Hon. Stephanie Mitchell
291st Judicial District
Dallas County
A native of Kansas City, Kansas, Judge Stephanie Mitchell earned her Juris Doctorate from the University Of Kansas School Of Law and a Bachelor of Political Science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. After being admitted to the State Bar of Texas in November of 2006, she practiced civil litigation and criminal defense before joining the Navarro County District Attorney’s Office. In 2008 she began prosecuting at the Dallas County District Attorney’s Office where she was recognized as the 2010 “Rookie of the Year” and the 2012 “Prosecutor of the Year”. Quickly rising through the ranks, she became the Chief Felony Prosecutor of the Gang Unit and during this time she announced her candidacy for judge. On January 1, 2015, Judge Mitchell was sworn in as the Presiding Judge of the 291st Judicial District Court, making her the youngest sitting District Court Judge in Dallas County. She also serves as the Presiding Judge of the Second Chance Community Improvement Program, SCCIP. This is the first and only felony community court in Texas. SCCIP focuses on transforming the lives of participants with pending felony and/or misdemeanor cases, by providing exposure, support and empowerment. She is also one of four Dallas County Judges that created the nationally recognized, Pipeline to Possibilities Program, P2P. P2P has partnered with Dallas Independent School District to educate young adults about the criminal justice system and the importance of making good decisions. Judge Mitchell lends her time outside of the office to a number of charitable causes and community service driven organizations. She is an active member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. and Concord Church.
Lynn Pride Richardson
Chief Public Defender
Dallas County
Lynn Pride Richardson is the Chief Public Defender for Dallas County. She is in charge of the largest and second oldest Public Defender’s Office in the State of Texas. Lynn is a third generation graduate of Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia and the University of Florida College of Law. She has been practicing criminal law for 32 years. In Texas, Lynn has worked as an Assistant Public Defender for the last 23 years. She was appointed Chief Public Defender by the Dallas County Commissioners in 2008 and manages a budget of over $14 million for an office with 94 attorneys who practice in the criminal, family, appellate, juvenile, mental health and probate courts. Lynn is actively involved in several Dallas County initiatives including the Dallas County Mental Health Steering Committee, Behavioral Health Leadership Team, the Jail Population Committee and the Dallas County Criminal Justice Advisory Board (CJAB).
Lynn and the staff of the Public Defender’s Office have been instrumental in helping to plan, initiate and operate several Dallas County Diversion and Specialty Court/Re-entry Programs including Mental Health Jail Diversion, ATLAS, the PRIDE and STAR Courts, South Dallas Drug Court, Outpatient Competency Restoration Court, STAC, DDC, 4C, AIM, SET and the SCCIP Court program. The offenders accepted into these programs are connected with critical services, support and housing, and upon completion of their criminal cases in pre-adjudication programs their criminal cases are dismissed and their records expunged. Her client centered approach to criminal defense also inspired her to create a special conditional dismissal docket for mentally ill offenders and to pursue numerous reformative justice initiatives. She is a proud member of the board of directors of the National Association of Drug Court Professionals (NADCP). One of the highlights of Lynn’s career was when she was invited to represent NADCP in Vienna, Austria at the United Nations to advocate on behalf of drug courts. She met with representatives from various countries and drug court advocates from across the globe. As a member of the Dallas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association and the Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association she actively participates in programs that have a significant and positive impact on the criminal justice system.
Lynn and the staff of the Public Defender’s Office have been instrumental in helping to plan, initiate and operate several Dallas County Diversion and Specialty Court/Re-entry Programs including Mental Health Jail Diversion, ATLAS, the PRIDE and STAR Courts, South Dallas Drug Court, Outpatient Competency Restoration Court, STAC, DDC, 4C, AIM, SET and the SCCIP Court program. The offenders accepted into these programs are connected with critical services, support and housing, and upon completion of their criminal cases in pre-adjudication programs their criminal cases are dismissed and their records expunged. Her client centered approach to criminal defense also inspired her to create a special conditional dismissal docket for mentally ill offenders and to pursue numerous reformative justice initiatives. She is a proud member of the board of directors of the National Association of Drug Court Professionals (NADCP). One of the highlights of Lynn’s career was when she was invited to represent NADCP in Vienna, Austria at the United Nations to advocate on behalf of drug courts. She met with representatives from various countries and drug court advocates from across the globe. As a member of the Dallas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association and the Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association she actively participates in programs that have a significant and positive impact on the criminal justice system.
