Short biographies of the current members of the NYS Board of Parole, provided by the Prison Action Network in the April edition of the Building Bridges newsletter.
It is expected that some whose terms have expired will be replaced very soon by Governor Cuomo. Following each biography is the commissioner's term, and the governor who appointed them.
From the Prison Action Network:
Andrea Evans: as Chairwoman, also served as Chief Executive Officer of the Division until the Division was merged with DOCS. Ms. Evans was most recently Director of the Division of Parole for Region II, an area encompassing Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island. In this position, she was responsible for the operation of nine area offices, and the Queensboro Correctional Facility. Prior to this role, Ms. Evans served as Deputy Regional Director for Region I, where she managed the operation of five field offices in Bronx County. [ June 8, 2009 - Feb. 6, 2013 Paterson]
Jared Brown: a practicing attorney since 1976, Brown became a partner in Brown and Guilbert, a New York City Law Firm in 1984. Prior to practicing law, Brown worked as a narcotics parole officer with the New York State Addiction Control Commission and at the New York City Department of Social Services. [Jan 26, 2010 - June 18, 2012 Paterson]
Joseph Crangle: Assistant Court Analyst with the NYS Office of Court Administration, assigned to the Domestic Violence Part of the Buffalo City Court where he monitored defendant's compliance with court orders; a probation officer with the Genesee County Probation Department, where he oversaw the Pretrial Release Under Supervision program. Mr. Crangle has a bachelor's degree from Canisius College and his JD from the City University of N.Y. [June 19, 2008- June 16, 2014 Paterson]
Lisa Beth Elovich: Administrative Law Judge at the NYS Office of Children and Family Services; lawyer in the Attorney General’s Office and in the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office. [Dec. 13, 2006 - Dec. 31, 2013 Pataki]
James Ferguson: Administrative Law Judge at NYS Division of Parole, Jan 1999 – May 2005; Assistant District Attorney, Bronx District Attorney's Office, Aug 1992 – Jan 1999. Education: Marist College B.S., Political Science/Psychology; Pace University School of Law, Juris Doctor. [April 12, 2005 - July 6, 2011 Pataki]
Gerry Greenan: comes from a prominent family in West Seneca; was appointed by Governor George Pataki; is an attorney at the prominent law firm of Harris, Beach in the Commercial Real Estate, Residential Real Estate, and Life & Asset Planning Practice Groups. [June 21, 2006 - June 18, 2012 Pataki]
Michael A. Hagler: more than 30 years in law enforcement: senior investigator with the Office of the New York State Attorney General, conducting investigations into environmental and computer crimes, money laundering, gambling and narcotics in the Rochester region; member of the Metro Rochester Firearms Suppression Unit (Project Exile), security detail for then Attorney General Eliot Spitzer in upstate NY; investigator sergeant with the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office supervising various units within the department’s Criminal Investigation Division, the department’s liaison with all local, state and federal law enforcement agencies as well as community groups. [Oct. 22, 2007 - Aug.31, 2013 Spitzer]
Christina Hernandez: served as Commissioner of the New York State Crime Victims Board, as a Commission Member of the New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct. In 2009, Ms. Hernandez was selected as one of nineteen parole board commissioners from across the United States to participate in a pilot training, "Integrating Evidenced-Based Principles into Parole Board Practices," created by the National Institute of Corrections, U.S. Department of Justice. Ms. Hernandez holds a Bachelor of Arts from Buffalo State College; a Masters in Social Work from the School of Social Welfare and a Certificate of Graduate Study in Women and Public Policy from the Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy, at the University at Albany. Additionally, she has completed all course work towards a PhD at University at Albany-SUNY School of Social Welfare.
[June 14, 2006 - June 6, 2011 Pataki]
Henry Lemons: was not replaced when his 2007 appointment to fill an unexpired term came to an end in 2008. He has now been formally appointed to serve out the remaining 4 years of the new 6 year term. He served from 2004 to 2007 as Deputy Chief Investigator for the New York State Attorney General. Prior to that, he was the Assistant Chief Investigator for the Kings County District Attorney. He is a former Sergeant and Detective with the New York City Police Department. He also served for four years of active duty with the United States Air Force. Mr. Lemons earned his bachelor’s in criminal justice and planning from John Jay College of Criminal Justice and his master's in organizational leadership from Mercy College. He is a graduate of the FBI National Academy. Mr. Lemons was raised in the Bedford–Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn and Queens, where he still resides. [May 1, 2007 - June 18, 2008 Spitzer]
G. Kevin Ludlow: is a Lawyer in Utica, New York [June 21, 2006 - June 18, 2011 Pataki]
Mary Ross: staff attorney with the Legal Aid Society in Queens, executive director of Providence House, a nonprofit corporation that provides transitional and permanent housing for female ex-offenders, homeless women and their children; the campus minister at Queens College; the director of administrative services at the Diocese of Brooklyn;. She has a bachelor's degree in education from St. Joseph's College, master's in education from Brooklyn College and JD from the City University of New York. [June 19, 2008 - Aug 31, 2013 Paterson]
Walter Smith of Clarence: appointed to two terms by Pataki, was a senior investigator for the state's Crime Victims Board. [Dec 16, 1996 - July 6, 2011 Pataki]
Sally A. Thompson: Twenty distinguished years with the NYC Police Department, as a detective in the department, investigating violent crimes and making numerous felony and misdemeanor arrests; five years in the Bronx Narcotics/Major Case Division, conducting complex criminal investigations that included surveillance and undercover operations; active member of the Fraternal Order of Police and the Detective Endowment Association. [June 14, 2007 - May 4, 2013 Pataki]
