Administration of Justice Department Advisory Board
The Chabot College Administration of Justice Advisory Board members serve as current
and former law enforcement officers at the federal, state, and local level; corrections
and probation officers; mediators; and experienced attorneys. The Board is a tremendous
resource for planning, recruitment, and the overall prestige of the College’s Administration
of Justice program.
AVERIETT, ANGELA
Chief Averiett is currently the Interim Chief for San Leandro Police Department. She is a Bay Area native and started her career in law enforcement in 1996, working as a police records clerk for the Hayward Police Department. In 2000, she was hired as a Deputy Sheriff by the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office.
In 2001, Chief Averiett lateraled to the Hayward Police Department as a police officer. She worked patrol and traffic unit assignments. She served as an advisor to the Explorer Program and program coordinator for the peer support team. Deputy Chief Averiett was promoted to sergeant in 2008, where she was assigned to the special duty (gang) unit, patrol division, and the district attorney liaison. She was promoted to lieutenant in 2014, where she was assigned to the patrol division, district command and internal affairs units. Chief Averiett also managed the Honor Guard team and was the assistant team leader on the Crisis (Hostage) Negotiations Team.
In 2019, Ms. Averiett was hired by the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District as the San Francisco area Deputy Chief in charge of a squadron of Sergeants, Officers and Community Service Officers. In 2022 she went on to become Chief of Police for Los Altos Police Department and in 2024 moved to San Leandro PD.
Chief Averiett is currently the Vice President of the California Association of Hostage Negotiators (CAHN), and has served on the board in different capacities for the last 10 years. She served as the Parliamentarian of SF Bay Area NOBLE (National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives), and Parliamentarian of the Barbershop Forum group, an organization that works to bridge the communication gap between law enforcement and the community. Deputy Chief Averiett holds a bachelor’s degree in Leadership and Organizational Studies from St. Mary’s College, and is a graduate of the prestigious LAPD Leadership Program.
In her spare time, Ms. Averiett trains to ride in the yearly Police Unity Tour, a 250-mile bike ride from New Jersey to Washington, DC to honor police officers killed in the line of duty.
CANTRELL, RYAN
Ryan Cantrell is a lieutenant working for the Hayward Police Department in the San Francisco Bay Area. He is currently assigned as the northern district commander for the community policing unit and the project manager for the department’s recruitment efforts and has worked as a patrol watch commander. Prior to his promotion to lieutenant, he was a sergeant supervising the department's Homicide/Major Assaults Unit and worked as the department's Public Information Officer. He has been in law enforcement for over 22 years and has worked in nearly every division within the department. His assignments have included being a 911 Operator, Patrol Officer, School Resource Officer, Field Training Officer, Vice/Intelligence Detective, Patrol Supervisor, Robbery/Property Crimes Unit Supervisor and a Peer Support Team Coordinator.
He is the co-founder of the Alameda County Association of Homicide Investigators – a collaborative of homicide investigators working investigations in Alameda County, established to pool resources, share intelligence, and develop best practices for homicide investigations. He has served on the committee which developed the mandated Human Trafficking training for law enforcement in California (Proposition 35 -CASE ACT). Additionally, he is the founder and former coordinator of the Alameda County Vice Enforcement Team (ACVET) that conducts multi-agency vice enforcement operations that focus on the recovery of exploited children and human trafficking victims throughout Alameda County.
He has conducted large scale human trafficking investigations and street-level prostitution and child recovery operations as a lead investigator and undercover operator. He is a court certified expert in Human Trafficking, Prostitution and Asian Brothel Investigations in the State of California. He also lectures at local community colleges and law enforcement organizations on the topics of: Human Trafficking, Brothel Investigations, Vice Investigations, Prescription Drug Diversion and Alcohol/Tobacco Enforcement.
In January 2013, he published a book titled “Modern Slavery: Investigating Human Trafficking,” which is a guide for law enforcement and concerned citizens about Human Trafficking Investigations.
Lieutenant Cantrell is affiliated with several professional associations such as, the Western States Vice Investigators Association, International Association of Undercover Officers, California Robbery Investigators Association, California Homicide Investigators Association, California Crime Prevention Officers Association, and the California Narcotics Officers Association. He has participated in several FBI and United States Attorney’s Office sponsored task forces and intelligence sharing working groups that focus on child exploitation and human trafficking.
He possesses a bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice Administration from California State University, Hayward and a master’s degree in Law Enforcement Executive Leadership through California Southern University. His formal training in human trafficking includes courses in Child Prostitution Investigations from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children (CSEC) from the DOJ’s Office of Juvenile Justice.
GIAMBONA, SALVATORE
Salvatore Giambona is a licensed criminal defense attorney attorney at Giambona Law Offices. He is a former Deputy Public Defender in Solano County and has handled thousands of criminal cases, including felonies, misdemeanors, and juvenile cases. He has tried nearly forty trials to jury verdict and has conducted countless evidentiary hearings in his time as a Public Defender. Mr. Giambona earned his bachelors degree with honors from the University of California, Santa Barbara in Psychology and Sociology in 2003. In 2007 he earned a Master of Arts in education from the University of California, Santa Barbara. In 2010, he earned his Juris Doctorate from University of California, Hastings College of the Law.
In 2016, the Solano County Bar Association recognized Mr. Salvatore Giambona's work on behalf of his clients and honored him with the Leonard Oldwin Jr. Memorial Award for zealous advocacy. He became a member of the board of the Solano County Bar Association in 2017. He is also an advisor to the Contra Costa County Juvenile Justice Commission and is a frequent guest lecturer for the Administration of Justice Department at Chabot College.