John Creuzot, District Attorney Dallas County
John Creuzot is the elected District Attorney for Dallas County, as well as a retired Judge and an award-winning lawyer with more than three decades of experience in the criminal justice system, including more than 21 years as a Felony District Court Judge. His background also includes seven years of service as a Dallas County Assistant District Attorney and Chief Felony Prosecutor as well as a criminal defense lawyer while in private practice. In addition to his trusted service on both sides of the bench, Judge Creuzot has earned a national reputation for his innovative work on drug courts, criminal justice reform and evidence-based sentencing. He regularly appears in the news and on television as an expert on these and other criminal justice topics. He has lectured and taught courses at the National Drug Court Institute, the National Judicial College, and the National Center for State Courts. He has also presented at several national training conferences for the National Association of Drug Court Professionals, and has taught drug court teams from across the country. Creuzot has lectured and directed seminars for the Texas Center for the Judiciary, the Texas Bar Association, and the National Association of Drug Court Professionals. After his retirement from the judiciary, Dallas County honored Creuzot by renaming its drug treatment facility the Judge John C. Creuzot Judicial Treatment Center in May of 2013. The center provides an intensive residential program as an alternative to incarceration for Dallas County probationers. The facility is coordinated with the Dallas Community Supervision and Corrections Department and the Dallas County Courts. The center works to ensure successful substance abuse treatment and reintegration into the community. It also offers education and skills training and job search assistance to probationers, and education and counseling for family members.
Paul Blocker
First Assistant
Public Defender’s Office
Dallas County
Paul Blocker has been a licensed attorney for nearly 20 years. He started his career with the Dallas County Public Defender’s Office in February 2002, first working in misdemeanor family violence court before being promoted to the felony division. During his tenure with the Public Defender’s Office he has tried misdemeanor and felony cases and participated in numerous hearings. Mr. Blocker was promoted to First Assistant in January 2009, serving under Chief Public Defender Lynn Richardson. As the First Assistant Public Defender, Mr. Blocker oversees the day to day operations for the largest public defender’s office in the state of Texas. His duties include but are not limited to, hiring of full time attorney and staff, coordinating law student internships, resource acquisition and allocation, attorney and staff training. Paul earned his undergraduate degree from UT Arlington, and his Juris Doctorate from the Thurgood Marhsall School of Law in Houston. He is a former Adjunct Professor for criminal law and criminal procedure at El Centro College in Dallas, as well as a frequent panelist at the Dedman School of Law at SMU. Mr. Blocker has received training from the Center for Court Innovation and the National Association of Drug Court Professionals on the application of the 10 Key Components of An Effective Drug Court and actively works in the Second Chance Community Improvement Program Court.
Rev. Gerald Britt
Vice President of External Affairs
City Square
The Rev. Gerald Britt came to CitySquare in September 2004. He currently serves as Vice President of External Affairs. Since coming to CitySquare, Rev. Britt has worked to develop living wage job strategies, which focus on training for jobs in construction, environmental remediation, culinary arts, and technology based soft skills training. In the area of Public Policy, Rev. Britt leads in constructing CitySquare’s advocacy agenda based on the organizations values and the implications learned from its service programs. Britt has led CitySquare in forming coalitions and initiatives resulting in increased compensation for the wrongfully convicted, public awareness campaigns concerning the potential pitfalls of for-profit colleges, sensible immigration reform and led to local ordinances and state legislation to regulate the predatory loan industry. Prior to 2004, he served as pastor of the New Mount Moriah Baptist Church in Dallas, for 22 years. Rev. Britt led New Mount Moriah in a commitment to organizational growth and community engagement in the areas of education, housing, and neighborhood redevelopment and health care. Under Rev. Britt’s leadership, New Mount Moriah became a force for change in the ideal neighborhood and throughout the city, resulting in the first new housing in the neighborhood in more than 50 years, local campus school reform, job training, and political engagement. He continues to be on the forefront of redevelopment efforts in South Dallas, leading organizations that resulted in the development of South Dallas Action Plan, a comprehensive strategic plan for renewal of the South Dallas economic infrastructure, created by a coalition of neighborhood, non-profit, church and business leaders from the South Dallas community. Rev. Britt is a highly sought after preacher and keynote speaker, panelist for various seminars, workshops and institutes for churches, non-profit organizations, colleges and universities, government agencies, concerned with neighborhood redevelopment, leadership and faith-based economic development throughout the country. He has been a television and radio guest on several local and state television and radio stations. He has also been called on to testify before the Congressional Black Caucus in areas of employment training and economic development. Rev. Britt is a founding member of the African-American Pastors Coalition, Baptist Ministers Conference and a Former Vice-President, Board of Directors, Greater Dallas Community of Churches (Chairperson of its Crossroads Program); He is a former two-term member of City of Dallas Urban Rehabilitation and Standards Board (1985-1989) as well as the General Secretary, Oak Cliff Baptist Ministers Union. Other positions have included: Chairman, Oak Cliff Baptist Ministers’ Union City Wide Revival Institute; True Fellowship District Association’s General Secretary and President, Sunday School and Baptist Training Union Congress; Former Secretary, Ministers Conference National Missionary Baptist Convention.
