The Office of Community Services, headed by Lisa Garry, Deputy Secretary of Community Services, oversees the following departments:
- Strategic Initiatives (Executive Director - Lisa Del Balso-Reynolds)
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Office of Pre-Adjudication Services and Reform (Executive Director of Intake and Pre-Court Services - Adrian Tyree)
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Youth Engagement and Safety Services (YESS) (Executive Director - Olusola (Sola) Ogunranti)
- Court and Investigative Services (Executive Director - Jenny Egan)
- Resource Office (Executive Director - Kara Aanenson)
- Probation and Aftercare Services (Executive Director - Derek Getic)
Lisa Garry
Deputy Secretary of Community Services
Lisa M. Garry serves as Deputy Secretary of Community Services for the Maryland Department of Juvenile Services (DJS), which oversees Pre-Adjudication Services, Community Supervision, and the Resource Office.
Lisa has an extensive work portfolio that combines public sector, community, and independent consulting experience. Prior to joining DJS, Lisa served as a Policy Director with the Center for Children’s Law and Policy (CCLP) in Washington, DC. Her work on racial disparities in the juvenile justice system has been recognized by both the MacArthur Foundation and Annie E. Casey Foundation with the 2012 DMC Champion of Change Award and the 2017 JDAI Distinguished System Leadership Award respectively.
Lisa earned a Master’s Degree in Public Administration (MPA) from the University of Baltimore, and a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration from the University of Maryland Eastern Shore.
Lisa Del Balso-Reynolds
Executive Director of Strategic Initiatives
Lisa Del Balso-Reynolds serves as the new Executive Director of Strategic Initiatives to help fulfill the Department’s mission for community-based programming and partnerships. Lisa will directly support Deputy Secretary Lisa Garry with a work portfolio that includes management of the Department's early intervention services and CINS education to community agencies; cross-jurisdiction and cross-systems strategic initiatives; use of restorative practice; and implementation of statewide system reform models.
In this new role, Lisa will bring her experience in working with community partners, agencies, and stakeholders in Improvement Teams and leading inter-agency collaborations. She has an added understanding of community services because of her prior role as Executive Director for Community Services and Director of Community Detention Operations. Lisa also served as the Juvenile Justice Specialist and Juvenile Compliance Monitor at the Governor’s Office of Crime Control and Prevention. In addition, she held the position of Deputy Project Director for the JJDPA Formula Grants Program where she oversaw the national training and technical assistance (TTA) effort for the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), which added to her understanding of grants and contract management. Lisa received her bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Criminal Justice from Kent State University and her master’s degree in Criminal Justice from the University of Baltimore.
Adrian Tyree
Executive Director of Intake and Pre-Court Services
Adrian Tyree serves as the Executive Director of Intake and Pre-Court Services. Adrian has extensive experience with the Department and in youth justice, having served previously as Intake Director for Central Region and in other key leadership roles. After leaving the agency in 2022, Adrian worked as Director of High School Communities for Thread, a role in which he gained additional skills in leadership and executive-level program and resource management. Adrian will lead the Department's front-end strategies to increase the use and efficacy of pre-court interventions and operational excellence in statewide intake functions. He is very knowledgeable in strategic planning, policy development, coaching, and stakeholder relations and engagement. Adrian has a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy and Religious Studies from St. Mary's College of Maryland.
Visit the
Pre-Adjudication Services and Reform page for more information.
Olusola (Sola) Ogunranti
Executive Director, Youth Engagement and Safety Services (YESS)
The Executive Director of
Youth Engagement and Safety Services (YESS) manages the goods, services, and resources for the Community Detention, Reporting Centers, Shelter Care, Police Liaison Unit, and the Thrive Academy program. Prior to this, Olusola was the Regional Director of Baltimore City DJS Community Services and, before that, Director of Community Detention Operations, where he supported the implementation of the Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative and the operation of the Community Detention and GPS Program for each region. Olusola has served in various other capacities at the Department, including Juvenile Detention Alternative Initiative Coordinator and Case Management Specialist Supervisor. Olusola received his bachelor’s degree in Organizational Leadership and Communication from Wright State University.
Jenny Egan
Executive Director, Court and Investigative Services
Jenny Egan is the Executive Director of Court and Investigative Services. The office will lead key functions of DJS court reporting and related tools and processes. Jenny's advocacy lens will help guide our efforts to work with youth in a manner that is developmentally appropriate and impactful.
Jenny is no stranger to the child advocacy and youth justice system in Maryland. A graduate of the University of Michigan Law School and Smith College, she served formerly as the Chief Attorney for the Juvenile Division of the Public Defender in Baltimore and is cofounder of the Baltimore Action Legal Team (BALT), which provides legal support to those who fight injustices rooted in structural racism and economic inequality through community lawyering and collective solutions. Jenny previously worked as a fellow at the National Women’s Law Center and as the Advocacy Coordinator for the ACLU’s National Security Project. She brings a wealth of legal knowledge and expertise to help fulfill our current strategic mission to “transform young people’s lives, create safer communities, and forge more equitable systems through community-based partnerships that hold youth accountable while building on their strengths and support systems.”
Kara Aanenson
Director of Legislation, Policy, and Reform &
Executive Director, Resource Office
Kara Aanenson is the Director of Legislation, Policy, and Reform for the Maryland Department of Juvenile Services. In that role, she serves as part of the DJS executive leadership team and manages the Department's governmental relations, as well as assisting staff in meeting policy objectives consistent with state and federal law.
The Executive Director of the Resource Office for the Maryland Department of Juvenile Services (DJS) manages the department in and out of state residential providers as well as the community-based services. The unit ensures that the department maintains a continuum of services that meets the needs of youth that come in contact with the justice system.
Prior to joining DJS, Kara served as the Director of the Just Kids Campaign at Community Law in Action, where she partnered with directly impacted young people to stop the automatic prosecution of youth as adults. She also was a social worker at the Maryland Office of the Public Defender where she worked in the legislative unit and developed alternative dispositions and sentencing plans for youth in adults.
Kara earned a Master’s Degree in Social Work from the University of Maryland, and a Bachelor of Science Degree in Social Work from Wartburg College located in Waverly, IA.
Derek Getic
Acting Executive Director of Probation and Aftercare Services
Derek Getic serves as the Acting Executive Director of Probation and Aftercare Services with the Maryland Department of Juvenile Services (DJS). Derek has served in various roles in DJS residential and community services over the last 26 years. He most recently served as Regional Director of the Western Region where his passionate advocacy and expertise in multidisciplinary partnerships have earned him a stellar reputation both internally and externally. In his new role, Derek leads the work of probation and aftercare supervision, including oversight of the five DJS regions, local resource offices, critical incident management, and continuity of Rewire/CBT training statewide.
Derek has spoken in the areas of the Crossover Youth Program Model and disparate contact, human trafficking, and rural juvenile justice strategies, most noticeably for the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) and the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges (NCJFCJ). Derek has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Criminal Justice with a Minor in Psychology from Shippensburg University.
