Speakers

Speakers from the 2008 National Youth Gang Symposium included:

J. Robert Flores, Administrator, OJJDP

A longtime advocate for children, J. Robert Flores has led a distinguished career in juvenile and criminal justice. Currently the Administrator of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, a position he assumed in April 2002, Mr. Flores previously served in the Criminal Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, where he worked on issues related to child exploitation and obscenity.

Mr. Flores is an experienced lawyer and former prosecutor with expertise in Internet crime, child abuse and exploitation, and juvenile justice issues. In his role as OJJDP Administrator, he has spearheaded efforts to increase and improve federal interagency cooperation, serving as Vice Chairman of the Coordinating Council on Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. In keeping with the President’s management initiatives to make the federal government more efficient, Mr. Flores has initiated three pilot programs to address youth gangs, reduce child prostitution, and improve the juvenile justice system. Before his OJJDP appointment, Mr. Flores was the Vice President and Senior Counsel for the National Law Center for Children and Families. From 1989 to 1997, Mr. Flores was Senior Trial Attorney and Acting Deputy Chief in the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Criminal Division, of the U.S. Department of Justice. In 1999, he was appointed to the Child Online Protection Act Commission by the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, Dennis Hastert.

Mr. Flores earned his juris doctorate from Boston University School of Law and a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Boston University School of Management.

Nicky Cruz

Nicky's earliest memories are of a hellish childhood in Puerto Rico. Abuse and neglect turned Nicky into an uncontrollable child ruled by hatred. His father finally sent him to live with his brother in New York City. However, Nicky took to the streets, where he found his first “real family experience” in the gang. In the past forty years, Nicky has spoken around the world and worked with thousands of inner-city gang members. He is the author of Run, Baby, Run.

Andrew A. Valdez

Judge Andrew A. Valdez was appointed to the Third District Juvenile Court in June of 1993. He graduated from the University of Utah College of Law in 1977. Prior to his appointment, Judge Valdez was a commissioned captain in the U.S. Army J.A.G. Corp and trial counsel with the Legal Defenders Association Felony/Homicide Division. Judge Valdez has developed a court-based mentoring program, partnerships with community education schools, and opportunities for female juvenile offenders to work off restitution obligations. He is the author of No One Makes it Alone.

Cal Ripken, Jr.

Cal Ripken is baseball’s all-time Iron Man. He retired from baseball in October 2001, after 21 seasons with the Baltimore Orioles. His name appears in the record books repeatedly, most notably as one of only eight players in history to achieve 400 home runs and 3,000 hits.

Ripken’s name has become synonymous with strength, character, endurance, and integrity. His philosophy of working hard, playing with passion, and enjoying the game has made a tremendous impact on the sport and on fans everywhere. In 1999, Babe Ruth League, Inc. changed the name of its largest division (5- to 12-year-olds) from Bambino to Cal Ripken Baseball. Presently, more than 700,000 youths play Cal Ripken Baseball worldwide.

Ripken has always placed a strong focus on giving back to the community. In 2001, he and his family established the Cal Ripken, Sr. Foundation, in memory of the family’s patriarch. The foundation helps teach life lessons through baseball to disadvantaged youth from all over the country and gives them a life-changing experience. The foundation has refurbished fields throughout Maryland, donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to Boys & Girls Clubs across the country, and helped thousands of kids enjoy baseball experiences that they would otherwise never encounter. Additionally, the foundation has teamed up with NikeGo, the nonprofit arm of Nike, to donate more than $1 million of baseball and softball equipment to school systems across the country.

Among his many on-field accolades are AL Rookie of the Year (’82), two-time AL Most Valuable Player (’83, ’91), two-time Gold Glove recipient (’91, ’92), two-time All-Star MVP (’91, ’01), a world-record 2,632 consecutive games, and 19 All-Star Game selections. In 2001, Cal was honored when fans named his 2,131st consecutive game Major League Baseball’s “Most Memorable Moment” in history through a program run by MLB.

Hector Alicea

Investigator, New York State Police, Albany, NY

John Anderson

Deputy District Attorney, Orange County District Attorney’s Office, Santa Ana, CA

Duane Bourdeaux

Executive Director, Colors of Success, Salt Lake City, UT

Valerie Boykin

Juvenile Justice Consultant, Washington, DC

Tim Bynum, Ph.D.

Michigan State University, Lansing, MI

Wayne Caffey

Detective, Gang Operations Support Division, Los Angeles Police Department, Los Angeles, CA

Ernest Cuthbertson

Detective, Greensboro Police Department, Greensboro, SC

Stephen Duncan

Special Agent, Mexican Drug Trafficking Strike Force, Bureau of Investigations, California Department of Justice, San Diego, CA

Bruce Ferrell

Detective, Omaha Police Department (retired), Omaha, NE

Victor Gonzalez

Director of Prevention and Intervention Services, Houston Mayor’s Anti-Gang Office, Houston, TX

Christopher Grant

Captain, Rapid City Police Department (retired), Rapid City, SD

Mary Hatheway

School-Based Intake Coordinator, Allegheny County Juvenile Probation Department, Pittsburgh, PA

Dave Hayeslip, Ph.D.

The Urban Institute, Bethesda, MD

Frank Hosch

Deputy Director, Juvenile Services Division, Ramsey County Community Corrections Department, St. Paul, MN

James C. “Buddy” Howell, Ph.D.

National Youth Gang Center, Pinehurst, NC

Pauline Jimenez

Houston Mayor’s Anti-Gang Office, Houston, TX

Errika Fearbry Jones

Director, Gang-Free Schools, Pittsburgh Public Schools, Pittsburgh, PA

Candice Kane, Ph.D.

Chief Operating Officer, Chicago Project for Violence Protection, University of Illinois, Chicago, IL

Malcolm W. Klein, Ph.D.

University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA

Don Kodluboy, Ph.D.

School Psychology Consultant, St. Paul, MN

Karen MacDonald

Vice President, Boys & Girls Clubs of America, Atlanta, GA

Cheryl L. Maxson, Ph.D.

University of California, Irvine, CA

Paul Mohler

Juvenile Crime Intervention Section, Texas Attorney General’s Office, Austin, TX

Dana Peterson, Ph.D.

University at Albany, Albany, NY

David Reid

Director of Delinquency Prevention, Boys & Girls Clubs of America, Atlanta, GA

Bob Robinson

St. Louis County Police Department, St. Louis, MO

Wayne Sakamoto

Murrieta School District, Riverside, CA

Al Valdez, Ph.D.

Professor, School of Social Sciences, International Studies Program, University of California, Irvine, CA

Jeff Wennar

Assistant State’s Attorney, Montgomery County, Maryland State’s Attorney’s Office

William Ybarra

Consultant, Safe Schools Center, Los Angeles County Office of Education, Los Angeles, CA