Deliberate Dialogues Campaign Recordings

No recordings for June or August

Click on the month (below) to go to the recording

April Monthly Community Meeting (Post-Conviction)

July (District Attorney's Office and Public Defenders)

September (Justice Administration Division & Commissioner's Court)

October (What We Learned)
NOT RECORDED

About The Campaign

Domestic violence survivors often find themselves in the Criminal Justice System without really understanding it. There are so many different entities that make up the System and it can be overwhelming.

HCDVCC is conducting a series of “Deliberate Dialogues” on the Intersection of Domestic Violence and the Criminal Justice System which will wrap up in October.

Starting in March, the conversation will center on what agencies are involved before a case goes to trial. April will be focusing on those agencies that are involved after a case has been completed. May will focus on the Courts and Judges and their role in the process of a criminal case. After a break in June, July will bring us information on the District Attorney’s Office, who prosecute cases, and the Public Defender’s Office, who defend the accused and the resources they can provide. We will conclude with speakers in September from the Justice Administration Division and Commissioner’s Court into how they shape the Criminal Justice System in Harris County. Finally, in October we will wrap up the series with a discussion on how to move forward with the information we have learned so we can continue to work to increase safety for domestic violence survivors and to hold perpetrators accountable.

The moderator will be our Executive Director, Barbie Brashear.

March Guests & Their Bios (Pre-Conviction)

Mario Garza is the president of the Professional Bondsman of Harris County. He is the owner/operator of 1st Advantage Bail Bonds in Houston, and a former civil/criminal paralegal with over 13 years of experience in the legal field.

Jennifer Herring serves as Managing Director of Reentry Services for the Harris County Sheriff’s Office where she has created programs for human sex trafficking and prostitution, pregnant and post-partum women, women with children, veterans, substance use, elderly men and fathers . This job also includes overseeing the Reentry Center at the Joint Processing Center at the Harris County Jail.

April Guests & Their Bios (Post-Conviction)

Yolanda LeDay has a Master’s Degree in Psychology and a Bachelor’s Degree in Administration of Justice with a minor in Public Affairs. She began her career with the Office of the Attorney General in 2012 as a Liaison to Harris County where she assisted attorney’s with the filing of child support orders. In 2014, she changed paths and began working with Texas Department of Criminal Justice as a District Parole Officer and was promoted to a Unit Supervisor in 2019. She is current working as one of the District Resource Center Supervisors over Region 3, where she assists in making sure that clients remain in compliance with parole guidelines.

Experienced in the area of design and implementation of problem-solving court programs, Trina Willis is an accomplished, innovative, and passionate professional with more than 28 years of experience in community corrections. Ms. Willis’ professional service has established her as a voice for a smarter approach to community corrections. Trina’s innovative perspective has informed the development of several problem-solving courts in the state of Texas, including the DIVERT Program. Similarly, Trina collaborated with other stake holders to establish the Dallas 4-C Reentry Court, which was the first re-entry court program in Texas. Both programs have been instrumental in reducing recidivism for a high-risk population. Trina is a graduate of Grambling State University with a B.S. in Criminal Justice. She has mentored younger professionals and uses her dynamic leadership to support the implementation of evidence-based community corrections programs around the state of Texas.

Post Conviction - Monthly Community Meeting

We had an educational session with the Harris County Community Supervision & Corrections Department and Texas Parole System.

Our guests were from the Community Supervision & Corrections Department – Dr. Teresa May and Yolanda Leday with the Texas Department of Criminal Justice Parole System.