Debra Lewis (formerly Mendoza)
Debra Lewis (formerly Mendoza) has been intimately connected to youth and families in the Bay Area for over twenty years in her role as advocate, former juvenile probation officer and public school teacher. She draws upon a multitude of experiences which has led to her innovative perspective offering viable community based solutions and alternatives to incarceration for system-involved youth and families.
During her ten years as an Alameda County Juvenile Probation Officer, Debra represented the Department as a Court Officer, investigated hundreds of criminal cases, conducted fitness hearings, and supervised youth released to the community.
At Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, Debra organized families of incarcerated youth and lobbied for prison reform and oversaw the regional contribution for a national survey on Juvenile Justice. At National Council on Crime and Delinquency, Debra developed points of entry for a restorative diversion program working under Senior Researcher Sujatha Baliga, which led to help launch a federally funded Restorative Justice Program, diverting hundreds of youth from the courts giving them a restorative face to face meeting with their victim instead, directly impacting disproportionate minority contact/confinement and the school to prison pipeline.
Debra holds a Bachelor’s Degree in English from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and graduated in Spring 2011 from the Violence Prevention Strategies Program at Peralta College. Debra is a long-standing member of the OUSD Interagency Gang Prevention Collaborative, who are credited with developing the district gang prevention and intervention handbook and making policy recommendations to the city of Oakland, . Debra is a member of the National Lawyers' Guild and a graduate from the Alameda County Leadership Academy.
Debra in the news:
Violence Prevention Program and creative solutions to Juvenile Justice
http://oaklandnorth.net/2010/10/08/documentary-critiques-juvenile-correctional-system/
Restorative Justice Diversion Program
http://www.nccdglobal.org/what-we-do/restorative-justice-project
Community Based Solutions to Violence
http://oaklandnorth.net/2011/08/25/activists-protest-appointment-of-new-ousd-police-chief/
Restorative Justice impacts Oakland youth
http://www.eastbayexpress.com/oakland/a-people-focused-solution/Content?oid=3555075&storyPage=1
During her ten years as an Alameda County Juvenile Probation Officer, Debra represented the Department as a Court Officer, investigated hundreds of criminal cases, conducted fitness hearings, and supervised youth released to the community.
At Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, Debra organized families of incarcerated youth and lobbied for prison reform and oversaw the regional contribution for a national survey on Juvenile Justice. At National Council on Crime and Delinquency, Debra developed points of entry for a restorative diversion program working under Senior Researcher Sujatha Baliga, which led to help launch a federally funded Restorative Justice Program, diverting hundreds of youth from the courts giving them a restorative face to face meeting with their victim instead, directly impacting disproportionate minority contact/confinement and the school to prison pipeline.
Debra holds a Bachelor’s Degree in English from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and graduated in Spring 2011 from the Violence Prevention Strategies Program at Peralta College. Debra is a long-standing member of the OUSD Interagency Gang Prevention Collaborative, who are credited with developing the district gang prevention and intervention handbook and making policy recommendations to the city of Oakland, . Debra is a member of the National Lawyers' Guild and a graduate from the Alameda County Leadership Academy.
Debra in the news:
Violence Prevention Program and creative solutions to Juvenile Justice
http://oaklandnorth.net/2010/10/08/documentary-critiques-juvenile-correctional-system/
Restorative Justice Diversion Program
http://www.nccdglobal.org/what-we-do/restorative-justice-project
Community Based Solutions to Violence
http://oaklandnorth.net/2011/08/25/activists-protest-appointment-of-new-ousd-police-chief/
Restorative Justice impacts Oakland youth
http://www.eastbayexpress.com/oakland/a-people-focused-solution/Content?oid=3555075&storyPage=1