Judge Kim McGinnis, Pueblo of Pojoaque chief judge, earned a Ph.D. in neuropharmacology from the University of Michigan in 1999 and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Massachusetts General Hospital, Department of Neurology, Molecular Neurogenetics Unit. She graduated from Boston University School of Law in 2004 and clerked at the Michigan Court of Appeals before joining Detroit Legal Aid and Defenders as a felony-level public defender. In 2008, she became an assistant defender with the Michigan State Appellate Defender Office, where she served as the principal appellate attorney investigating convictions tainted by Detroit Crime Lab malfeasance. In 2011, she moved to Taos, New Mexico, and practiced domestic relations law, primarily representing victims of domestic violence and sexual assault in state and tribal courts. The Pueblo of Pojoaque Tribal Council appointed her associate judge in 2013 and chief judge in 2015. Judge McGinnis presides over Pojoaque’s Path to Wellness Courts and is the project director for Pojoaque’s Sober Living/Re-Entry Project. She is a certified handler of ADW Kiki, the Pueblo of Pojoaque Tribal Court’s service-trained courthouse facility dog.

Garry Metcalfe has worked in the field of toxicology for over 16 years. He began his career working on postmortem toxicology cases with the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner for the State of Oklahoma. He spent his time at the medical examiner’s office testing a variety of specimens, like blood, liver urine, gastric contents, bile, and vitreous humor. After 12 years there he transitioned to the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigations (OSBI). Here his focus switched to antimortem toxicology. He tested mostly blood and urine for the presence of drugs in suspected DUI cases and has been deemed an expert witness in the State of Oklahoma. While at OSBI, he took over the administration of the Forensic Science Academy. This program was designed by OSBI to provide judges, prosecutors, and defense attorneys a better understanding of the tests performed at the bureau. Mr. Metcalfe is a board member and past president of the Southwestern Association of Forensic Toxicology. He has also attended the Borkenstein Drug Course, the DEA Forensic Chemist Seminar, and the Midwest Forensic Resource Training Program.

Meghan Wheeler, M.S. is the director of standards and conference programming for All Rise. She is responsible for developing curricula, delivering training and technical assistance, creating tools to support the implementation of best practice standards for treatment court models, and assisting in the development of best practice standards. In her 23-year tenure with All Rise, Ms. Wheeler has served as project director and senior consultant on the Adult and Family Foundational and Operational Tune-Up Training Initiatives Statewide Training, and Technical Assistance Projects. She has provided extensive training and technical assistance to treatment courts nationwide. Prior to her work with All Rise, she managed the statewide implementation of specialized dockets for the Supreme Court of Ohio, worked at the local level as a treatment court coordinator, and served as a counselor and clinical supervisor for a residential substance use treatment facility. Ms. Wheeler has national, state, and local experience in the justice, treatment, child welfare, and social service fields related to clinical intervention, supervision, case management, policy development, program management, grant writing, and curriculum design. She was previously an adjunct professor at Ashland University in the area of substance use and addiction She received her master's degree in administration of justice, a bachelor's in psychology, and a bachelor's in criminal justice from Mercyhurst University.

Liz Barnhart, MS, is a Principal Court Management Consultant for the National Center for State Courts with over 30 years of justice, child welfare, and human service experience. Her consulting portfolio consists of a diverse set of federal, state, and local projects that explore the intersection of justice and well-being, and the court’s role in leading system change. Ms. Barnhart’s experience spans all intercepts and encompasses criminal and civil court, juveniles, families, and adults. Her primary areas of focus include justice collaboratives such as diversion programs, treatment courts, pretrial, probation, and coordinating councils. Prior to joining NCSC, Ms. Barnhart worked with members of her local Criminal Justice Coordinating Council to develop and fund programs responsive to community needs. She provided leadership and quality assurance for initiatives such as Crisis Intervention Team training, domestic violence multidisciplinary teams, family violence coordinating councils, court navigators, treatment courts, and juvenile and adult redeploy programs, and worked closely with specialized law enforcement, prosecution, pretrial, and probation units on training and implementing best practices. Ms. Barnhart also has extensive experience working directly with justice-involved individuals and individuals at risk of justice involvement. Ms. Barnhart has been recognized nationally as an expert in grant writing and management. She serves on NCSC’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee and the Adult Redeploy Illinois Performance Measurement Committee and has a certificate in DEI from the University of South Florida. Ms. Barnhart graduated from Adams State University with a dual Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology and Sociology, and she earned a Master of Science degree in Sociology at Illinois State University.

