NEWS RELEASE
OFFICE OF THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY
*************************
The 20th Judicial District (Boulder County) District Attorney’s Office is committed to enhancing public safety, improving the justice system, seeking justice in every case, and meeting the needs of our entire community. The Office has a legacy of being leaders in progressive criminal justice reform. Elaina Shively, the Director of the DA’s Office’s Center for Prevention and Restorative Justice and a Senior Deputy District Attorney, was chosen to participate in a distance learning leadership curriculum hosted by Stanford University Executive Education called Prosecution Leaders of Now (PLN). PLN is offered by the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative’s Transforming Prosecution program in partnership with Right on Crime, Prosecutor Impact, Public Rights Project, Vera Institute of Justice, Fair and Just Prosecution, For the People, and R Street.
Shively is one of forty-five emerging leaders in prosecution who were selected for this inaugural class out of a pool of over 300 applicants. The twelve-week program was kicked off on August 12th, 2020, by Adam Foss, founder of Prosecutor Impact. The District Attorney’s Office partners with Prosecutor Impact and, in 2019, hosted Adam Foss for a community discussion on race, equity, and public safety. The Boulder County District Attorney’s Office was also selected as a site for the Vera Institute of Justice’s Reshaping Prosecution Program for external data review and future policy and equity work.
From the program overview:
Prosecutors’ everyday decisions impact millions of lives. Every time they touch a case, there are opportunities to improve outcomes for people in the system and strengthen community trust. The aim of this program is to gather a diverse cohort of emerging leaders in prosecution from communities across the country who will grow together as leaders ― even and especially after the formal curriculum has concluded. Each week features different personal or organizational leadership modules including topics on personal values, social justice, cognitive biases and decision-making, leadership through difference, disparate power in negotiation, organizational strategy, and crisis management. In addition, supplementary content will help participants apply the leadership curriculum to the challenges they face in their daily work.
Elaina Shively said:
“I am excited for the opportunity to share the innovative and successful reform work our Office is already doing and to learn from these amazing organizations and other leaders in progressive prosecution from around the country. Our first session was one of the most energizing experiences I have had in my career and I am thrilled to be able to participate. It is an incredible time to be a part of a DA’s Office that is committed to advancing equity, and to improving outcomes for victims, offenders, and the community by learning from and reacting to data and promising practices. Public safety is best achieved when we use compassion and can increase trust in our system, and don’t leave people worse off than they were before they were in contact with our system. Prosecutors are often asked to solve social problems without having the right tools to do so, and I am excited for the new ideas generated through this program.”
District Attorney Michael Dougherty stated:
This office is strongly committed to protecting the community and improving the justice system. In order to meet this commitment, our office consistently seeks to maintain and strengthen community trust. A program such as this one is another important step in the right direction. Our office is honored to have been selected. Elaina Shively is a leader for this office and our community; she is an outstanding choice for this program.
*************************
