CJCC Board of Directors & Staff
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Judge Donald R. Johnson is a lifelong resident of Baton Rouge, Louisiana. In 1977, he graduated from Southern University with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering. In 1982, he earned his Juris Doctor degree from Louisiana State University, Paul M. Hebert School of Law.
Immediately after graduation, he worked as an Assistant District Attorney with the East Baton Rouge Parish District Attorney’s Office. During this period, he opened a private law office until his election to the City Court of Baton Rouge in 1993. In 1999, he was elected to the 19th Judicial District Court where he served on all divisions of the court. Currently, he serves on Criminal, Traffic, Drug Treatment, and the Pretrial Release Court.
Judge Johnson holds a firm conviction that education is the key to his success. In addition to his law, a degree he has continued his pursuit of higher education with degrees from many prestigious universities around the country. In December 2006, he received a Master of Criminal Justice degree from Loyola University of New Orleans. In August 2008, he received a Master of Justice Management from the University of Nevada at Reno. In December 2009, he received his Master of Judicial Studies from the University of Nevada at Reno, the National Judicial College. He obtained a Ph.D. in Criminal Justice Administration with a doctorial minor in statistics from the University of Southern Mississippi in May 2014. Most recently, Judge Johnson achieved a doctorate in philosophy with a major in judicial studies from the University of Nevada, Reno in December of 2018. Judge Johnson has received certifications in many areas including, but not limited to, Classroom Management Skills, Grading and Evaluation, Collaborative Learning, Effective Facilitation of Learning, Judicial Philosophy and American Law, Judicial Development Dispute Resolution Skills, General Jurisdiction Trial Skill, Special Court Trial Skills, Planning and Presenting Effective Presentations, SPSS Training, and Education Services, Grading Confidentiality and FERPA Regulations. Judge Johnson has served as a facilitator of Criminal Justice at The University of Phoenix where he taught Criminal Procedure, Criminal Law, Contemporary Issues, and Futures in Criminal Justice. He has taught “Co-Occurring Mental and Substance Abuse Disorders” and “Conducting the Trial” at the National Judicial College to help judges around the nation to develop knowledge, skills, and abilities to fairly adjudicate citizens, particularly those with disabilities. Judge Johnson has encouraged a high degree of student involvement using an interactive teaching style, to explain all aspects of the trial procedure. Judge Johnson has received numerous honors and awards. These include the Black History Pioneer Award, the Distinguished Community Service Award, Honorary Secretary of State of Louisiana, and the Gus Young Non-Violence Committee Humanitarian Award. In August 2018, Judge Johnson was awarded the William R. McMahon Award from the American Bar Association for significant implementation and development in the use of technological advances in a court of limited jurisdiction. Judge Johnson is available for public speaking engagements at service organizations, churches, prisons, and community centers. Inquiries can be made to his office if there is an interest in facilitating a conversation on matters such as criminal law, criminal procedure, criminal justice reform, contemporary legal issues, future opportunities in criminal justice, ethics, trial advocacy, the adjudication of citizens with mental and substance abuse disorders, traffic court sanctions, and safe driving education.
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Jennifer Carwile is an artist, educator, and leader with Together Baton Rouge. She moved to Baton Rouge in 1992 to work with the Big Buddy Program and held different roles with that organization prior to teaching at Istrouma Middle and then pursuing an art career. Jennifer is a proud Big Buddy now and has been working with her Little Buddy for ten years now.
She began working on Criminal Justice issues in the summer of 2016 and currently serves as the Co-Chair of the Together Baton Rouge Criminal Justice Action team, serves on the Chief's Advisory Council, and is a watchdog for the Municipal Civil Service Board.
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John Spain is Senior Advisor to the Baton Rouge Area Foundation. The Foundation is a non-profit community foundation with assets of over $700 million dollars. The Foundation seeks to unite human and financial resources to enhance Southern Louisiana. The Foundation pursues its mission by serving donors to build the assets that drive initiatives and solutions, supporting local nonprofits to ensure overall impact and sustainability, engaging community leaders to develop appropriate responses to emerging opportunities and challenges, and by partnering with others to leverage collective resources and create the capacity to be a stimulus of positive regional change.
John serves on the Executive Committee of the Southern Rail Commission, a federally created entity working closely to restore and launch passenger rail service along the Gulf Coast. In this capacity, John has collaborated with members of Congress, the Federal Railroad Administration and Amtrak to restore passenger rail service along the Gulf Coast from New Orleans, Louisiana to Orlando, Florida, which was suspended in 2005. He has used this platform to advocate for establishing service between Baton Rouge and New Orleans, among other critical rail links in the gulf south.
Prior to moving to the Foundation, John was the Managing Director of The Powell Group, a private holding company with thirteen diverse subsidiary companies. These included seven radio stations located in three different states, commercial timber, rice milling, real-estate development including home construction, subdivision development, and condominium construction along the Gulf coast. Other companies included a statewide network of travel agencies, commercial rice farming and the design and construction of biomass electrical power generating systems in the United States, South America and Asia.
John started his professional career in the field of broadcasting and worked at WBRZ-TV, the ABC affiliate in Baton Rouge for 23 years. He served in various capacities including investigative reporter, News Director and Station Manager. Under his leadership the station’s news operations received every major broadcast journalism award including two George F. Peabody awards, considered the Pulitzer prize of broadcasting.
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Kyla Romanach is a 1998 graduate of the Paul M. Hebert Law Center. She began her career as a line defender in the 19th JDC Office of Public Defender in 1999, where she remained for 2 ½ years. She then worked for the Louisiana Appellate Project for a year. She was the first staff attorney hired by the Baton Rouge Capital Conflict Office in 2002. She has been the Director of the Baton Rouge Capital Conflict Office since 2017, representing clients facing the death penalty across the state at the trial level. Since October of 2023, she has also served as the Chief Public Defender for East Baton Rouge Parish. She is married to Carlos Romanach and they have two children, Matthew and Grace.
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Brandi began her career as a prosecutor with Orleans Parish District Attorney’s Office in 2005 and matriculated to felony prosecution in Orleans Criminal Court. Upon moving to Baton Rouge, she furthered her career with the Office of the Parish Attorney as an Asst City Prosecutor for 8 yrs., transitioning to Baton Rouge Police Department Legal Advisor before becoming Section Chief of the Public Records Division. Currently, she is the City Prosecutor for the City of Baton Rouge.
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Judge Alexander began her legal career as counsel for the Louisiana State House of Representatives and the Louisiana State Senate. Realizing that Criminal Law was her forte, she began working at the East Baton Rouge Parish Public Defender’s Office and the law firm of Moore and Moore in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. From 1988-1995, she served as Chief Legal Counsel for the Louisiana Department of State under Secretary of State Fox McKeithen and as an Ex-Officio Member of both the Louisiana State Bond Commission and the Louisiana School Employees Retirement System. She also served as an Assistant Attorney General for the Louisiana Attorney General’s Office. Judge Alexander practiced law for over 17 years before being elected to the bench. In 1995, she was elected to Division D of the Baton Rouge City Court. She was the first African American woman to be elected to the Baton Rouge City Court. And the First African American woman to serve as Chief Judge of that court.
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Sheriff Sid J. Gautreaux, III was sworn into office on December 4, 2007 after being elected to fill the unexpired term of Sheriff Elmer Litchfield. Gautreaux, who began his law enforcement career as a uniform patrol deputy in the East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff's Office, served as Police Chief of the City of Baker for 27 years before resigning to run for Sheriff. As Baker Police Chief, Gautreaux was elected to office seven times, and was unopposed for the last four terms. Sheriff Gautreaux was elected Sheriff on a platform of focusing priorities on uniform patrol and developing greater communication among local, regional and state law enforcement agencies to help make East Baton Rouge Parish safer. In 2012, Sheriff Sid Gautreaux was elected as Sergeant-At-Arms and Secretary Treasurer for the Louisiana Sheriffs' Association. In June of 2016, Sheriff Gautreaux was elected President of the Louisiana Sheriff's Association. Sheriff Gautreaux is married to Suzi Eckert Gautreaux. They have four children - Will, Chantel, Ben and Ginny - ten grandchildren, and one great grandchild.
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Gail Grover serves as Judge in East Baton Rouge Parish Juvenile Court, Division “B”. She holds a Juris Doctorate from Louisiana State University and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Northwestern State University.
Judge Grover was born in Washington, D.C., and after graduating from Oxon Hill Senior High School in 1981 she honorably served in the United States Army for more than 8 years in the field of nuclear weapons.
Prior to being elected judge in October 2019, Judge Grover held positions at local and state levels that made a positive impact in the lives of young people from cradle to adulthood. Judge Grover served as Assistant District Attorney in the Juvenile Section of the East Baton Rouge District Attorney’s Office from 1999 to 2009, Director of East Baton Rouge Department of Juvenile Services, Assistant Chief Administrative Officer for the City of Baton Rouge/Parish of East Baton Rouge, and Assistant Secretary for Louisiana Office of Juvenile Justice.
Judge Grover is a servant-leader. She has been a leader and teacher in Shiloh’s Sunday School Ministry since 1995 and supervises the Children’s School Program for Bible Study Fellowship International. “Ms. Gail”, as her students call her, finds no greater joy in her professional and personal life than to help others, especially the next generation. Judge Gail Grover is married, mother of three and grandmother to one.
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Catherine Fontenot has worked in prisons or jails her entire adult life. Armed with a mini 14 rifle, she began her career as a correctional officer assigned to a perimeter tower of a State of Louisiana medium security adult male prison. Realizing she had a Criminal Justice degree; she was chosen to work in the accreditation office at Dixon Correctional Institute. Due her contagious enthusiasm for this project, she was selected by the Secretary of Corrections to assist other prisons across the state in achieving their accreditation with the American Correctional Association. In 1995 she was named the Executive Staff Officer for the Louisiana State Penitentiary, the state’s maximum-security prison and the oldest and largest ACA accredited prison in the country at that time.
Mrs. Fontenot had three children from 2001 -2005 while becoming one of the state’s youngest assistant wardens and gaining her master’s in criminology in 2006. She gained national attention during her time at the Louisiana State Penitentiary, appearing in documentaries and the reality show, Louisiana Lockdown. She has taught criminal justice and corrections at the university level as a way of recruiting those who want to serve, has been a warden at a local jail, works as a director of a reception and diagnostic unit in the State of Mississippi and serves as an expert witness as a corrections process expert. She received the State of Louisiana’s top civil service award for career service in 2014. She is past president of the North American Association of Wardens and Superintendents, past president of the Louisiana Correctional Association, Secretary of the Louisiana State Penitentiary Museum Board and is a fellow in the British American Project.
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Mayor-President Sid Edwards, a Baton Rouge native and graduate of Redemptorist High School, has had a remarkable career in coaching. With over 35 years of experience, he has left an indelible mark on Louisiana high school athletics.
Coach Sid's career spans ten years at Catholic High, seven years at Redemptorist, one year each at Jesuit in New Orleans and Menard in Alexandria, and 17 years at Central High School. Prior to being Mayor-President he served as the head football coach at Istrouma High School in Baton Rouge.
Renowned as a role model in the coaching profession, Coach Sid holds the record for the most wins among Baton Rouge-area coaches and boasts one of the best coaching records in Louisiana. His accolades include being named Louisiana Coach of the Year for 5A football and NFL Coach of the Year on a national level. He has led teams to three state championships — two in football and one in basketball — and has coached in numerous postseason All-Star games.
Coach Sid is celebrated as a “coach’s coach,” having mentored and developed countless head coaches throughout his career. A 2021 feature in Central City News highlighted his impact on the 24 head coaches in Louisiana who trained under him.
Mayor-President Edwards has devoted his life to serving and uplifting our community. He is married to First Lady Maureen “Beanie” Edwards and is the proud father of his sons Cody Chase, Jack Ryan, and daughter Delaney.
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For more than two decades, Chris Meyer has pursued opportunities from the schoolhouse to the White House to drive transformational change on behalf of communities in Louisiana. Committed to public service, he is passionate about using his skills, experiences, and networks to drive meaningful improvement in outcomes and quality of life for the people of our state. As the President and CEO of the Baton Rouge Area Foundation, Chris considers it a great privilege to leading an organization where focused on unite human and financial resources to make big ideas become reality to elevate South Louisiana. He is excited to connect and explore ways we can, together, grow the resources and talent committed to tackling Louisiana’s greatest challenges and opportunities.
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Hillar Moore is the District Attorney for the Parish of East Baton Rouge. Prior to taking office, he worked for 12 years as an investigator for the East Baton Rouge District Attorney's office. After law school, he maintained a private practice, specializing in criminal defense, for 16 years. Hillar realized his goal of returning to the District Attorney’s Office in 2009, when he took office. He has served as DA for 13 years and is currently in his 3rd term. He has brought many new and innovative ideas to the DA's office; he uses data-driven approaches to assist in prosecuting cases; and he consistently works closely with leaders in the community.
