The Pathways Learning Network convened on December 15 to hear how courts in Florida, North Carolina, and Tennessee have implemented trauma-informed policies and programs to better support children and families.

Many individuals who interact with the justice system have experienced significant trauma; to mitigate the impact of trauma and improve long-term outcomes, some courts have developed programs and policies that train court personnel on the effects of trauma and adversity, modify courtroom environments to reduce stress, and integrate services for children and families.

During this session, participants heard from Judge Sheila Calloway, Juvenile Court Judge in Davidson County, Tennessee; Mimi Graham, Director of Florida State University’s Center for Prevention and Early Intervention Policy; and Amelia Thorn, Assistant Director of the Bolch Judicial Institute at Duke Law School and member of the North Carolina Chief Justice’s Task Force on ACEs-Informed Courts.

Watch the full Pathways Learning Network session below. Read best practices from the session on the blog.

 

Meet the Speakers:

Judge Sheila Calloway, Juvenile Court Judge in Davidson County, Tennessee

Sheila Calloway, a native of Louisville, KY, came to Nashville, Tennessee in 1987. She received her B.A. degree in Communications in 1991 and her J.D. in 1994 both from Vanderbilt University. After graduating, she worked at the Metro Public Defender’s Office in both the adult system as well as the juvenile system. In January 2004, she was appointed by Judge Betty Adams Green to the position of Juvenile Court Magistrate. She was elected Juvenile Court Judge in August 2014. She serves as an Adjunct Professor at Vanderbilt University Law School, Belmont Law School and American Baptist College.

Judge Calloway is currently a member of the Napier-Looby Bar Association, the Nashville Bar Association, and the Disproportionate Minority Local Task Force. She also serves on The Pencil Foundation Board and the Homework Hotline Board. She has previously served on the Board of the Nashville Prevention Partnership, the MNPS Academies Partnership Council, where she is a past chair of the Health and Public Services Partnership Council. She is a past chair of the Advisory Board of the Cane Ridge High School Academy of Law, a 2013 member of Leadership Donelson/Hermitage, a member of the 2016 Class of Leadership Nashville and served on the state-wide Advisory Board of Tennessee Voices for Victims. She is the former co-founder and co-director of The Voices of Justice – a choir comprised of Juvenile Court employees and others that work with juveniles. She has also worked with Project Prison Connect – a program designed to educate high school students across Davidson County about the criminal justice system.

Mimi Graham, Director of Florida State University’s Center for Prevention and Early Intervention Policy

Dr. Mimi Graham is Director of Florida State University Center for Prevention and Early Intervention Policy, a center of excellence in trauma, infant mental health, human trafficked pregnant teens, and policy & best practices during the pivotal first 1,000 days of life. She pioneered a statewide infant mental health movement building clinical capacity, co-founding the Florida Association for Infant Mental Health and infusing infant mental health across systems as showcased in Florida’s Cutting-Edge Trauma Initiatives. As a member of the Florida Supreme Court Committee on Children, she helps spearhead Florida’s Early Childhood Court Initiative, integrating mental health into courts to break the multigenerational cycle of ACEs. She is a Fellow of Zero to Three National Center for Infants, Toddlers & Families and recipient of the 2019 Voice for Children Award, 2017 Florida Tax Watch Productivity Award for Early Childhood Court, and the Children’s Advocate Award, Legal Services of North Florida and the Florida Bar’s Medal of Honor.

Amelia Thorn, Assistant Director of the Bolch Judicial Institute at Duke Law School

Amelia Ashton Thorn is assistant director for special projects at the Bolch Judicial Institute. In her role, she designs educational programming for state and federal judges and serves as the articles editor for Judicature, the Institute’s scholarly journal about the administration of justice. She was previously the inaugural Bolch Judicial Institute Fellow. Amelia clerked for Justice Don R. Willett of the Texas Supreme Court (now of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit) as well as for Judge Harry T. Edwards of the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. She subsequently worked as an associate at Williams & Connolly and Crowell & Moring, as well as an assistant general counsel at the American Chemistry Council, one of the nation’s oldest and largest trade associations. She has substantial publishing experience, having worked as a writer and editor prior to law school, including acting as editor-in-chief for a magazine with a circulation of more than 70,000. She graduated magna cum laude from Duke Law, where she headed all student publication as the Senior Notes Editor of the Duke Law Journal and was a recipient of the Justin Miller Award. Amelia received her Bachelor of Arts from Stanford University with university distinction and departmental honors. She has been published in law reviews, magazines, and poetry journals.

Event Info

  • Location: Virtual
  • Date: December 15
  • Time: 3:00 - 4:00 PM ET
  • Phone: