Sandra Cannon is currently a caseworker in the Intake Crisis Unit at Franklin County Children’s Services. Prior to that, Ms. Cannon was the Chief of the Office of Forensic Services at the Ohio Department of Mental Health where she managed and coordinated complex statewide psychiatry programs and policies and coordinated statewide efforts to develop and maintain a system of care for forensic persons in state hospitals and in the community. Sandra managed a program that provided community mental health linkages for offenders leaving state prisons and she coordinated mental health jail diversion programs throughout Ohio.

In addition to these duties, she worked as a liaison and provided technical assistance to other state departments, community boards, agencies and mental health departments in other states. In addition to Franklin County Children’s Services and the Ohio Department of Mental Health, Ms. Cannon has also worked on these issues when she held the position of Manager of Hospital and Community Services at ODMH, when she worked in the partial hospitalization program at Columbus Area Community Mental Health Center, and in other experiences with Catholic Social Services and the Franklin County Welfare Department. Ms. Cannon has a B.S. in Sociology from Tennessee State University, a M.S.W. in Social Work from The Ohio State University, and is a Licensed Independent Social Worker who in 2008 was inducted into The Ohio State University College of Social Work Alumni Hall of Fame.

Ms. Cannon was crucial in policy making for mental health/criminal justice when she was at ODMH. She created the 13 jail diversion programs at ODMH to divert persons with mental illness out of the criminal justice system and was one of the key partners in the Advisory Committee for Mental Illness in the Criminal Justice System from the very beginning. She was the co-chair of that committee until she retired from the Ohio Department of Mental Health. Her experiences and abilities were invaluable as we work to try to close the revolving door for persons with mental illness in the criminal justice system and instead treat them in the community corrections continuum.

Sandra Cannon was nominated for the Bennett J. Cooper OJACC Achievement Award for her lifetime commitment to the improvement of community corrections in Ohio.

Donna Hamparian was nominated for the Simon Dinitz award as a result of her lifetime contributions to juvenile justice research, evaluation, and advocacy. Her work is still used today, particularly in Disproportionate Minority Contact, Risk Assessments, and longitudinal studies of juvenile delinquency. She has been a role model for many in Ohio for her leadership in advocacy efforts for juvenile justice and she is nationally recognized for these efforts. Ms. Hamparian helped the League of Women Voters of Ohio draft a juvenile justice policy. She was also a founding member of the Juvenile Justice Coalition and a past president of the organization. Ms Hamparian mentored many advocates during her time at the Federation for Community Planning, where she worked on the Serious Juvenile Offender project.

Ms. Hamparian participated in many projects over a long and productive career to improve the juvenile justice system. In addition, she has written and contributed to many articles and books in the area of juvenile justice that have been published. A book she co-authored The Violent Few – A Study of Dangerous Juvenile Offenders, was a longitudinal study that is still referenced today.

Phil Nunes began is career at the Community Corrections Association, Inc. in Youngstown, Ohio. He held several positions of increasing responsibility and was promoted in 1995 to chief operation officer. In 2001 Mr. Nunes became employed at Volunteers of America, Inc. in Brecksville, Ohio as chief operating officer. During this time he completed the Executive Leadership Course at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. Mr. Nunes joined Oriana House, Inc. in 2001 and is currently vice president of correctional programs in Cuyahoga County where he has oversight of a residential re-entry center serving state, county and federal offenders and the planning and operations of the new Community Based Correctional Facility; as well as community development, Mr. Nunes is past president of the Ohio Justice Alliance for Community Corrections, past president and current president-elect of the Ohio Community Corrections Association, Housing chair of Greater Cleveland Reentry Initiative, on Voices for Ohio’s Children’s Juvenile Justice Committee and an at-large member of the Ohio Ex-offender Reentry Coalition.

During Phil’s term as president of OJACC he did a great deal to increase the level of collaboration among community corrections associations in the adult and juvenile system. Phil has also been very active in the legislative committee writing and presenting testimony on issues affecting community corrections. He continues to be an active board member in support of the mission of OJACC.

Judge Shriver is the Administrative Judge of the Clermont County Municipal Court. He is an active member of the Ohio Judicial Conference and serves on the Criminal Law and Procedure Committee, the Committee on Community Corrections, the Strategic Planning Committee, and co-chairs the Court Administration Committee. Judge Shriver currently serves as First-Vice President of the Association of Municipal/County Court Judges of Ohio. He is past chair of the Traffic Law Committee of the Ohio State Bar Association and the present chair of the Criminal Justice Committee. Judge Shriver was selected by the Ohio Criminal Law and Procedure Committee of the Ohio Judicial Conference to serve as the point judge during the legislation process that recently modified the OVI law in the State of Ohio.

Since June 2005, Judge Shriver has presided over Ohio’s first official OVI Court. The OVI Court is a problem-solving court organized in response to the growing number of OVI cases. He has pioneered a style and formula that goes far beyond the traditional judicial handling of OVI cases by helping offenders work on addictive behaviors that are behind their drunken driving arrest. Through his leadership he has nurtured a team system that brings together the prosecutor, defense counsel, treatment provider, law enforcement and community supervision staff. The OVI Court has gained great acceptance in the community in its approach to handling alcohol-impaired drivers. In 2008 the Clermont County OVI Court received the Award of Excellence from Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) and was named by the Supreme Court of Ohio Specialized Dockets Section as a best-practice court in Ohio.

Judge Shriver has promoted and incorporated evidence-based programs and techniques. His focus on positive change has been particularly effective with repeat OVI offenders and has fostered other court systems in Ohio to examine similar approaches based on best practices and what work with offenders.

Judge Shriver was recognized with the President’s Award from the Association of Municipal/County Court Judges of Ohio in February 2009 and was the recipient of the Wasserman Champion Award for Innovate Services for Consumers of Mental Health, Alcohol and Drug Addiction Services in 2006.

As a result of Judge Shriver demonstrated commitment and leadership in the judicial field and his willingness to help and renew an interest in problem-solving courts, he was nominated for the C.J. McLin Award.