NCJJ Staff

Interim Director

Melissa Sickmund, Ph.D. Interim Director   Dr. Melissa Sickmund joined NCJJ in 1986. Dr. Sickmund directs two OJJDP (USDOJ)-funded projects, the National Juvenile Court Data Archive and the National Juvenile Justice Data Analysis Project, and a study of reoffending for District of Columbia courts. She is co-director of a Bureau of Justice Statistics (USDOJ)-funded Survey of Juveniles Charged as Adults in Criminal Court. She is also the principal analyst of (OJJDP-sponsored) Census of Juveniles in Residential Placement and Juvenile Residential Facility Census data collections. Dr. Sickmund is best known for the Juvenile Offenders and Victims publication series.

Administrative Staff

Kristy Bronson Connors Manager of Administrative Services   Kristy has been with NCJJ since August 1998 after graduating from college with a degree in English/Technical Writing. Kristy is responsible for managing daily office operations, assisting the NCJJ Director, acting as the accounting and human resources liaison with NCJFCJ headquarters in Reno, coordinating consultants/contracts, coordinating NCJJ Board of Fellows meetings and designing layout for various NCJJ publications. Kristy has had a hand in producing dozens of different publications for NCJJ during her tenure.

Dennis Sullivan Systems Administrator   Since 1980, Dennis has been providing IT support to NCJJ staff after earning his B.S. from the University of Pittsburgh, majoring in Mathematics and Computer Science.  Initially, he was responsible for data analysis and computer programming on the National Juvenile Court Data Archive and the National Uniform Juvenile Justice Reporting System projects as well as assisting with an array of desktop publishing and data reporting work during his tenure at the Center. In 2004, Dennis was promoted to the position of Systems Administrator and in this role he oversees all of the Center’s information technology functions and development.

Lora Leddy Senior Administrative Assistant   Lora Leddy joined NCJJ in 2003 as an Administrative Assistant. In 2009, Lora was promoted to Senior Administrative Assistant. In this role, Lora's main responsibilities lie in project administration ranging from scheduling meetings/travel to grant submissions to desktop publishing. Lora is also responsible for various overall NCJJ tasks including fund development activities (foundations/corporations, state registrations and procurement), inventory tracking and design of various publications and business advertisements.

Nina Hyland Administrative Assistant II   Nina joined the NCJJ in May 2010 after relocating from Rochester, NY, and currently holds the position of Administrative Assistant II. In May 2009, she received her Bachelor of Science from the State University of New York at Fredonia, double majoring in Public Relations and Media Management. Nina currently works on the Maurice B. Cohill, Jr. Young Investigator Award, a college scholarship for high school juniors and seniors. She also assists with general administrative needs and project support.

Research Staff

Alphabetical by last name

Ben Adams Research Associate II   Ben Adams joined NCJJ in 2006 after graduating from the University of Pennsylvania with a Masters degree in Criminology. His primary projects are the National Juvenile Justice Data Analysis Project and the National Juvenile Court Data Archive where he co-authors reports and web-based products, and maintains much of the content on OJJDP’s Statistical Briefing Book. He analyzes various national data sets, including the FBI’s Supplementary Homicide Reports, National Incident Based Reporting System, and Uniform Crime Reporting Program. He serves as project manager for the BJS-funded Survey of Juveniles Charged as Adults in Criminal Court.

Sean Addie, Esq. Policy Analyst III   Sean joined NCJJ in 2008. A licensed attorney, he performs legal research and policy analysis for NCJJ. He has worked on the National Juvenile Court Data Archive and the National Juvenile Justice Data Analysis Project on varying subjects such as sexual offense classification, upper age of jurisdiction, the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Preven¬tion Act (JJDPA), and transfer to criminal court. Sean has worked to identify the number and characteristics of transferred juveniles in the United States. He has also worked to track the JJDPA as it is applied around the country and on a report on American Indian youth.

