April 14, 2005
ROMNEY NAMES JANE TEWKSBURY AS DYS COMMISSIONER
Governor Mitt Romney today appointed Public Safety Undersecretary and former Assistant Attorney General Jane Tewksbury as Commissioner of the Department of Youth Services (DYS), the state agency that responds to the needs of youth in the justice system.
“Jane Tewksbury has emerged as one the most talented and dedicated public servants in Massachusetts,” Romney said. “She is the right person to continue the progress we’re making at DYS. Jane has my full support in her new mission to convince juveniles that crime doesn’t pay.”
In making the appointment, Romney also noted that his Fiscal Year 2006 budget proposal calls for an additional $9.3 million for DYS suicide prevention and support programs as well as another $2.5 million to bring DYS teacher salaries to the levels of teachers in the Boston Public Schools. He urged the House and Senate to approve these requests in the final budget they send to his desk.
Since 2003, Tewksbury has held senior management positions within the Executive Office of Public Safety. Serving first as chief of staff to Secretary Ed Flynn and then as undersecretary, she worked to identify weaknesses within agencies and implemented significant changes to ensure the agencies could fulfill their missions.
Tewksbury brings extensive criminal justice expertise to her new position. From 1991 to 1997, Tewksbury served as an assistant attorney general and legal counsel for former Attorney General Scott Harshbarger. As Chief of the Family and Community Crimes Bureau, she played a key role in implementing policy initiatives in the areas of domestic violence, juvenile justice and issues affecting children, persons with disabilities and victims of sexual assault.
Prior to working in the Attorney General’s Office, Tewksbury worked for seven years at the Middlesex County District Attorney’s Office, serving as Family and Community Crimes Bureau Chief and Deputy Chief as well as Director of the Juvenile Justice Project.
Health and Human Services Secretary Ron Preston agreed with Romney that Tewksbury is the right person for the job. “We all realize the importance of DYS and the importance of building a better DYS, and we are all willing to pitch in to help Jane Tewksbury succeed in her mission,” said Preston.
“To be named as the Commissioner of the Department of Youth Services represents the pinnacle of a long career in criminal justice and human services,” said Tewksbury. “I am confident that if we do our jobs well, we can interrupt a career criminal path and, in so doing, reduce future victimization and make our communities safer. This is not rocket science – it is much harder and I am honored that Governor Romney has chosen me to meet this challenge.”
A resident of Arlington, Tewksbury is a magna cum laude graduate of Harvard/Radcliffe College and received her law degree from the University of Wisconsin in Madison.
Tewksbury will begin in her new role as DYS Commissioner on May 2.
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