Molita Strong
Case Manager
City Square and SCCIP
Molita Strong is a case manager at CitySquare and for SCCIP (Second Chance Community Improvement Program) in Dallas TX. Molita is a Michigander and has worked for CitySquare a non-profit for the last five years. Molita’s previous experience includes working with victims of domestic violence and women struggling with substance abuse. Molita is currently completing her bachelor’s degree in criminal justice with the plan of enrolling in the Master level social work program after graduation. Molita is a skilled listener and very passionate about social justice. Molita facilitates life skill groups, supports and guides participants through various walks of life and she believes that everyone deserves a second chance. Molita has developed knowledge of, and skills in assisting participants to identify needs and provide complete referral assessments, utilization of agency and community resources. She actively participates in committees, both inside & outside the organization.
Yulise Reaves Waters,
Director of Dallas Programs
Yulise Reaves Waters, Esq. is the Director of Dallas County Programs for Lone Star Justice Alliance, where she oversees the programmatic, data, and community engagement aspects of the Second Chance Community Improvement Program (SCCIP – pronounced “skip”). Prior to joining LSJA, Waters was an Assistant City Attorney and Community Courts Prosecutor for the City of Dallas where she co-founded SCCIP and secured one of ten 2016 Community Courts Grant Program grants awarded by the Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Assistance and the Center for Court Innovation for SCCIP. SCCIP was also awarded the 2018 National Association of Drug Court Professionals’ Equity and Inclusion Award for “excellence and leadership in demonstrating and promoting cultural proficiency in treatment court services.” Prior to assuming her role with the City of Dallas, Waters was partner in Cox Waters, P.L.L.C., a boutique Dallas law firm specializing in family law, collaborative practice and mediation. With her former law partner, the late Gay G. Cox, she co-authored the ground-breaking article “Penetrating the Walls: Overcoming Barriers to the Proliferation of Collaborative Practice in Underserved Communities” in The Collaborative Review: Journal of the International Academy of Collaborative Professionals.
Waters earned her B.A. in English (magna cum laude) and in Spanish (magna cum laude) and her B.B.A. in Organizational Behavior and Business Policy (magna cum laude) from Southern Methodist University (SMU) in Dallas, Texas. As a recipient of the Presidential Scholarship, SMU’s highest academic scholarship, Waters completed additional studies at La Fundacíon de José Ortega y Gasset in Madrid, Spain, where she gained proficiency in speaking Spanish. As a graduating senior, Waters was awarded the SMU Department of English’s Shakespeare Prize for the best paper in all English sections and was named the Senior Woman of the Year of the Cox School of Business and Senior Woman of the Year of SMU (Overall). Waters earned her Juris Doctorate degree from the Dedman School of Law at SMU. At Dedman, she served as Vice President of the SMU Black Law Students Association during which time the chapter was named Chapter of the Year by the National Black Law Students Association. A member of the Inaugural Emerging Leader Board at Dedman School of Law, which recognizes graduates over the last twenty years who have “a strong record of leadership in the legal profession and a proven commitment to public service,” she holds memberships in the State Bar of Texas (and is an appointed member of the Collaborative Law Section Council), the Texas Association of Specialty Courts, the Dallas Bar Association, and the J. L. Turner Legal Association (the Black Bar of Dallas). Additionally, Waters holds certifications in Texas Risk Assessment System and in Crime Prevention through Environmental Design (CPTED), and she has completed additional training at the Caruth Police Leadership Institute.
