About Us

The Center for Children’s Law and Policy (CCLP) is a nonprofit public interest law and policy organization in Washington, DC, that works on reform of the youth justice system and other systems that affect vulnerable youth, as well as the protection of the rights of young people in those systems. Our staff is comprised of attorneys, policy experts, and former public officials. Since our founding in 2006, our staff members have worked in dozens of cities, counties, and states throughout the country. Our organization has played a central role in major foundation-funded youth justice reform initiatives.

Historically, our work has focused on three main areas: (1) reducing unnecessary and inappropriate incarceration of young people, (2) ending dangerous and inhumane practices for youth who are incarcerated, and (3) eliminating racial and ethnic disparities in the juvenile justice system. In addition, we are increasingly working on targeted community-, county-, and state-focused initiatives, community-based solutions for juvenile justice reform, and lifting up the voices of those directly impacted by incarceration. Our staff members have pursued a range of strategies and activities to achieve these goals, including technical assistance, administrative and legislative advocacy, training, research, writing, media outreach, and public education.

About the Role

CCLP seeks an Executive Director who is passionate about leading our efforts to protect the rights of young people. The Executive Director will serve as the chief executive officer of CCLP, providing leadership and management, and creating and implementing policies and programs to carry out the work of the organization. The Executive Director will be a key developer of our extensive nonprofit partner network, ensuring our ability to become an anti-racist organization working in the field of youth justice while communicating stakeholder needs to our organization. This is an opportunity to lead a rapidly-growing organization committed to providing an essential service for the most vulnerable of our communities. The incoming leader will solidify a culture of trust and empathy, embody the core values of our organization, and continue to develop the staff as effective leaders.   Reporting to the Board of Directors, the Executive Director will maintain open communication and disclosure of the conditions, operations, and needs of the organization via regular presentations, briefings, and meetings. Oversight and preparation of the annual budget, review of regular financial reports, compliance with local and federal regulations, and execution of the strategic plan are all critical focus areas for the role. Additionally, the Executive Director is the chief spokesperson and coalition builder proactively raising awareness, funding, and cross-sector collaboration in support of our mission. Critical to the success of the role will be the ability to lead and drive development campaigns; grow, unify, and inspire our community of partners; and lead and manage our growing team with humility and a shared power philosophy. During these turbulent and challenging times, the Executive Director is steadfast, accountable, and leads with grace.

Our Commitment to Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging

Nonprofit HR is committed to fostering and maintaining a work environment where diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) are fully integrated into everything we do for the benefit of our employees and the clients that we serve. To fully realize our goal, we prioritize our understanding of the complexities of DEI within our workforce to inform our approach to talent management. We believe that this guides how we do our work, advise our clients to operationalize DEI and position our content and educational opportunities to help strengthen the talent management capacity of the social impact sector. See the full statement.