NICJR’s Board of Directors bring decades of experience and deep expertise in justice reform, violence reduction, and community development.
Gordon Baranco
Board Director
Gordon Baranco, NICJR’s Board Director, served as a judge in the Alameda County Superior Court for more than three decades. He was also a Graduate Legal Assistant in the Office of the California State Attorney General, a Deputy District Attorney in the Office of the San Francisco District Attorney, Managing Attorney for San Francisco Neighborhood Legal Assistance Foundation, and Assistant to the City Attorney in Oakland. At the age of 32, Gordon was appointed by Governor Edmund G. Brown, Jr., as a judge to the Oakland – Piedmont – Emeryville Municipal Court. After serving as a presiding judge of that court, he was appointed by Governor George Deukmejian as a judge of the Alameda County Superior Court at the age of 36. He retired from that Court on December 31, 2016.
Gordon Baranco was the Founding Judge of the Alameda County Homeless and Caring Court and the Founding Judge of the Alameda County Parolee Reentry Court. He also served as a member of the American Bar Association Commission on Homelessness and Poverty and the Fred Finch Youth Center Board. He has previously served as Vice Chair of the California Judicial Council Access and Fairness Committee, a member of the California Judicial Council Collaborative Justice Courts Committee, a member of the California Judicial Council Task Force for Collaboration on Mental Health Issues, and Chair of the Alameda County Superior Court Community Focused Court Planning Committee. Judge Baranco is also a member of the Board of State and Community Corrections.
Judge Baranco holds a Juris Doctor degree from the King Hall Law School of the University of California (UC), Davis. He also earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from UC Davis, receiving the Lindley Award for Athletic and Scholastic Achievement. The Honorable Gordon S. Baranco Award is presented annually to a UC Davis Varsity Basketball Player who has displayed exceptional leadership, unselfishness, work ethic and commitment to his team.
Alise Marshall
Board Secretary
Alise Marshall, NICJR’s Board Secretary, is the Senior Global Lead for Public Affairs at Pinterest, Inc. Throughout her career, Alise’s work has been guided by the core goal of increasing pathways to opportunity and getting resources to communities in need to ensure meaningful and lasting change. Through her work in government, philanthropy, and the private sector, Alise has helped to establish and lead organizational change. Prior to joining Pinterest, Alise was Director of Strategy and New Ventures at Public Welfare Foundation, working to address mass incarceration and transform the US criminal justice system. Alise also previously managed a portfolio at the Walmart Foundation focused on inclusive economic development and access to capital for historically marginalized communities.
Alise served in the Administration of President Barack Obama from 2011–2017. She was appointed Deputy Chief of Staff at the US Department of Education, where she led federal education policy with a focus on civil rights and managed the policy apparatus for President Obama’s My Brother’s Keeper Federal Task Force, which was dedicated to expanding opportunity and addressing persistent barriers experienced by boys and young men of color.
In her personal capacity, Alise is a dedicated public servant and currently serves on the board of trustees for the Maya Angelou Academy in Washington, DC. Alise is a graduate of the University of Kentucky.
Javier Stauring
Board Member
Javier Stauring is the co-founder and Executive Director of Healing Dialogue and Action, a unique organization working to heal and work to change the criminal justice system so it is one that respects and offers an opportunity for transformation for victims, offenders, and families.
He has spent his entire career serving supporting and caring for young people in the juvenile justice system, survivors of crime, and families of both. Prior to joining HDA, Javier served as the Co-Director of the Office of Restorative Justice (ORJ) of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles from 1992-2015, where he oversaw the largest Catholic detention ministry program in the nation, as well as the ORJ victim’s ministry. In addition to his direct work with thousands of youth, Javier’s advocacy has been instrumental in the passage of new laws to reform California’s juvenile justice system.
Javier has received international recognition for his life’s work, including being commended in Sweden by the World’s Children’s Prize for his advocacy work with incarcerated youth and victims of crime. He is also the first United States citizen to receive the international award from Human Right Watch.
Michael Jacobson
Board Member
Michael Jacobson is the founding Executive Director of the City University of New York (CUNY) Institute for State and Local Governance, as well as a sociology professor at the CUNY Graduate Center. Prior to joining CUNY in May 2013, he served as president of the Vera Institute of Justice from 2005 to 2013. He is also the author of Downsizing Prisons: How to Reduce Crime and End Mass Incarceration.
Michael holds a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Sociology. His academic career has been coupled with more than 20 years of government service. From 1998 to 2005 he was a professor at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice and the CUNY Graduate Center. He served as New York City Correction Commissioner from 1995 to 1998 and Probation Commissioner from 1992 to 1996, and he worked in the NYC Office of Management and Budget from 1984 to 1992, where he was a Deputy Budget Director. Additionally, from 2010 to 2012, Michael served as the chair of Altus, a global alliance working across continents and from a multicultural perspective to improve public safety and justice.
Arnold Perkins
Board Member
Arnold Perkins retired as director of the Alameda County Public Health Department in Oakland, a position he held since 1994. As director of the Alameda County Health Department, which has a budget of $105 million and more than 600 employees, Perkins provided leadership and management of the department’s administrative, program and policy activities. Arnold has a wealth of experience, including working as a high school teacher, counselor, and principal; a non-profit organization executive director; family counselor and advocate; foundation program officer; college professor and administrator; and restaurant owner and operator.
Arnold is an experienced speaker and facilitator, especially in the areas of organizational change, team building, creative leadership, community development and group dynamics. He has received many awards and recognitions for his community work from groups including the United Way of the Bay Area, the Center for Independent Living and the San Francisco Foundation. Arnold also serves on several Board of Directors, including the California Wellness Foundation and previously for The California Endowment.
Remembering James Bell
NICJR honors the legacy of James Bell, an esteemed former member of the NICJR Board of Directors. James was a fierce leader of youth justice reform and the founder of the Haywood Burns Institute.
Under James’s leadership, the Burns Institute has worked in over 200 counties in 23 states to engage justice stakeholders and communities in building equity in the administration of justice. James trained and addressed thousands of human services professionals and community members on race, ancestry, and inclusion as necessary and vital components of the delivery of safety for all communities.
James also had extensive experience in the international justice arena. He assisted the African National Congress in the administration of the youth justice system in South Africa and consulted with the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund. He also visited Holland and England, where he advised on emerging issues of racial, ethnic, and religious minorities being over-represented in the justice system.
“James was a giant in the field of youth justice reform. I knew James for the past 25 years, and he was a mentor to me. While his passing is a huge loss for me, NICJR, James’ family, and all who seek justice, the legacy and work of James Bell will live on forever.”
— David Muhammad, NICJR Executive Director