Our Team

Jennifer Renne, JD is the Director of the Center for Legal and Judicial Innovation and Advancement. She has 34 years’ experience in child welfare. She has provided training and technical assistance on a wide variety of issues including improving permanency outcomes, achieving permanency for older youth, and collaboration between court systems, child welfare agencies and Tribes to achieve sustainable systems’ change. Her publications include books titled Making it Permanent: Efforts to Finalize Permanency Plans for Foster Children, Legal Ethics in Child Welfare Cases, and Child Safety: A Guide for Judges and Lawyers. Jennifer has represented children in dependency cases, and has been an adjunct professor at Georgetown University Law Center.

Heather Kestian, M. Ed, J.D. is a Senior Attorney at the Center for Legal and Judicial Innovation and Advancement where she works with state Court Improvement Project (CIP) directors in ten states (Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas, and Missouri)  and co-leads the New CIP Directors Constituency Group. Prior to joining the ABA, Heather spent 13 years at the Indiana Department of Child Services (DCS) in a variety of roles: as a local office attorney, local office director, and as a Deputy Director, overseeing the agency’s quality improvement efforts, managing oversight of federal compliance requirements and Safe Systems work, and supporting child welfare research efforts. Heather received her Bachelor of Journalism degree from Indiana University, Master of Education from Arizona State University, and her J.D., cum laude, from the University of Toledo. 

Melissa Gueller, M.S., is a national leader with more than 20 years of experience
advancing systems change, strategic planning, and court improvement across child welfare, civil, and criminal justice systems. Through her work with the Center for Legal and Judicial Innovation and Advancement, she serves as co-liaison to the Region 9 (California, Nevada, Hawaii, and Arizona) Court Improvement Programs and brings expertise in trauma-informed systems design, program evaluation, stakeholder engagement, and facilitation of complex, multi-stakeholder court-based initiatives. She leads focus groups, strategic planning processes, and stakeholder convenings that help judges, attorneys, court staff, and system partners identify challenges, develop solutions, and drive collaborative reform. Melissa has led
national projects integrating racial equity, continuous quality improvement, and practice innovation within court systems.

Zubair Siddiqi, LLM, is an independent consultant with over 11 years of experience working in justice and judicial reform to strengthen systems, improve processes, and support data-informed decision-making. Since 2021, he has served as a consultant for CLJIA.

Andrew Yost, JD, PhD is an independent consultant with over 15 years experience working with child welfare court systems to improve legal and court practice. He serves as the Rocky Mountain State and Tribal Court Improvement Liaison for the CLJIA.

Angel Brown Reveles has worked in child welfare as an attorney representing both children and parents. She serves as the liaison for the new England states and Region 6 states, as well as the team leader for the lived experience group at CLJIA.

Nyasha Justice, JD, is the Associate Director of Collaborative Equity Strategies at the American Bar Association’s Center on Children and the Law. With more than 25 years of experience, her work is grounded in a simple but powerful belief: meaningful change begins with care, presence, and a commitment to building genuine relationships. This belief continues to guide her approach to law, leadership, and systems transformation.

Cristina Ritchie Cooper, JD, is a Senior Attorney at the Center for Legal and Judicial Innovation and Advancement, where she supports Judicial and Attorney Academies and co-leads the New CIP Directors Constituency Group, among other efforts. Cristina has worked with the ABA Center on Children and the Law for over 15 years on a range of child welfare system improvement efforts and provided direct legal representation to children and young adults in the Bronx, NY, and Washington, DC, prior to joining the ABA.

Jocelyn Roy Fabry supports national and state projects to improve outcomes for native families. She serves as the liaison for the Tribal Court Improvement Program grantees, the ICWA State Tribal Partnership grantee cohort, and Arizona, California, Hawaii, and Nevada. 

Alicia Summers, Ph.D., is an independent consultant with over 20 years of experience partnering with child welfare court systems to evaluate programs, strengthen data capacity, and build the skills of legal professionals to use evaluation for system change. She serves as the Director of Research for CLJIA.