Greg Chamberlin Computer Programmer II   Greg joined NCJJ in December 2009 as a Computer Programmer II.  He graduated from Gannon University with a B.S. in Software Engineering.  He has been working in the Systems Research Division at NCJJ primarily on the National Juvenile Court Data Archive, processing information and documenting data. Greg has also taken part in the Supplementary Homicide Reporting (SHR) Project, which provides easy access to information on homicide incidents collected annually by the FBI.

Teri Deal Research Associate I   Teri studied at the University of Pittsburgh and later earned a Master’s degree from the University of Virginia. After years of direct service with youth in the child welfare and juvenile justice systems, Teri began working with the National Center for Juvenile Justice in 2009.  She is currently working on the Quality Improvement Initiative (Qii).  This initiative, funded by the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency, aims to improve the quality of interventions for juveniles across the state of Pennsylvania through training and technical assistance.

Anne George Research Associate I   Anne joined NCJJ in 2010. She received a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology from the University of Florida in 2006 and a Master’s of Public Health from the University of Pittsburgh in 2008. While at the University of Pittsburgh Anne also earned a Certificate in Program Evaluation. She has extensive quantitative and qualitative research experience including coordinating projects, tracking research participants, conducting surveys, focus groups, and key informant interviews, analyzing data, and disseminating results.

Gregg Halemba Senior Research Associate Gregg Halemba joined the staff of the National Center for Juvenile Justice in November, 1990 and served as Chief of Applied Research from September 1997 through March 2011.  During his NCJJ tenure, Gregg has served as project director on a variety of juvenile justice, child protection, and family court research projects and has provided technical assistance to a number of juvenile/family courts on matters related to case flow management, court calendaring, and information system development. Gregg has also conducted considerable research on issues surrounding the court processing of dual jurisdiction youth.

Sarah Hockenberry Research Associate I   Sarah joined NCJJ in 2008 and is the Manager of Data Collection for the National Juvenile Court Data Archive project and is responsible for accumulating and assisting in the processing of data. She independently conducts data analyses concerning juvenile justice subject matter to support staff on the Data Analysis Project. She analyzes data gathered by OJJDP about juvenile residential/correctional facility characteristics, both for bulletins and in response to information requests. Sarah has analyzed both Archive and Juvenile Residential Facility Census data to provide detailed information to be included in a national report about Native American youth.

Hunter Hurst IV Research Associate III   Hunter worked for the Center from 1992-2006 and returned in January 2011 with extensive applied research experience in juvenile and family court systems. His experience spans the full range of juvenile and family jurisdiction in the courts and court services systems. Mr. Hurst has been assigned responsibility for the on-site portions of federal, state and local awards to the Center to address topics as diverse as juvenile court procedure/operations, juvenile and family court facility design, juvenile probation case management, the court coordination of juvenile and family cases and disproportionate minority representation in the juvenile justice system.

Wei Kang Web/Database Developer   Wei joined NCJJ in 2000 and now works as part-time staff member. She has expertise in a variety of skills in developing database and web applications such as MS SQL Server, ASP, ASP.NET, C, C++, Visual BASIC, and JAVA. Wei completed her under­graduate work in Beijing, China and later finished graduate school in Pennsylvania. She has provided considerable technical leadership on several projects, most notably the National Juvenile Justice Data Analysis Project, the National Juvenile Court Data Archive, the Pennsylvania Juvenile Delinquency Data Analysis Tool, and the now-defunct Pennsylvania Electronic Juvenile Justice Databook.

Crystal Knoll Research Associate I   Crystal joined NCJJ in 2008. Her position focuses on data collection and research associated with the National Juvenile Court Data Archive and the National Juvenile Justice Data Analysis Project. Crystal analyzes and interprets data and works to effectively disseminate research results to diverse audiences. Crystal’s position helps to develop the research and statistical data into usable information, and present it in an understandable format to support the work of the organization. Prior to NCJJ, she gained research experience working with the probation department in South Carolina. She earned her Master of Arts in Criminology and Criminal Justice from University of South Carolina.

