The Secretary of the Department of Juvenile Services oversees and manages the functions of the Department of Juvenile Services.
Sam Abed
Secretary
Since 2011, Sam Abed has been Secretary of the Maryland Department of Juvenile Services. Most recently, he served as the Chair of the State's Juvenile Justice Reform Council.
Juvenile Justice Experience:
Sam Abed served as Deputy Director of Operations at the Virginia Department of Juvenile Justice, with direct supervision over the juvenile justice operations, including the supervision of 6 juvenile correctional facilities and 32 court service units statewide.
As Chair of the juvenile focus area committee and member of the interagency leadership team, he oversaw the development of the agency's re-entry strategic plan. As Chief Deputy Director he supervised an agency budget of over $200 million and the development of a faith based mentoring program for incarcerated youth.
Legal Experience and Education:
Prior to his time as the Deputy Director of Operations, he served as Assistant Commonwealth Attorney for the Office of the Sussex County Commonwealth's Attorney as well as the Office of the City of Norfolk Commonwealth's Attorney. He also served as Commissioner for the Virginia Commission for National and Community Service.
Abed received a Bachelors of Science in Psychology from the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and completed an internship at the American University in Cairo, Arabic Language Institute. He received his Juris Doctor from the University of Richmond School of Law. He is a resident of Baltimore City.
Office of the Secretary
Wallis Norman
Deputy Secretary of Operations
Wallis Norman serves as the Deputy Secretary for Operations. He is responsible for directing the operations of seven community detention centers, six residential treatment facilities, and oversees the coordination of somatic health care, substance abuse, mental health, behavioral health, dietary, educational, security, recreational and rehabilitation services, Foster Grandparent Program, and the transportation department.
In addition to his service in the United States Navy, Norman has spent more than 22 years working in state juvenile justice agencies in Georgia and in Maryland and has an extensive amount of experience overseeing juvenile facilities. Norman joined the Maryland Department of Juvenile Services in May 2006 as an Assistant Facility Administrator and then was promoted over the years to Superintendent, Director of Detention, and most recently Executive Director for Residential Services. In all of Norman’s experiences, he ensured that the safety and welfare of youth was maintained, appropriate services were provided, and operations were in compliance with laws, regulations, collective bargaining agreements and State and Departmental policies and procedures.
Visit the
Operations Division page for more information.
Lynette Holmes
Deputy Secretary of Support Services
Lynette Holmes is the Deputy Secretary for Support Services which includes Human Resources, Information Technology, Capital Planning & Budget, Research & Evaluation, Budget & Accounting, Training, and General Services.
Holmes spent more than 20 years working for state government as both a senior research analyst for the Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services and a senior economist for the Virginia Department of Juvenile Justice. Holmes brings to her position extensive knowledge of juvenile justice reform, having worked with internal and external stakeholders, juvenile justice experts, and respected researchers at the state and national level, including the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) and the Annie E. Casey Foundation. She has developed innovative strategies based on relevant evidence-based research and implemented successful reform initiatives, programs, and procedures.
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Support Division page for more information.
Cory Fink
Deputy Secretary of Community Operations
Cory Fink serves as the Deputy Secretary of Community Operations, which oversees Pre-Adjudication Services, Community Supervision, and the Resource Office.
Cory Fink earned his Bachelor's Degree in Sociology from High Point University, and began his career in state service in 1998 as a Spotlight on Schools Probation Officer assigned to Easton Middle and High Schools. During that time he developed and implemented the Talbot County Teen Court diversion program, which continues to serve youth in Talbot County. Rising through the case management series, he served as Program Supervisor for Dorchester County from 2006-2010, where he was actively involved in the Local Management Board. In 2011, he was promoted to Assistant Regional Director for the Lower Eastern Shore. During this time he became involved in several Information Technology related projects for the Department, most notably as the SafeMeasures® project liaison with Evident Change (formerly NCCD), a role in which he continues. In 2013, Cory was selected to serve as the Regional Director for the Eastern Shore. A past recipient of the DJS Outstanding Leadership Award (2015), and the Public Safety and Correctional Leadership Development Institute XXI Doris A Trainor Excellence Award, Fink is also a certified trainer with the Maryland Police and Correctional Training Commissions (MCTC).