Dionna Cyprian, M.S., Master of Science in Rehabilitation Counseling, is a Senior Court Management Consultant in the Court Consulting Division. Since joining the NCSC in 2024, her project work has focused on advancing best practice standards and technical assistance across the United States within treatment courts and social justice systems. She excels at leading teams, developing innovative programs, and providing impactful training to stakeholders. Passionate about serving communities and improving outcomes, Dionna leverages data-driven insights to inform decision-making and uphold the mission and values of the National Center for State Courts. Before joining NCSC, Dionna was a Project Director at All Rise where she trained on Adult Best Practices and made it her mission to improve outcomes in treatment courts by promoting evidence-based practices. Previously, Dionna was a practitioner at Catawba Indian Nation where she was the Reentry Services Manager where she designed curricula to meet the needs of participants served, coordinated treatment services, and helped support efforts that would strengthen partnerships to support participant success. Dionna obtained her Master’s degree from Langston University in Rehabilitation Counseling and a Bachelor's degree in Psychology from Southern University and A&M College.

Kendall Friend, MA, MPA, is a Senior Court Management Consultant in the Court Consulting Division. Since joining the NCSC in 2024 her project work has focused on Adult Treatment Court state-based technical assistance and outcome evaluation. She earned a Master’s in Criminal Justice from Slippery Rock University of PA, a Master’s in Public Administration from Murray State University, a Grant Writing Certification from Temple University, and a Bachelor’s in Criminal Justice and Psychology from Lycoming College.  Prior to NCSC, Kendall was a Project Director at All Rise for five years where she managed the state conference planning project and served as a subject matter expert in Adult Treatment Court standards and community supervision. She began her career in treatment courts in 2014 as an adult probation officer at Fayette County Court of Common Pleas in Uniontown, Pennsylvania, where she had the opportunity to supervise veterans court and mental health court intermediate punishment participants. She transitioned to a position as the court coordinator of Fayette County’s mental health court and veteran’s court. In that role, she worked with community partners to implement Fayette County’s adult drug court. In 2018, she became the court coordinator for Pierce County District Court’s adult drug court and veterans’ treatment court programs in Tacoma, Washington, where she helped the treatment court team implement a veterans treatment court.

Lisa M. Williams is a Senior Court Management Consultant in Court Consulting Services. Since joining NCSC in 2024, her projects have focused on the Adult Treatment Court Bureau of Justice Assistance Statewide Training and Technical Assistance Grant. She has a Bachelor of Applied Communication and is currently pursuing a Master of Arts in Research and Evaluation Methods with a focus on culturally responsive methods. Lisa has over 18 years working in local and state courts. She is a founding member of the first felony Veterans Treatment Court in Ohio and also served as a policy analyst for the State of Ohio providing evaluation, technical assistance, and certification to Ohio’s treatment courts. She has served as a national presenter for All Rise, state, and local agencies, and has provided technical assistance to hundreds of local courts.

Danielle Young, MPA, is a Senior Court Management Consultant for the National Center for State Courts with over 20 years of justice system experience. Prior to working with the NCSC, Ms. Young was the Program Manager in the Probation Services Division with the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts (AOIC), where she worked for over 8 years. While at the AOIC, Ms. Young had the privilege of leading several state-wide initiatives including training all probation managers and officers in Core Correctional Practices, adult risk assessments and juvenile risk assessments.  Ms. Young also assisted in the development and implementation of statewide problem-solving court standards as well as certification of many treatment courts throughout Illinois.  Prior to the AOIC, she was a Probation Officer in McHenry County and Fulton County, working with adults, juveniles, mental health court and specialized drug participants. Ms. Young graduated from the Arkansas State University with a Master’s in Public Administration and received a BA in Political Science from Western Illinois University.