Sarah Livsey, Ph.D. Research Associate II   Dr. Sarah Livsey joined NCJJ in 2006, after moving to Pittsburgh from Michigan where she completed her Ph.D. at Michigan State Univer­sity in the field of Community Psychology. She is also an Assistant Professor at Seton Hill University in Pittsburgh, where she is helping to create the schools criminal justice program for undergraduate students. Dr. Livsey works part-time for NCJJ on the National Juvenile Court Data Archive’s Juvenile Court Statistics report, summarizing state data, training junior staff on Archive processes, analyzing various data sets, and administering the Center’s Institutional Review Board (IRB).

Jennifer Loeffler-Cobia Research Associate II   Jennifer Loeffler-Cobia has been with NCJJ since 2010.  She is the project director for the Quality Improvement Initiative (Qii).  She received both her Master of Science in Health and Bachelors of Science in Public Health from Utah State University.   MS. Loeffler-Cobia has over 15 years of experience in the juvenile justice system and has been a national evidence-based practice consultant for the past 6 years.  She has also co-authored Putting the Pieces Together:  Practical Strategies for Implementing Evidence-Based Practices along with the development/psychometrics of the Evidence-Based Practice Staff Skills Assessment for Criminal Justice Organizations.

Charles (Chaz) Puzzanchera Senior Research Associate   Chaz has been with NCJJ since 1998. He manages the Statistical Briefing Book (SBB) Web site as part of the National Juvenile Justice Data Analysis Project.  He authors the Juvenile Arrests bulletin and co-authors the annual Juvenile Court Statistics report (a product of the National Juvenile Court Data Archive). Chaz is the primary analyst of various national data sets, including the FBI’s Supplementary Homicide Reports, National Incident Based Reporting System, and Uniform Crime Reporting Program. He is best known for the Easy Access tools developed for the SBB. Chaz’s work at NCJJ emphasizes the use of data to support informed decision-making.

Anne Rackow Research Assistant   Anne joined NCJJ in 2010. Her primary project is the Pennsylvania Quality Improvement Initiative, but she also helps with data verification and assurance checks on the National Juvenile Court Data Archive. She received a B.A. from Carlow University in Public Policy and Sociology with a concentration in Criminal Justice.  She also volunteers for the Project to End Human Trafficking in the position of Special Projects Coordinator and is a former Co-Director for Carlow University’s Chapter of Strong Women Strong Girls, a mentoring organization.

Anthony (TJ) Sladky Senior Computer Programmer   TJ joined NCJJ in 2003 and has been working in the Systems Research Division in increasingly more responsible roles manag­ing and overseeing the data documentation and processing of information in the National Juvenile Court Data Archive. The Archive handles more than one million case files each year from almost 2,000 courts across the United States. Before arriving at NCJJ, TJ completed his Bachelor of Science in Computer Science at the University of Pittsburgh. TJ oversees other computer programming staff and also works closely with NCJJ’s Systems Administrator to support the Center’s overall IT needs.

Jason Smith Computer Programmer III   Jason joined NCJJ as a computer programmer in 2005. As part of his role, Jason has been responsible for maintaining the NCJJ website and has re-developed the site to in­clude more interactive data and graphic ele­ments that are both more appealing visually and more useful to individuals who want to use NCJJ’s data tools to conduct their own data analyses. His other website project is the PA Quality Improvement Initiative website. In addition to processing data files for the National Juvenile Court Data Archive, he has also been a valuable asset for his ability to create user-friendly interfaces that provide a “front-end” application for managing the Archive.

Linda Szymanski, Esq. Senior Attorney   Linda has been with NCJJ since 1985.  She is responsible for two main publications at the Center:  NCJJ Snapshots and the Juvenile and Family Law Digest.  She also answers legal research questions from judges, media, legislatures, and other researchers.  NCJJ Snapshots has been published monthly since 1996 and covers a wide spectrum of both delinquency and dependency issues, such as rights of delinquents, confidentiality issues, Megan’s Law.  The Juvenile and Family Law Digest is published monthly and covers a wide range of case law on juvenile and family law, including such issues as domestic violence, child custody, delinquency and dependency.