An advocate for children, young adults, and families, Waters serves on the board of POETIC Trauma Therapy Center and Creative Arts Studio, which equips youth who have experienced sex trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation to find their voices, reclaim their narratives and persist forward. Waters serves on the advisory board of the ARK (Adults Relating to Kids) Group, which works to build stronger families, schools, and communities by empowering adults to empower kids through its award-winning training program. Waters also serves on the board of Family Gateway which empowers children and families affected by homelessness. Waters has been named “One-to-Watch” by SMU Magazine, listed as a “Featured Graduate” of SMU Dedman Law by The Quad Magazine, and she is a recipient of the History Maker Award of the Black Alumni of SMU, their highest honor. She has been named to the Dallas Business Journal’s “40 Under 40” of young professionals representing “innovation and excellence in their fields”, to Who’s Who in Black Dallas, and to the City of Dallas’ Wall of Honor for meritorious service to the citizens of Dallas. A Dallas Public Voices Fellow, Waters’ commentary on race, justice, and policing has been featured on nationally-syndicated radio programs, and her published columns in major U.S. city newspapers.
She is married to the Reverend Dr. Michael W. Waters, and they are the proud parents of three children: Michael Jeremiah, 12, Hope Yulise, 9, and Liberty Grace, 6.
Waters earned her B.A. in English (magna cum laude) and in Spanish (magna cum laude) and her B.B.A. in Organizational Behavior and Business Policy (magna cum laude) from Southern Methodist University (SMU) in Dallas, Texas. As a recipient of the Presidential Scholarship, SMU’s highest academic scholarship, Waters completed additional studies at La Fundacíon de José Ortega y Gasset in Madrid, Spain, where she gained proficiency in speaking Spanish. As a graduating senior, Waters was awarded the SMU Department of English’s Shakespeare Prize for the best paper in all English sections and was named the Senior Woman of the Year of the Cox School of Business and Senior Woman of the Year of SMU (Overall). Waters earned her Juris Doctorate degree from the Dedman School of Law at SMU. At Dedman, she served as Vice President of the SMU Black Law Students Association during which time the chapter was named Chapter of the Year by the National Black Law Students Association. A member of the Inaugural Emerging Leader Board at Dedman School of Law, which recognizes graduates over the last twenty years who have “a strong record of leadership in the legal profession and a proven commitment to public service,” she holds memberships in the State Bar of Texas (and is an appointed member of the Collaborative Law Section Council), the Texas Association of Specialty Courts, the Dallas Bar Association, and the J. L. Turner Legal Association (the Black Bar of Dallas). Additionally, Waters holds certifications in Texas Risk Assessment System and in Crime Prevention through Environmental Design (CPTED), and she has completed additional training at the Caruth Police Leadership Institute.
An advocate for children, young adults, and families, Waters serves on the board of POETIC Trauma Therapy Center and Creative Arts Studio, which equips youth who have experienced sex trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation to find their voices, reclaim their narratives and persist forward. Waters serves on the advisory board of the ARK (Adults Relating to Kids) Group, which works to build stronger families, schools, and communities by empowering adults to empower kids through its award-winning training program. Waters also serves on the board of Family Gateway which empowers children and families affected by homelessness. Waters has been named “One-to-Watch” by SMU Magazine, listed as a “Featured Graduate” of SMU Dedman Law by The Quad Magazine, and she is a recipient of the History Maker Award of the Black Alumni of SMU, their highest honor. She has been named to the Dallas Business Journal’s “40 Under 40” of young professionals representing “innovation and excellence in their fields”, to Who’s Who in Black Dallas, and to the City of Dallas’ Wall of Honor for meritorious service to the citizens of Dallas. A Dallas Public Voices Fellow, Waters’ commentary on race, justice, and policing has been featured on nationally-syndicated radio programs, and her published columns in major U.S. city newspapers.
She is married to the Reverend Dr. Michael W. Waters, and they are the proud parents of three children: Michael Jeremiah, 12, Hope Yulise, 9, and Liberty Grace, 6.