New Board of Juvenile Hearings member sworn in
Phlunte Riddle has been appointed to the Board of Juvenile Hearings by Governor Gavin Newsom and was sworn in at her home in Pasadena on October 24. Riddle has been owner of Phlunte Riddle Leadership Consultants since 2013. She served as an external affairs consultant to State Assemblymember Chris Holden from 2018 to 2019 and as director and field representative of his district office from 2016 to 2018. She was interim executive director of the YWCA Pasadena-Foothill Valley Chapter in 2013. She served in several positions at the Pasadena Police Department from 1984 to 2012, including as a police officer, investigator, sergeant, lieutenant, public information officer and adjutant to the chief of police. She earned a Doctor of Psychology degree in organizational management from Phillips Graduate Institute. Ms. Riddle will be onboarding over the next month or so and will participate in hearings in December. Please welcome her when she visits headquarters next week and facilities in the coming weeks.
Photo by Clarissa Koenig.
Odyssey Project now an online documentary
By Karette Fussell
Last June, a live audience at Ventura Youth Correction Facility was transported via The Odyssey Project, a version of the epic Greek tale of Odysseus myriad ten year travails, performed by a cast of VYCF youth and students from the Theater and Dance department at UC Santa Barbara. The performance kept a spellbound audience guessing—and gasping—a culmination of 12 weeks of study in physical theater and mime, dance mask-making and personal story-telling.
Now, that epic retelling and the behind-the-scenes experience of the youth and staff is being retold via a short five minute documentary released this week by UCSB, entitled Inside the Odyssey. It’s recommended that you view it via a desktop computer since it’s not optimized for devices like phones and tablets. There’s also a photo gallery and interview with the production’s director, Keith Michael Morgan.
According Mr. Morgan, “Through the spirit of adventure and play, this project aims to elevate, heal and transform. A collaborative undertaking by incarcerated teens and UC undergraduates celebrates diversity by bringing these two disparate groups together to tell one story while honoring the unique perspective of each individual.”
The production was made possible by the generous support of the California Arts Council JUMP StArts grant, C. Dana White, Ventura Youth Correctional Facility, the Interdisciplinary Humanities Center and the UCSB Department of Theater and Dance.
Here is your Question of the Week:
For upward mobility, should I still be looking at announcements that have the wording Correctional Facility (CF) in it?
All current DJJ positions will transfer over to the new Department as is. This includes the Correctional Facility (CF) designation associated with certain positions. All the current CF designated positions will remain which will still allow for upward mobility. This applies to all Division of Juvenile Justice positions and not CDCR Division of Adult Institutions positions.
Got a question? Email us at DJJTransition@cdcr.ca.gov