On September 16, 2019, Michael D. Pennington was appointed as Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency (PCCD). Mr. Pennington has nearly 30 years of experience in the criminal and juvenile justice systems. As PCCD’s Executive Director, Mr. Pennington oversees a staff of nearly 150 employees responsible for administering a wide – and growing – array of grants, programming, and activities designed to improve the justice system, deliver services to victims of crime, and increase the safety of Pennsylvania’s communities.

Prior to his appointment as Executive Director, Mr. Pennington was responsible for providing leadership and direction to PCCD’s Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) and Office of Criminal Justice System Improvements (OCJSI).  This included the development of policy recommendations and administration of federal and state funds to support programs designed to improve the Commonwealth’s juvenile and criminal justice systems and to prevent violence, delinquency, substance misuse, and other related problem behaviors among children and youth.  A champion for systems reform and improving outcomes for youth, he worked as an agency lead partner in the MacArthur Foundation Models for Change Initiative focusing on developing long-term reform models in critical areas of juvenile justice for replication in Pennsylvania and other states.  Mr. Pennington also facilitated strategic planning to sustain the ongoing reform work post-MacArthur Foundation's active, in-state involvement.  He led the development of the PA Resource Center for Evidence-based Prevention and Intervention Programs and Practices.  Mr. Pennington is an active member of Pennsylvania’s Juvenile Justice System Enhancement Strategy Leadership Team, served as the National Juvenile Justice Specialist to the federal Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention and Juvenile Justice Specialists throughout the U.S. and its Territories, and was recently elected as a member of the Board of Directors of the National Criminal Justice Association.  Mr. Pennington holds a Master of Science in Administration of Justice from Shippensburg University.

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