice and public policy. She is a board member and parent activist with Innovate Public Schools and Connect Charter School. She worked on outreach to the Latinx community for the CCCS Get Healthy San Mateo project, WeVoteRWC, and the 2020 Census. She is bilingual in Spanish and English. She is trained in restorative justice and trauma-informed practices.
Karin Huber-Levy is a former General Counsel in pharmaceuticals and, for the last 20 years, while raising her children, a full-time volunteer. She is skilled with legislation, strategic planning, programming, database development, writing and editing. Her volunteer work has focused on education and includes direct service to youth, program development, School Site Council, PTA, and serving on the boards of schools and foundations. She has formally trained in philanthropic leadership and is well-informed on issues that affect underserved and system-involved youth.
FISCAL IMPACT:
None.