Mrs. Charland is currently the Executive Director of Bethlehem Youth Court, a non-profit diversion program for youth who have committed first time, low-level offenses in the community. Her experience in the field of juvenile justice advocacy spans over a decade. She has been involved with Youth Courts for the past thirteen years, primarily as the Director of Bethlehem Youth Court. During that time she has served as both the Secretary and Co-President for the Association of New York State Youth Courts (ANYSYC). She was involved with the New York State Bar Association’s (NYSBA) School to Prison Pipeline Taskforce, a special committee that prepared a report and recommendations on how to address this specific area of need. She has participated in several panel discussions and has delivered numerous presentations on these topics.
Mrs. Charland graduated from Russell Sage College Magna Cum Laude in 2007 with a B.A. in History and a minor in Criminal Justice. She was employed by Policy Research Associates in Delmar, NY for three years, before her voluntary departure to pursue her career in direct implementation of court diversion programs. While at Policy Research Associates, Mrs. Charland worked in the Criminal Justice Division performing research related tasks for diversion courts, specifically mental health courts. She also assisted in the creation of a suicide prevention training program for attorneys and court staff to help identify and appropriately respond to people who are at-risk for suicide.