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Community Operations page for more information.
Joseph Cleary
Chief of Staff
Jay Cleary serves as the Chief of Staff to the Secretary of the Department of Juvenile Services (DJS). In this capacity, he works directly with the Secretary of DJS to implement initiatives, reforms and policies that are designed to improve the lives of youth in Maryland and move the agency forward. He supports and advises the Secretary on the functions of the agency.
Cleary joined DJS in 2009 to serve as the agency's Director of Communications and was promoted to Chief of Staff in 2012. He earned his Political Science degree from Villanova University in 1998 and graduated cum laude from the University of Baltimore School of Law in 2002.
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Office of the Chief of Staff page for more information.
Kara Aanenson
Director of Legislation and Policy
Kara Aanenson is the Director of Legislation and Policy 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.
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.
Melanie Graves
Executive Director for Juvenile Services Education Program (JSEP)
Melanie Graves serves as the Executive Director for Special Programming, Juvenile Services Education Program (JSEP). In this role, Melanie acts as the liaison between the Superintendent and School Board of JSEP and DJS in order to ensure that JSEP has the supports in place to provide educational services to youth within DJS programs. Melanie has worked in the field of juvenile services for 28 years in both facility and community settings. Although she has worked in residential settings for females in both Pennsylvania and Florida, the majority of Melanie’s career has been spent in Maryland. Melanie worked as part of the group life team at Victor Cullen Center before transferring to the education unit where she served as a lead teacher and the Acting Director of Education. Melanie began her career with DJS in 2002 as the Teacher Supervisor at Western Maryland Children’s Center. Melanie was part of the team that assisted with opening Western Maryland Children’s Center. In 2010, Melanie transferred to the DJS Hagerstown offices as a Case Management Specialist where she was assigned specialized caseloads to include youth assigned to the Juvenile Drug Court program. In 2018, Melanie received a Secretary’s Citation for the work she did with youth in the Juvenile Drug Court program. In 2021, Melanie began working for the DJS Professional Training Unit where she served as a Training Administrator before being promoted to a Program Specialist. In that role, Melanie acted as the liaison between DJS and the National Council for Mental Health and Well-Being in order to ensure all mandated staff are certified in Youth Mental Health First Aid. Melanie is a certified trainer through the Maryland Correctional and Training Commission.
Visit the Juvenile Services Education Program (JSEP) and Board page for more information.
Eric Solomon
Director of Communications
Eric Solomon serves as the Director of Communications and the official spokesperson for the Department of Juvenile Services (DJS). Solomon develops and oversees all internal and external communications strategies, responds to the media, Public Information Act requests, crisis situations, and regularly coordinates messaging with the Governor’s Office and oversees the Special Projects and Website team. Solomon has spoken at many conferences about the importance of media relations in the juvenile justice field and in 2013, he was instrumental in receiving Best in Maryland honors from the Public Relations Society of America for DJS-TV.
Solomon has more than 30 years of Communications experience and has worked for DJS for more than seven years. Prior to his experience with the State, he worked for the Howard County Council and also for a national non-profit to keep youth under the age of 18 years old out of the adult criminal justice system. He was the recipient of two Golden Thinker Awards from the North American Precis Syndicate (NAPS), for 282 and 191 placements of juvenile justice TV stories. Solomon is a graduate from Monmouth University in West Long Branch, NJ.
Robin Brady-Slifer
Inspector General
Robin Brady-Slifer monitors all DJS-operated facilities and DJS-licensed programs both in-state and out-of-state as well as DJS's internal operations. The Office of the Inspector General is charged with investigating all incidents that occur in any program with DJS youth. The Inspector General directly supervises the Office of Internal Auditing, Office of Quality Assurance, Investigative Unit, Gang Intelligence and the Office of Child Advocacy.
Monique Cheatham
Executive Assistant to the Secretary
Monique Cheatham is the Executive Assistant to Secretary Sam Abed. In this capacity, she provides executive-level support and performs all administrative tasks for the daily operation of the Office of the Secretary.
Cheatham has over 17 years administrative experience, and 27 years of service with the Maryland State Government. She began her tenure with the Department of Juvenile Services in 2013.
