Useful Information

Below are the spokespersons for the the Campaign for Youth Justice. If you would like to speak to any one of these individuals, please contact Eric Solomon by phone at 202.558.3580 ext. 20 or by email at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Click here for a fact sheet for media and about the campaign.

Liz Ryan - President and CEO

Liz brings more than two decades of experience to the Campaign for Youth Justice (CFYJ), an organization she founded that is dedicated to ending the practice of trying, sentencing and incarcerating children in the adult criminal justice system. In her capacity at CFYJ, Liz is responsible for overall strategy, management and fundraising. Liz currently serves as the co-chair of the Act 4 Juvenile Justice campaign, an effort launched to reauthorize the Juvenile Justice & Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDPA). Prior to starting The Campaign for Youth Justice, Ms. Ryan served for five years as the Advocacy Director for the Youth Law Center’s Building Blocks for Youth Initiative, a project to reduce the over-incarceration and disparate treatment of children of color in the juvenile justice system. Her work at the Youth Law Center involved campaign advocacy assistance at the national, state and local levels to stop punitive juvenile justice legislation, redirect funding to communities, and increase involvement of the constituencies that were most affected by juvenile justice decision-making. Ms. Ryan previously served as Deputy Chief of Staff and Legislative Director to U.S. Senator Thomas R. Carper during his terms as Delaware’s Governor and member of the US House of Representatives. She also served as a lobbyist for the Children’s Defense Fund. Ms. Ryan is a former VISTA volunteer. Ms. Ryan holds a BA from Dickinson College (Carlisle, PA) and an MA from The George Washington University (Washington, DC).

Eric Solomon - Director of Media Relations

Eric is a communications veteran with more than 18 years experience in the field. He develops and oversees all media and communications strategies for the Campaign, as well as provides technical assistance and training to state partners. Some of his major projects include the promotion of youth/parent success stories, federal juvenile justice legislation, Join the Movement campaign, and pitching media on the ever-growing problem of youth prosecuted as adults. Eric manages, produces, and co-hosts a weekly radio show on juvenile justice issues. He is responsible for getting the Campaign and its issue mentioned in the USA Today, The Washington Post, The New York Times, as well as CNN, PBS’ Tavis Smiley show, and NPR. Most recently, Eric was the recipient of the Golden Thinker Award from the North American Precis Syndicate (NAPS), for 191 placements of a juvenile justice TV story. He previously served as the Media Relations Manager at Nelnet and was a Media Relations Specialist at The George Washington University and an Editor/Producer at CNN in Washington, D.C. He is a graduate of Monmouth University in West Long Branch, NJ.

Neelum Arya, Research & Policy Director

Neelum Arya is a lawyer with more than ten years of experience working on juvenile and criminal justice issues.  As Research & Policy Director, she has been the lead author of many of the publications developed at the Campaign, including the Race and Ethnicity policy brief series examining racial and ethnic disparities in the justice system.  She has also written a recent article published in the Louisiana Law Review identifying ways to use the recent Supreme Court victory abolishing juvenile life without parole sentences in nonhomicide cases, to challenge juvenile transfer laws.  In addition to providing strategic legal and policy advice to the Campaign’s federal and state efforts, Neelum maintains an electronic library of key research on youth tried as adults, supervises the production of commissioned research, and works to increase the availability and quality of data available about youth tried as adults at the state and federal level.  Neelum has also developed an expertise in conditions of confinement for incarcerated children.  She has been a leader in efforts to ensure the Prison Rape Elimination Act prevents the sexual abuse of children in adult facilities, was the primary author of "Jailing Juveniles: The Dangers of Incarcerating Youth in Adult Jails in America," and assisted in drafting the self-inspection instrument for the Annie E. Casey Foundation's Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative to help jurisdictions identify and correct deficiencies in juvenile detention centers.  Prior to joining the Campaign in 2007, Neelum previously worked with the Center for Children's Law and Policy, the Youth Law Center, and the Children’s Defense Fund. She was awarded a Soros Justice Fellowship by the Open Society Institute in 2004 and named Volunteer of the Year by the DC Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services in 2006.  Neelum is a graduate of the Epstein Program in Public Interest Law & Policy at UCLA School of Law and Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government. She is also currently an adjunct professor at Washington College of Law at American University in Washington DC.

R. Dwayne Betts - Author, Poet, and Activist

R Dwayne Betts is a husband and father of a young son. The recipient of the 2010 NAACP Image Award for Literary Debut and a 2010 Soros Justice Media Fellowship, Betts is an advocate for juvenile justice and prison reform. Author of the memoir, A Question of Freedom, and the poetry collection Shahid Reads His Own Palm, Betts is a national spokesperson for the Campaign for Youth Justice. He has been profiled in The Washington Post, USA Today, The Baltimore Sun and appeared on CNN, NPR, the Tavis Smiley Show and other media outlets. Over the past two years he has spoken or appeared on panels at Harvard University, Yale University, Georgetown Law School, Howard Law School, American University and others. He has also been a featured speaker at the 2010 Beyond the Bench conference, 2009 NACo legislative conference, the 2009 Coalition for Juvenile Justice annual conference, and the 2009 ABA conference.

Betts was raised just outside of Washington, D.C. in Suitland, MD. On December 7, 1996 he was an honor student headed to college; on December 8, 1996 he was arrested for carjacking. At sixteen-years old, Betts plead guilty to carjacking and was later sentenced to nine years in prison. While in prison, Betts became a poet, an advocate and an educator. Betts is a graduate of Prince George’s Community College, the University of Maryland and has an MFA from Warren Wilson College.

Tracy McClard - Community Organizer

Tracy McClard, a mother from Missouri, became a parent activist for juvenile justice reform when her 17 year old son committed suicide while incarcerated in an adult facility. She recently resigned from her teaching job to focus on creating a powerful family- based juvenile justice organization in Missouri. She is currently organizing a national 5K run/walk to bring awareness to the public about the issue of prosecuting children as adults. Tracy has been featured on television and radio programs, as well as in articles and op-eds. In addition, Tracy testified in front of Congress.