Our Team

Wansley Walters is the former Secretary for the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice. As a nationally recognized leader in the field of juvenile justice and a long standing child advocate, she pioneered the reform of the largest comprehensive juvenile justice system in the country in the administration of Governor Rick Scott. Under her leadership, the agency implemented strategies that have reduced the juvenile crime statewide and the number of children in detention and residential care as well as expanding civil citations for first time misdemeanors statewide. She finished her tenure with the 2014 Florida Legislature unanimously passing legislation that ensures the continuation of the reforms.

Wansley was previously the Director of the Miami-Dade County Juvenile Services Department, which included the operation of the largest Juvenile Assessment Center (JAC) in Florida. The center was the focal point for a 10 year National Demonstration Project with the U.S. Department of Justice on juvenile justice reform that was showcased in a 2009 White House Summit in Miami. She served as the Special Assistant to two Directors of the Miami-Dade Police Department.

Wansley served for seven years as the Chair of the Florida Children and Youth Cabinet under Governor Scott. In November 2012 she was one of eight recipients of the 2012 Juvenile Justice Without Borders International Award presented by the International Juvenile Justice Observatory (IJJO) during the International Youth Justice Convention in London. The IJJO grants the award once every two years to individuals and organizations for outstanding achievements in juvenile justice research, advocacy and intervention under the auspices of the United Nations.