Tarik Sugarmon, incoming Shelby County juvenile court judge introduces transition team

Micaela A Watts, Memphis Commercial Appeal
·3 min read
From 2012 until 2018 the Department of Justice monitored the juvenile detention center after a report noted numerous violations. Since then, yearly reports have indicated an overall reduction in physical harm and increases in safety among the housed youth.
From 2012 until 2018 the Department of Justice monitored the juvenile detention center after a report noted numerous violations. Since then, yearly reports have indicated an overall reduction in physical harm and increases in safety among the housed youth.

Incoming Shelby County Juvenile Court Judge Tarik Sugarmon has announced his transition team, as he prepares to reevaluate existing juvenile court processes ahead once in office on Sept. 1.

Within the transition team, leadership positions are comprised of familiar names from public, private, and nonprofit sectors, including Kenneth May, TaJuan Stout Mitchell, and Cardell Orin.

The leadership transition team is charged with, "identifying best talent for executive leadership positions and make recommendations to the judge," according to a press release from Sugarmon's team.

Additional volunteers will serve on a committee that will review current juvenile court processes before submitting a final report to Sugarmon.

Sugarmon, who unseated current Juvenile Court Judge Dan Michael in the August general election, campaigned on a promise to overhaul current juvenile court practices. Those practices, Sugarmon contended, often veered toward more punitive measures over earlier intervention — something Sugarmon spoke of as critical to reversing Shelby County's rate of violent crime committed by youth.

"If if a child is charged with committing a delinquent act, let the counselor start to work with the family and the child at that first instance — so we get them on a track of rehabilitation immediately," Sugarmon told The Commercial Appeal in July.

Members of the leadership transition team are:

  • Kenneth May - former CEO of FedExOffice and chair of the March of Dimes' board of trustees

  • Cardell Orin - Tennessee Director of Stand for Children and a founding board member for Hattiloo Theatre

  • Rosalyn Nichols - organizing pastor of Freedom's Chapel Christian Church

  • TaJuan Stout Mitchell - former Memphis City Schools Board Member and Memphis City Council member. Retired Regional Director of the American Cancer Society

  • Stephanie Hill - specialist in non-profit youth development and early education, member of the Board of Directors for the Uplift Westwood Community Development Corporation.

  • Dottie Jones - former director of Community Services for Shelby County Government and both founder and executive director of Coaction Net.

  • Frank Smith - formerly of Morgan Keegan pre-merger, now splits time evenly between entrepreneurial start-ups, and for-profit businesses as well as philanthropic efforts

  • Willie Gregory - former board member of National Civil Rights Museum, Youth Villages, Memphis Development Foundation, corporate leadership at Nike

Committee members of the transition team include:

  • Natalie McKinney, Co Founder/Executive Director at Whole Child Strategies, Inc.

  • Bill Powell, former Shelby County Criminal Justice Coordinator

  • Sybille Noble, retired Managing Director FEDEX & Retired Assistant General Counsel from Memphis and Shelby County Schools

  • Phyllis Aluko, Chief Public Defender

  • Carnita McKeithen, attorney with the Shelby County Public Defender Office

  • Josh Spickler, attorney, Executive Director at Just City, Inc.

  • Raumesh Akbari, Tennessee State Senator and attorney

  • Mary McDaniel, retired FDX executive, owner of MHM consulting

  • Carolyn Jackson, Chief of Security, Memphis & Shelby County Schools

  • Tamika Greer, artist and activist, Memphis Artists for Change

  • Gale Jones Carson, Vice President of Community & External Affairs at MLGW

  • Blake Ballin, criminal defense attorney

  • J.B. Smiley, City Councilman and attorney

  • Martatvius Jones, City Councilman, financial Advisor and chartered federal employee benefits consultant for Jones Wealth Management Group

  • Kamilah Turner, attorney

  • Mahal Burr, Youth Action Center Director at BRIDGES, USA

  • Charles Elloitt, Chief Information Officer at LeMoyne-Owen College, Managing Principal at National Infrastructure Group

  • Florence Hervery, CEO of Case Management Inc.

  • Robert Hill, retired Shelby County executive for the County Trustee’s Office

  • Dr. Angela Whitelaw, interim superintendent for Memphis & Shelby County Schools

  • Cheyenne Johnson, current Memphis City Councilwoman

  • Jane Venson-Talford, regional human resources manager for Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

  • Gerald Thornton, attorney and human resources director for Shelby County Government

  • Janiece Johnson Lee, vice-president at MICAH Memphis

Micaela Watts is a reporter for The Commercial Appeal and can be reached at micaela.watts@commercialappeal.com.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Tarik Sugarmon Juvenile Court Judge Shelby County transition team