About the Panelists

Kathleen DeCataldo, Esq. is the Executive Director of the New York State Permanent Judicial Commission on Justice for Children. Ms. DeCataldo is responsible for developing and implementing the work of the Commission which aims to improve the lives and life chances of children involved in the court system. Responding to emerging child welfare, juvenile justice and related health, education and other well being issues, Ms. DeCataldo is responsible for the development of materials, training aids, trainings and conferences to enhance judicial and other professionals’ knowledge and understanding of the issues as a means to better serve children involved with the court system. Ms. DeCataldo advocates for the Commission’s agenda by developing legislative, administrative and other reforms; speaking at state, national and local events; serving on leadership committees and advisory groups, including New York City Family Court Administrative Judge Advisory Council and New York State Child Welfare Court Improvement Project Advisory Group; and conducting trainings and forums.

Judge Jane Pearl was appointed to the New York City Family Court bench in 2000 by Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, and was reappointed in 2009 by Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Judge Pearl presently sits in New York County. From 2000 - 2003, and from 2009 - 2012, she sat as a judge in Bronx County. Judge Pearl has served as Supervising Judge of Kings and Richmond Counties and of New York County Family Courts. Prior legal experience includes service as a Court Attorney-Referee, Support Magistrate, and Court Attorney, in New York County Family Court, and work in the Family Law Department of Tenzer, Greenblatt (now Blank Rome).
Prior to becoming an attorney, Judge Pearl was a psychologist at the National Institute for Human Relationships and psychologist and forensic consultant at Associated Mental Health Services, both in Chicago; held teaching positions as a Substance Abuse Clinician and Research Associate at the University of Illinois Department of Preventive Medicine and School of Public Health; and was a lecturer at Tel Aviv University’s Sackler Faculty of Medicine, in Israel.

Mr. Carvente is a program analyst for Vera's Center on Youth Justice, where he works on improving conditions of confinement, including efforts to support the incorporation of youth voices in facility-based and statewide juvenile justice policy reform. Carvente graduated from the CUNY John Jay College of Criminal Justice with a degree in criminal justice, where he founded and continues to assist the Youth Justice Club. Outside of Vera and John Jay, Hernan is a member of the New York State Juvenile Justice Advisory Group and is the northeast regional representative for the Coalition for Juvenile Justice’s (CJJ) National Youth Committee. He also serves on advisory boards with the National Academies of Science and the Annie E. Casey Foundation. His goal to advance efforts to reform the structure of the U.S. criminal justice system stems from his own experiences in the juvenile justice system. In May 2013, he was awarded the Spirit of Youth Award by CJJ and, in December 2014, he was awarded the Next Generation Champion for Change Award by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.

Lois Herrera, the Chief Executive Officer for the Office of Safety and Youth Development (OSYD), has served in many professional capacities within the New York City Department of Education spanning over 28 years. Currently, as CEO of OSYD, Ms. Herrera oversees the areas of safety, security, attendance and student support services. Prior to becoming CEO, NYC’s public school Chancellor Fariña charged Lois Herrera with forming the Office of Guidance and School Counseling. As Senior Executive Director of the Office of Guidance and School Counseling, Ms. Herrera designed this office to focus on building the capacity of school counselors to positively impact student academic success, social emotional development and postsecondary planning. Guided by the standards of the American School Counselor Association (ASCA), New York State Learning Standards, and Common Core Learning Standards, counselors are supported in delivering a comprehensive program that supports every student to be effective learners and contributing members of the school community. Prior to the formation of the new office, Lois Herrera served as Deputy CEO for Youth Development and Support Services in the Office of Safety and Youth Development (OSYD) overseeing policy for the areas of school counseling, substance abuse prevention and intervention, attendance, community partnerships, and Students in Temporary housing. Lois Herrera began her career as a Bilingual Guidance Counselor in a large middle school (JHS 189Q) in Queens. In this role, she served as an advocate for students and their parents for 14 years. She moved forward to become the Assistant Director of Pupil Personnel Services for District 25 in Queens, a role in which she supported the work of 55 guidance counselors in 31 schools. In 2003, Ms. Herrera entered the NYC Leadership Academy and was in the first graduating class of the Aspiring Principals Program. Following this program, Ms. Herrera joined the Office of School Intervention and Development (OSID) in 2004 as the Director of School Programs and Development. One of her major projects in this role was the annual review and dissemination of the Citywide Standards of Discipline and Intervention Measures: The Discipline Code. In 2007, she assumed the role of Director of Student Support Services in the newly formed Office of School and Youth Development (OSYD) which is now the Office of Safety and Youth Development. Mrs. Herrera is a graduate of Mount Holyoke College (BA), Harvard Graduate School of Education (EdM), and St. John’s University (PD).

Lisa Salvatore is a Defense Lawyer with the Brooklyn Defender Services. She represents adolescents in criminal court and the Supreme Court. Ms. Salvatore received her Bachelor’s Degree in Philosophy from Colgate University and her law degree from Brooklyn Law School where she was the Managing Editor of the Brooklyn Law Review and a member of the Moot Court Honor Society. She joined The Legal Aid Society, Criminal Defense Division, Kings County in 1991. In 1997, she continued advocating for indigent clients when she joined Queens Law Associates, a public defense law firm. Ms. Salvatore has had the honor of being the Court Attorney to an Acting Supreme Court Justice in Queens County, Criminal Term. As a supervising attorney, she has observed that “many adolescent experience trauma from the arrest, being placed in handcuffs, and held in holding cells with adults.” She cites that diversion programs are essential to her practice.