The BSCC Management Team

Kathleen T. Howardcreate new email, Executive Director

Kathleen “Katie” Howard was appointed by Governor Edmund G. "Jerry" Brown as Executive Director of the Board of State and Community Corrections in October 2013. Ms. Howard has served in California state government since 1990. After completing a Master’s degree in Public Policy from the University of California, Berkeley, she began a 21-year career with the Judicial Council of California, where she served primarily in the Office of Governmental Affairs. In 2011, Howard was appointed to the California Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board. At the BSCC Ms. Howard leads day-to-day operations to ensure that the BSCC successfully fulfills its mission to in partnership with local governments, community based organizations, and other State agencies. Ms. Howard has dedicated her career to focusing on system improvement, and she enjoys meeting the challenges facing the Board in collaboration with BSCC leadership, staff, and the Board’s many stakeholders.

Aaron Maguirecreate new email, General Counsel, Chief Deputy Director

Aaron R. Maguire serves as Chief Deputy Director and General Counsel for the Board of State and Community Corrections, overseeing the policy and legal divisions of the Board as well as the County Facilities Construction Division. For over 20 years, Mr. Maguire has worked on public safety issues, beginning his career at the California Attorney General's Office serving as deputy attorney general in the Appeals, Writs, and Trials division and as legislative advocate. From 2009 through 2012, Mr. Maguire served as Deputy Legislative Affairs Secretary to Governors Edmund G. (Jerry) Brown, Jr. and Arnold Schwarzenegger, advising both governors on legislative matters involving public safety, including Assembly Bill 109 (Chapter 15, Statutes of 2011), civil law, corrections, firearms, gambling, and the judiciary. Mr. Maguire was appointed to the Board of State and Community Corrections by Governor Edmund G. "Jerry" Brown, Jr. in 2016. Prior to his appointment, Mr. Maguire worked as general counsel to Warner & Pank, LLC and as legislative counsel and representative for the California State Sheriffs' Association. Mr. Maguire received his Juris Doctor from the University of California, Davis School of Law and has a Bachelor of Arts in Literature/Writing from the University of California, San Diego.

Tracie Conecreate new email, Director of Communications

Tracie Cone had worked as a journalist for 30 years when Gov. Edmund G. "Jerry" Brown appointed her as the BSCC’s first Communications Director in 2013. At the BSCC, she has worked to increase transparency by enhancing the breadth of information available on the agency’s website and by highlighting local efforts to help people impacted by the justice system. As a journalist, she earned numerous national and state reporting awards at newspapers such as the San Jose Mercury News and the Miami Herald, where she shares a staff Pulitzer Prize for coverage of Hurricane Andrew. The California Press Association named her California Newspaper Executive of the Year in 2001, and she served on the Board of Directors of the California Newspaper Publishers Association.

Vacant, Deputy Director, Corrections Planning and Grant Programs

The CPGP Division administers of a diverse range of state and federal grant programs to community-based organizations, tribes, and state and local governments. Grant funded services and programs include, but are not limited to, addressing public health and safety, diversion, rental assistance, reentry services, parenting and violence reduction.

Allison Gantercreate new email, Deputy Director, Facilities Standards and Operations

Allison Ganter joined the Board of Corrections in 2000 as a Field Representative and was selected as the Deputy Director of the Facilities Standards and Operations Division and the Research Division in 2014. The FSO Team is responsible for developing minimum standards for local detention facilities and conducting annual inspections of the facilities. The Research Team is responsible for data collection and analysis and management of grant rating criteria and program evaluations. Allison's recent work focuses on aligning minimum standards for local detention facilities with best practices and increasing transparency in the inspection process. Allison holds a Bachelor of Arts and a Master of Arts in Criminal Justice from the University at Albany. She worked at the New York State Commission of Correction and was a legislative staff member in the New York State Assembly prior to joining the Board.

Colleen Curtincreate new email, Deputy Director, Standards and Training for Corrections

Colleen Curtin has worked in the community corrections field for 27 years, the past eight with BSCC. As a Field Representative, Colleen played an integral role in the development of the California Violence Intervention and Prevention (CalVIP) and Proposition 47 grant programs, which required complex policy development to establish program priorities in tandem with the Administration, Legislators and stakeholders. As the Deputy Director of the Standards and Training for Corrections Division, Colleen leads the BSCC's statewide selection and training program for California's local youth and adult corrections officers and probation officers. Colleen began her career in 1995 as a probation officer with Sacramento County and has served in several capacities at the Attorney General's Crime & Violence Prevention Center, the Governor's Office of Gang and Youth Violence Policy and the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Colleen is most proud of her work in facilitating a multi-agency safe passage program around ten of L.A.'s most gang-impacted high schools. She holds a dual bachelor's degree in Government and Spanish from Saint Mary's College of California and a Master of Social Work from CSU, Sacramento.

Anita Butlercreate new email, Director of Administration

Anita Butler joined the BSCC in 2019 as the Chief of Administration and promoted to the Deputy Director of Administration in 2022. Anita provides leadership to BSCC's accounting, budgeting, information technology, personnel, and support services. She has been instrumental in developing administrative policies and procedures, including COVID-19 policies that allowed BSCC to quickly pivot to telework at the start of the pandemic. She leads the administration team through the development of new budget, contracts and procurements, personnel, and IT processes, and oversees increasingly complex BSCC’s administrative services. Anita has served in state government since 1995 in various departments, including the California Department of Justice - Division of Law Enforcement and California Department of Public Health (CDPH) where she worked at the Women, Infants and Children Program and supported local agencies that provided relevant, quality nutritional services and education to participants; and ensured they were good stewards of public resources. While working at the CDPH, she also served as the Preventive Health and Health Services Block Grant Coordinator and led teams that provided administrative support to chronic disease prevention programs.

Adam Lwincreate new email, Special Assistant to the Chair and Executive Director

Adam Lwin has served in state government since 2011, and in 2017 joined the BSCC as an Associate Governmental Program Analyst and assistant to the Executive Director. He promoted to Board secretary in 2018, handling correspondences between the Chair and Members, organizing the agenda, and performing the meeting administrative functions. Adam also tracks legislation and oversees the Juvenile Justice Crime Prevention Act and the Youthful Offender Block Grant programs that provide funding to counties to reduce crime and delinquency among at-risk youth and the Juvenile Reentry Grant . Previously he had worked as a behavioral specialist in state foster care and conducted inspections of childcare homes and day care centers for DSS.