Bio
Dr. Anne Hobbs is a licensed attorney, special appointment faculty, and the Director of the Juvenile Justice Institute at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. She is passionate about translating research into practice, and thereby improving services for youth. Dr. Hobbs has extensive experience evaluating and training on a variety of Nebraska projects ranging from diversion to mentoring. She led the design and implementation of the Evidence-based Nebraska project which evaluates over 200 community-based programs annually. She often gets her inspiration from international partners. She has volunteered in Haiti, taught criminal justice in China, presented at the international youth dialogue in Malaysia, and serves on the Lutheran Community Care Services Board based in Singapore. In 2022, she was awarded a Fulbright to study reentry in Singapore. Dr. Hobbs’ research interests include restorative practice, inequality in access to justice, translating research into practice, juvenile re-entry after incarceration, and mentoring youth who have been involved in juvenile justice system.
Bio
Monica Miles-Steffens, MPA, has over 25 years of experience in juvenile justice, policy, training, and leadership development. She has experience leading organizations and system’s change initiatives in both government and non-profit sectors. In her role as the Assistant Director at the Juvenile Justice Institute (JJI) at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, she leads the training and technical assistance activities of the institute, including the juvenile justice certificate program and Evidence-based Nebraska project training. Monica is the principal investigator leading the program evaluation for the implementation of statewide restorative justice programming funded by OJJDP through the Nebraska Office of Dispute Resolution. Monica has a passion for restorative practices and is a trained mediator and restorative conferencing facilitator.