New SMART Staff
The SMART Office announces the addition of two new staff to its team: Faith A. Baker and Sharon-Beth Kristal.
Faith A. Baker serves as the associate director of the SMART Office. Ms. Baker's responsibilities include assisting the director and staff in providing management and oversight of SMART Office grant programs, including the Adam Walsh Act Implementation Grant Program, the Comprehensive Approaches to Sex Offender Management Grant Program, and the Dru Sjodin National Sex Offender Public Website.
Prior to joining the SMART Office, Ms. Baker served as the associate director at the Community Capacity Development Office (CCDO), Office of Justice Programs, where she worked to implement the Weed and Seed Initiative. Ms. Baker served CCDO in various capacities, starting as a grants program specialist in 1997. She later became special assistant to the director for grants management in 2004 before assuming the role as associate director in 2007. For more than a decade, Ms. Baker provided management and oversight of more than 300 Weed and Seed communities. She coordinated national and local partnerships with police departments, community groups, and service providers under the Weed and Seed Initiative. Her strong advocacy for building law enforcement relations with the community has given her a comprehensive understanding of public safety policy disciplines as they relate to law enforcement and community policing program requirements.
Prior to embarking on her professional federal career at the U.S. Department of Justice, Ms. Baker worked and interned at the Trudie Wallace Halfway House for Women in the District of Columbia, where she provided oversight to nearly 25 incarcerated women. While pursuing her bachelor's degree, Ms. Baker also worked at the Department of Veterans Affairs, Human Resources Office, where she received numerous "unsung hero" and commendation awards.
Ms. Baker received her bachelor's degree in criminal justice from Howard University and a master of public administration from Southeastern University in the District of Columbia.
Sharon-Beth Kristal, a contractor, serves as the U.S. Marshals Service???s National Sex Offender Targeting Center (NSOTC) Liaison to the SMART Office. Prior to joining the office, Ms. Kristal ran Fugitive Safe Surrender on behalf of the U.S. Marshals Service, during which time almost 18,000 people with outstanding warrants surrendered. She served as counsel on the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Investigations for Senator Norm Coleman and counsel on the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee for Senator Mike DeWine, with a focus on crime and drug issues, which included the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006. While at the Office of the District Attorney in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Ms. Kristal prosecuted misdemeanors and preliminary hearings of felonies, with a focus on domestic violence, as well as unemployment compensation fraud. Additionally, she represented the government in asset forfeiture cases. Ms. Kristal graduated from the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law of Yeshiva University with a law degree and a major in criminal law and procedure and has an undergraduate degree from Princeton University.
- Requests for Reallocation of Byrne JAG Funding Penalty
The Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA) set forth a penalty for jurisdictions . . .
More - SORNA Implementation Update
The SMART Office has received information from nearly all States and territories and the District of Columbia . . . More - International Tracking of Sex Offenders Working Group
When SORNA was enacted and its final guidelines were published, the U.S. Department of Justice was tasked with . . . More - SMART Funding
The SMART Office will continue funding the Support for Adam Walsh Act Implementation Grant Program . . . More - New SMART Staff
The SMART Office announces the addition of two new staff to its team: Faith A. Baker and Sharon-Beth Kristal. . . . More - SMART Office Launches New Initiative
In March 2011, the SMART Office began work on SOMAPI, a project designed to assess the state of research . . . More
