OJS extends the warmest farewell to Dr. Ana Yáñez-Correa, who served Harris County for five years—three of which she spent at OJS. Ana was born in Mexico and immigrated to the U.S. when she was ten years old; she earned a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice, a Master of Public Administration, and a Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Texas in Policy and Planning in Education Administration, focusing her dissertation on the school-to-prison pipeline. Ana has served as Policy Director for the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) of Texas, as Executive Director for the Texas Criminal Justice Coalition, and launched the Texas Smart-on-Crime Coalition before joining Harris County in 2018.
Ana accomplished many goals during her tenure at OJS, including partnering with Public Health for the Violence Prevention Conference: A Holistic Approach to Public Safety by coordinating and organizing local and national presenters, professionals, practitioners, and community members with public policy, law enforcement, academia, social justice, and public health backgrounds to focus on the need for change from punishment to more solutions that help communities; and partnering with the Harris County Juvenile Probation Department to establish and manage a Youth Justice Reinvestment Fund – a community-led, multi-million-dollar fund that re-envisions public safety for youth in Harris County.
OJS is grateful to Ana for her service to the county and we wish her all the best in her future endeavors!