December 14, 2005

Loren Warboys Unsung Heroes 2005

Each year, the Youth Law Center presents the Loren Warboys Unsung Hero award to individuals who have made exemplary contributions to improve the lives of at-risk youth in the child welfare and juvenile justice systems. This year’s awardees are:

REVEREND NORMAN COPELAND
Reverend Copeland is the Presiding Elder of the Southern California Los Angeles District of the AME Church. Prior to this, in his capacity as Senior Pastor at AME Church in Los Angeles, Reverend Copeland was a founder and leader of Faith Communities for Families and Children, a coalition of faith leaders organized to advocate for and support children and families caught up in the child welfare and juvenile justice systems.

MACEO HALLMON
Maceo Hallmon is the Executive Director of East Baltimore Youth & Family Services. He is an active participant in juvenile detention reform in Baltimore, bringing the voice of the community on a variety of issues, particularly racial disparities in the juvenile justice system. He also serves as the Acting Director of the Community and Family Resource Center, a new program at the Baltimore City Juvenile Justice Center.

STEWART CHANG PARK
Stewart Park is a parent advocate working on behalf of youth in the adult criminal system in California. Mr. Park provides support to families of these youth and has engaged in advocacy efforts on their behalf. He helped send 6,000 petitions to Governor Schwarzenegger in support of legislation that would have allowed courts to resentence youth serving long sentences and continues to fight for reforms.

JANET SHALWITZ, M.D.
Dr. Janet Shalwitz is the Director of the Adolescent Health Working Group (AHWG) in San Francisco, a community collaborative committed to improving youth health and adolescents' unimpeded access to quality health programs and services. Prior to this, Dr. Shalwitz led efforts to advance teen health at the San Francisco Department of Public Health for over 20 years in a variety of roles, including Medical Director of the San Francisco Youth Guidance Center.

Loren Warboys was the Managing Director and had been with the Youth Law Center since 1978 before he succumbed to leukemia in 1999. He was a nationally recognized expert on education and mental health services for children in the juvenile justice system. To honor his memory, the Youth Law Center established the Loren Warboys Memorial Fund and the Unsung Hero Awards.