Peter Forbes  | 

Peter Forbes’ long-standing service to Massachusetts DYS began in January of 1983 when he was first hired as a direct-care worker at a long-term secure treatment program in Boston. Peter went on to serve as the DYS Regional Director in Boston for more than 10 years. In that role, he established a series of constructive relationships with public agency and community-based partners. Peter was appointed Commissioner of Massachusetts DYS in 2013. 

Priorities for the agency under Peter’s stewardship included educational attainment and employment and training opportunities for the youth in the custody of the Department with the long term goal of improving public safety and reducing recidivism. Peter focused on ensuring that services at DYS were developmentally appropriate and transferable as youth return to their home communities. Under Peter’s leadership, DYS involved youth realized significant success related to their academic achievement. Peter additionally focused agency planning around the concept of fairness with the understanding that if youth (and families) perceive their interaction with juvenile justice professionals as fair they will be more likely to internalize positive change. 

Peter holds a Master of Science in Human Services from the College of Public and Community Service at the University of Massachusetts, Boston and an undergraduate degree in Sociology from the University of Massachusetts, Lowell. 

Ana Bermudez  | 

Ana M. Bermúdez is the NYC Department of Probation’s (DOP’s) first openly gay person, first Latina and second woman to be appointed Commissioner. A graduate of Brown University and Yale Law School, Commissioner Bermúdez began her professional career representing children in family court cases at the Legal Aid Society. For over twenty years, she has been a tireless advocate for children and teenagers involved in the justice system through the development and implementation of strengths-based interventions, the application of restorative and youth development practices and the designing of programs that ensure successful re-integration for adjudicated juveniles

Andre Davis  | 

Andre M. Davis served for thirty years as a judge on four courts: the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, the United States District court, the Circuit Court for Baltimore City, and the Maryland state District Court. Before his appointment as a judge, he had served as an appellate attorney for the Civil Rights Division for the U.S. Department of Justice and as an Assistant United States Attorney in Baltimore. Upon retiring from the bench, the Mayor of Baltimore appointed Davis as City Solicitor. In that role, which he held until March 2020, he led the City Law Department, comprised of more than one hundred lawyers and support personnel, and served as one of five members of the City’s Board of Estimates, the municipal spending authority. Davis received a BA in American history from the University of Pennsylvania and graduated cum laude from the University of Maryland School of Law.

Lauren Sanchez Gilbert, Ed.D  | 

Lauren Sanchez Gilbert, Ed.D. is Chief Executive Officer at BellXcel, a leading national non-profit in youth development with nearly 30 years’ experience innovating proven educational solutions. BellXcel partners with youth organizations and schools to license its evidence-based comprehensive solution for K-8 afterschool and summer programming.

Lauren joined BellXcel in 2011 and served in several leadership roles prior to being named CEO in 2017, including Vice President of Program Impact, President and Chief Strategy Officer.

Lauren is leading the organization in an ambitious strategic transformation focused on changing the way its partners empower educators, build sustainable high-quality practices and outcomes, and reach exponentially more children and their families. Most significantly, Lauren is overseeing the creation of bold, innovative solutions that will further revolutionize the youth development sector as first to market, all-in-one SaaS products for youth leaders and school administrators to scale and power their programs anytime, anywhere.

Lauren’s ongoing commitment to bring the power of practitioner work and deep research together to build field capacity fueled the launch the Sperling Center for Research and Innovation, an independent BellXcel affiliate designed to bridge the research to practice to policy gap in the education field.

Lauren began her career as a special education teacher in her native New Mexico and later served as an Assistant Superintendent in Massachusetts. She holds a Bachelor Degree from the University of New Mexico in Special Education and earned a Doctorate in Education from Boston College.

Lauren has attended the highly-selective nonprofit leadership program at Harvard University, and was named a Results for America Nonprofit Fellow in 2016. She serves as a member of The Bridgespan Group’s Knowledge Advisory Board, a diverse group of recognized leaders committed to accelerating impact in the social sector and deepening the relevance and influence of insights and tools.

Lauren also serves as a board member for Roca, a community-based organization determined to be a relentless force in disrupting incarceration, poverty and racism by engaging young adults, police and systems at the center of urban violence to address trauma, find hope and drive change.

Lauren is the proud mother of an active and beautiful teenaged daughter.

Chief Michael Davis  | 

Michael Davis began his public service in 1992 and as a police officer with the City of Minneapolis.  During his career with the Minneapolis Police Department, Mike served as a sergeant, lieutenant and sector commander. In 2008, he became the Chief of Police for the City of Brooklyn Park, Minnesota’s 6^th largest and second most diverse municipality.  During his six-year tenure as Chief, Mike led the City of Brooklyn Park to the lowest levels of crime in 22 years.

Mike currently serves as the Associate Vice President of Public Safety for Northeastern University, a global research institution based in Boston, with an enrollment of over 35,000 students and campuses throughout the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom.  Reporting to Mike in this role is the Northeastern University Police Department, Office of Emergency Management and the International Safety Office.

Mike was the recipient of the 2012 Gary P. Hayes Award from the Police Executive Research Forum (PERF).  This award is given annually to a leader in policing, in recognition of their outstanding initiative in improving the quality of police service.  Mike was also one of a few select police chiefs throughout the nation to be invited as a member of the 2011-2014 Harvard Executive Session on Policing and Public Safety a project of the National Institute of Justice.  Mike has served as a national police practice consultant since 2012 and is the Founder of MBD Innovations (a police leadership consulting consortium).

Mike is a two-time graduate of Concordia University in St. Paul Minnesota with a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice and a master’s degree in organizational management.