Doug Thomas Senior Research Associate   Doug joined the NCJJ staff in 1990. Doug has directed or served as principal investigator in a wide variety of initiatives designed to improve or better understand the juvenile justice system, including developing a fundamental skills curriculum for juvenile probation officers, strategic planning and system enhancements in several jurisdictions, and developing and implementing juvenile justice system performance measures. In addition, he has presented and conducted workshops on a variety of subjects in a wide range of national, state, and local venues. Prior to NCJJ, Doug served as a program monitor for the U.S. Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.

Nancy Tierney Program Manager, Associate   Nancy Tierney has been a member of the staff since 1979. As the Program Manager for the Systems Research Division, she assists staff, and particularly the Division Chief, in all grant administrative and deliverable production activities, including grants management, finance and budget, publication production, quality control regarding grant products, and meeting logistics. Nancy also serves as liaison with NCJFCJ’s Accounting staff, preparing payroll and reconciling grant expenses.

Karyl Troup-Leasure, Ph.D. Research Associate III   Dr. Karyl Troup-Leasure joined NCJJ in 2000 after a decade of evaluating programs for various agencies and teaching research, statistics, and program evalua­tion at Carnegie Mellon and Duquesne Universities. Dr. Troup-Leasure facilitated the creation of NCJJ’s Institutional Review Board (IRB), served as its Administrator, and developed an on-line IRB guide. Dr. Troup-Leasure returned to NCJJ in 2008 after a 3-year absence, and has been working on the National Juvenile Justice Data Analysis Project, notably on the Juvenile Offenders and Victims: Focus on American Indian/Alaska Native Youth report.  Dr. Troup-Leasure received her doctorate in 1990 from the University of Pittsburgh in Educational Policy and Evaluation.

Nancy Vintilla Research Assistant   Nancy Vintilla is a Research Assistant, responsible for managing the materials and database for NCJJ’s reference library. She also develops content for the Center’s website, and answers informational requests. In addition, Nancy assists with data collection and verification tasks on the National Juvenile Justice Data Analysis Project and other NCJJ projects. Nancy worked part-time for the Center in 2006 and 2007, and rejoined the staff in May 2010. She has a background in corporate human resources and manage­ment consulting, specializing in legal compliance and communications. Nancy is a graduate of the University of Michigan and Boston University School of Law.

Andrew Wachter Research Assistant   Andrew joined NCJJ in 2010.  He holds a Master of Science in Criminal Justice from Bowling Green State University with a focus on interventions with at-risk youth.  He has also earned a B.A. in Sociology and a B.S. in Criminal Justice. Andrew’s experiences include residential treatment, assessment, and quality assurance.  He works primarily on MacArthur’s Models for Change reform initiatives as well as sub-national projects including the New York Juvenile Justice Continuum Analysis  and the Quality Improvement Initiative (Qii).

Geoff Wood Research Associate III   Geoff Wood joined NCJJ in 2009 and has worked on the MacArthur Models for Change, Technical Assistance to the Juvenile Court, and the N.Y. Performance Assessment projects.  Geoff is completing a Ph.D. in sociology from SUNY Albany.  While there, he specialized in research methodology and developed sophisticated quantitative and qualitative skills in design and analysis.  His 12 years of experience as a researcher, evaluator, instructor, and journal editor have focused on program design of substance abuse and domestic violence among probationers on tribal reservations, salient community issues within the black community, and cognitive-behavioral treatment interventions for substance abusing youth.

Lauren Vessels Research Assistant   Lauren Vessels has been with NCJJ since May of 2011 when she began a full-time summer internship. In August of 2011 she began working as a part-time employee at the Center. She is currently attending Penn State University and expects to graduate with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology in December. Lauren has chiefly been working on the George Junior Republic research project and is responsible for maintaining the inventory of research materials. She will also begin work on an additional project on the state of New York in the fall.