The Charleston County Criminal Justice Coordinating Council (CJCC) membership today announced the 2024-2026 Executive Committee, elected at the June 26, 2024 meeting.
The newly elected members of the Executive Committee are:
- Chairman: Mark Arnold, Chief, Mount Pleasant Police Department
- Vice Chair: Brandon Lilienthal, Homeless Coordinator for the City of North Charleston
- Community Representative Vice Chair: Ashley Pennington, Attorney at Burnette Shutt & McDaniel, PA
The CJCC sincerely thanks the outgoing Executive Committee for their commitment and leadership. The Executive Committee completing their term of service are:
- Chairman: Jason Bruder, Captain, Charleston Police Department
- Vice Chair: Lea Ann Adkins, Legal Services, One80 Place
- Community Representative Vice Chair: Keith Smalls, Founder & Executive Director, My Community's Keeper Mentor Group
In addition to the new Executive Committee, the membership elected four new community representatives. The representatives will serve a two-year term alongside the new Executive Committee. The newly elected Community Representatives are:
- Local Community-At-Large Representative: Dr. Anthony Bishara, Professor, Department of Psychology, College of Charleston
- Local Graduate Community in a Related Field of Study: Leslie Hill, Associate Professor, Department of Criminal Justice, The Citadel
- Local Healthcare Community: Christopher M. Welch, health equity subject matter expert
- Designated Liaison by the Executive Committee: Kierra Wilson, Owner, Konnect Support Solutions, LLC
“The CJCC's strength is rooted in the unwavering dedication and commitment of its members who voluntarily unite from diverse communities and agencies across Charleston County with a shared mission: to improve our local criminal justice system and to better serve our community. Charleston County takes immense pride in the vigorous efforts surrounding CJCC’s work, consistently leading the state in data-driven criminal justice improvement. We are always thrilled to welcome new leadership with creative ideas to continue propelling us towards significant progress as we tackle long-standing challenges within the criminal justice,” said Eric Watson, Deputy County Administrator of Public Safety for Charleston County.
Since its inception in 2015, the role of the CJCC is to assist in making sustainable, data-driven improvements to Charleston County’s criminal justice system and thereby improve public safety and community well-being.