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Dianna Payton currently serves as the CEO of the YWCA Greater Baton Rouge where she strives to eliminate racism and empower women. During her tenure as CEO, she has secured funding for the first permanent domestic violence apartments in Baton Rouge, launched the nationally recognized YWCA Community Bail Fund, and purchased a new 12,000 square-foot Women’s Resource and Early Head Start Center. Ms. Payton serves as Chairman of the Board for the East Baton Rouge Parish Housing Authority and Board Secretary of New Schools Baton Rouge, Partners Southeast, and the LSU Library Advisory Board. She is a member of the Rotary Club of Baton Rouge, Women’s Council of Greater Baton Rouge, the La Capitale Chapter of The Links Inc., and Capital Area Network. Dianna currently serves on both the Mayor’s Women’s Advancement Commission and the Mayor’s Maternal and Infant Health Coalition. She is a 2021 Baton Rouge Business Report Influential Women in Business Honoree, 2019 National Association of Social Workers Baton Rouge Leadership award recipient, 2019 – 2022 United State of Women Louisiana Ambassador, 2017 Business Report Forty Under 40 award recipient is a 2008 graduate of Leadership Baton Rouge.
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Morse's journey in law enforcement is one of dedication and distinguished service throughout East Baton Rouge Parish. Most recently, he served as BRPD’s Commander of Training Services where he championed procedural justice and implicit bias training. His policing career as a uniform patrolman, a member of the SWAT team, and various roles and training gives him the diverse and unique skill set to lead the next generation of the Baton Rouge Police Department.
Morse played an integral part of critical improvements in 21st century training and education at BRPD, including his leadership with the last three training academy classes, which were the most diverse academies in the history of the department; the modernization of BRPD’s training policies that allowed the department to successfully exit a 39-year federal consent decree; and the creation of an internal leadership course to improve internal promotion of BRPD officers.
Chief Morse's commitment extends beyond traditional law enforcement roles. As an advanced EMT, he has been instrumental in promoting the medical preparedness of the police force. Initiatives such as equipping officers with tourniquets and chest seals have resulted in more than an estimated hundred lives saved annually.
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Monica Vela-Vick is a complex litigation attorney at the Dugan Law Firm and a member of the firm’s class action team. Her practice focuses on healthcare antitrust and fraud litigation, including federal cases challenging anticompetitive pricing in the pharmaceutical industry. She represents clients through all stages of litigation, including motions practice, writs, and appeals.
Monica earned her law degree from the University of Michigan Law School and holds undergraduate degrees in Women and Gender Studies and Psychology from Rice University. She is licensed in Louisiana, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey and is admitted to several federal courts, including the Federal Circuit and the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals.
She has received two President’s Awards from the Baton Rouge Bar Association and the 2017 Hon. Michaelle Pitard Wynne Professionalism Award from the Louisiana State Bar Association. Monica currently serves as President of the Baton Rouge Bar Association, co-chair of the Louisiana State Bar Association Diversity Committee, and is a fellow of the Louisiana Bar Foundation. She is also active in several community and professional organizations.
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Jennifer Racca is a Baton Rouge attorney and District 12 Metro Council member with a diverse background in litigation, public service, and health benefits compliance. She owns and operates Jen Racca Law, LLC, where she focuses on criminal defense, family law, civil defense, and foreclosure matters. In addition, she runs The Insurance Group of Louisiana, LLC, working as a Health Benefits Consultant and Compliance Attorney to assist public and private entities with designing and managing employee benefits packages.
Her legal career includes serving as an assistant city prosecutor and assistant parish attorney for East Baton Rouge Parish, where she handled criminal cases and contract reviews to protect the parish’s legal interests. She also worked as a public defender at the 19th Judicial District Public Defenders’ Office, managing complex felony cases, and at Butler & Hosch, where she litigated foreclosure cases across Louisiana. Earlier in her career, she gained valuable experience in criminal law, personal injury, and litigation at Steven J. Moore, LLC. Racca has also shared her expertise as an instructor at Baton Rouge College, teaching aspiring paralegals.
Racca earned her Juris Doctorate from Southern University Law Center, a Bachelor of Science in Political Science from Louisiana State University, and an Associate of Science in Paralegal Studies from McNeese State University. Her professional philosophy emphasizes exceptional client service, relationship-building, and trust, with a commitment to serving families and the community through both her legal practice and public service roles.
