Summit Curriculum Committee

The Summit Curriculum Committee, chaired by Judge Brent Carr, advises on speakers and curriculum for the annual Summit. The Committee originally started its work in early 2018 and is composed of representatives from several judicial education agencies, including the Texas Association of Counties (TAC), and the Texas Municipal Courts Education Center (TMCEC), as well as representatives from the Texas Indigent Defense Commission (TIDC) and the Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association (TCDLA). The Committee works to ensure that the presentation topics promote the JCMH mission and lead the way in this ever-changing legal field.

Committee Members:

• Hon. Brent Carr, Chair
  Judge, Tarrant County, Criminal Court No. 9
• Timothy Bray
  Vice President for Justice and Health Policy, Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute
• Virginia Brown
  Assistant Professor, Dell Medical School
• Sonja Burns
  Mental Health Advocate
• Hon. Nelda Cacciotti
  Assistant Criminal District Attorney – Mental Health, Tarrant County Criminal District Attorney’s Office
• Officer Shawn Edwards
  Belton Police Department
• Scott Ehlers
  Special Counsel, Texas Indigent Defense Commission
• Shannon Evans
  Director of Grant-Funded Criminal and Innocence Programs, CAIL
• Alyse Ferguson
  Of Counsel, Rosenthal Kalabus & Therrian
• Jessica Foreman
  Education Manager, The Texas Justice Court Training Center
• Dr. Blake Harris
  Director of the Veterans Mental Health Department, Texas Veterans Commission
  
• Hon. David Jahn
  Judge, Denton County Probate Court No. 1
  
• Lee Johnson
  Deputy Director, Texas Council of Community Centers
• Hon. Oscar Kazen
  Judge, Bexar County Probate Court #1
• Adrienne Kennedy
  Past President, National Alliance on Mental Illness
• Hon. M. Sue Kurita
  Judge, El Paso County Court at Law No. 6
• Hon. Elizabeth Leonard
  Judge, 238th District Court, Midland County
• Hon. Stacey Mathews
  Judge, 277th District Court, Williamson County
• Magdalena Morales-Aina
  Director, El Paso County Community Supervision and Corrections Dept.
• Hon. Roxanne Nelson
  Judge, Burnet County Precinct 1
• Denise Oncken
  (Ret.) Bureau Chief, Harris County District Attorney, Mental Health Bureau
• Lee Pierson
  Mental Health Division Chief, Dallas County District Attorney’s Office
• Hon. Cynthia Porter Gore 
  Judge, Allen Municipal Court 
• Vickie Rice
  Special Programs Division Chief, Dallas County Public Defender's Office
• Hon. Renee Rodriguez-Betancourt
  Judge, 449th District Court, Hidalgo County
• Prof. Brian Shannon
  Texas Tech University School of Law
• Dr. Jennie Simpson
  Forensic Director, Health and Human Services Commission
• Judge John Specia
  (Ret.) Judge, JCMH Jurist in Residence
• Hon. Charles Stephens
  Judge, Comal County Court at Law #2
• Hon. Ryan Turner
  Executive Director, Texas Municipal Courts Education Center
• Steve Wohleb
  Senior Vice President/General Counsel, Texas Hospital Association
• Hon J.R. Woolley
  Judge, Waller County Justice of the Peace, Precinct 2

As of April 2025