Faculty
Lisa Jacobs
Program Manager for the
Illinois Models of Change Initiative of the
John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation
Lisa Jacobs is an attorney with 15 years experience in courts and system administration. She currently serves as the Illinois Program Manager for the Models for Change Initiative, which is funded by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and managed by Loyola University School of Law. In this capacity, Ms. Jacobs works with juvenile justice practitioners, advocates and policy-makers to implement positive changes in the Illinois juvenile justice system. The Illinois Models for Change work has three key areas of focus: increasing reliance upon effective, less-costly community-based services, reducing the disproportionate impact of justice-system contact on youth of color and ensuring that the justice system as a whole responds to the developmental needs and capacities of adolescents, for the benefit of youth, families and communities across the state.
Prior to joining the Models for Change Initiative, Ms. Jacobs was the Director of Judicial Education for the Illinois Supreme Court, as an Assistant Director with the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts. There, she worked closely with the Supreme Court's Committee on Judicial Education and judges from across Illinois to develop and implement judicial education policy and programs on a wide variety of legal topics ranging from juvenile law to death penalty matters to civil litigation.
Ms. Jacobs has also served as the Juvenile Justice Specialist for the state of Illinois. As such, she staffed the Illinois Juvenile Justice Commission, which is charged with administering the state's federal juvenile justice funding and providing recommendations to the Governor, General Assembly and state agencies serving youth and families. Ms. Jacobs was recently appointed by Illinois Governor Pat Quinn as a member of the Juvenile Justice Commission and serves as chair of the Commission's Planning and Grants Committee.
| Education: | B.A., University of South Dakota J.D., DePaul University College of Law |
| Present Position: | Program Manager Illinois Models for Change Initiative A Project of The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation |
| Contact: | Loyola University Chicago School of Law 25 East Pearson Street Room 1116 Chicago, IL 60611 312-915-7876 ljacobs@luc.edu |