Mr. Giambona is a lifelong resident of California and has spent much of this time in the San Francisco Bay Area.
HAIGHT, LOIS
The Hon. Lois Haight (Ret.) was a judge for the Contra Costa County Superior Court in California. She was appointed to the Superior Court by former Governor Pete Wilson in 1993 and retired from the bench in 2019.
She was registered as a Republican.
Haight received her B.A. from the University of California, Davis. She went on to earn her LL.B. from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law.
Prior to her appointment to the bench, Haight worked as an assistant attorney general for the U.S. Department of Justice's Office of the Attorney General from 1983 to 1986. During her time there, she was credited with creating the A.G.'s Task Force on Family Violence in 1984. Before joining the A.G.'s offine in Washington, D.C., Haight worked as a deputy district attorney for the Alameda County District Attorney's Office from 1976-1981.
Early in her career, she worked in private practice from 1967 to 1975, as a San Francisco Juvenile Hall counselor from 1963 to 1965, and a San Joaquin County probation officer in 1962.
She served as a special correspondent for President Ronald Reagan's National Correspondent to the United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders from 1983 to 1989. She was also the U.S. Delegate at the United Nations Conferences from 1986 to 1988.
While on the bench, Haight presided over the Juvenile Department and also served as a supervising Judge.
She was the past-chair of the White House Conference for a Drug-Free America and the President's Task Force on Victims of Crime.
Her other memberships have included serving on the board of Quest International, U.S.O. International, and Crime Stoppers International.
Her professional committees have included the National Sheriff's Association Standards, Ethics and Education Committee, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Advisory Committee on Rape Prevention and Control, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Advisory Committee on Child Abuse and Neglect, the California Judicial Council, and the Commission on Judicial Performance.
Her awards have included the California Jurist of the Year from the Judicial Council, the Award of Special Honor from the International Narcotic Enforcement Officers Association, the John Heinz Award from the National Organization of Victims Assistance, and the Secretary's Commendations from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, just to name a few.
During her legal career, Haight has also served as a guset lecturer and speaker.
She is married to John Herrington, who served as the former Chairmen of the California Republican Party and also served as the personnel director and cabinet secretary of Energy for President Ronald Reagan.
JOHNSON, CHARLES
Charles W. Johnson, Jr. began his forty year professional career teaching 8th grade science and then high school chemistry, while coaching multiple sports for Montgomery County Public Schools, Rockville, Maryland from 1978 - 1985. During that time, he was recognized as a Mentor Teacher for students and a candidate for educational administration.
In 1985, Mr. Johnson was sworn in as a Special Agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Following Quantico training, Charles Johnson was assigned to the Las Vegas Division of the FBI, where he conducted violent crime and property crime investigations. In 1990, Mr. Johnson transferred to the New York Division of the FBI. In 1998, he transferred to the San Francisco Division.
While conducting violent crime and violent gang investigations, serving as a Program Manager, and Supervisory Special Agent leading a multi-jurisdictional task force, Charles Johnson continued to seek opportunities to provide training to law enforcement. He completed FBI Police Instructor Certification (1990) and Advanced Instructor training (2004). He conducted courses for law enforcement instructors and served as a trainer and presenter at law enforcement conferences and seminars. In 2006, Mr. Johnson was in the initial class selected as Adjunct Faculty to the FBI Leadership Development Institute. He designed and conducted training in interpersonal communication, performance management and team dynamics to law enforcement command personnel. In 2010, Mr. Johnson was selected for the FBI Master Police Instructor award.
In 2011, Mr. Johnson was invited to serve as the Instructional Team Lead for the FBI Leadership Development Program at Washington, DC. Leading a team of eight, he provided engaging deployment of leadership principles and facilitation of leadership discussion through week long seminars 2011 – 2013. After more, that twenty-seven years of service, Mr. Johnson retired from the FBI in 2013.
MCALLISTER, DARRYL
Chief Darryl McAllister served throughout the ranks of the Hayward Police Department for more than thirty years. October 1, 2014, he was appointed as Union City’s chief of police. His primary focus—both in policing and in education—is to redefine the importance of police-community engagement as a means to promote trust and transparency in today’s policing.
A ranking officer in both cities, Chief Darryl McAllister has commanded several divisions, bureaus, and functions including Patrol Operations, Investigations, Youth and Family Intervention and Counseling Services, School Policing Services, Gang Violence Suppression, Community Policing Services, SWAT, Canine Units, and Media Relations. He also served four years as the Hayward Police Department’s primary Press Information Officer, dealing regularly with news media.
Chief McAllister is also an educator, previously serving as lead faculty at the University of Phoenix, and now as a faculty member of Chabot College, teaching primarily criminal justice and public policy courses. For nearly two decades he has served as a board member of several community organizations, currently serving as the President of the Board at the St. Rose Hospital Foundation, and as a member of the advisory board of the University of San Francisco's International Institute of Criminal Justice Leadership. He participates on the selection panel for the California State Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training’s Command College Program, and on the board of the San Francisco Bay Area Chapter of the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives. He serves on the boards of several nonprofit organizations in the East Bay, and, in his spare time, he is a youth mentor with Reality Mentor, Inc.
He is a two-time nominee and one-time recipient of Hayward’s Police Officer of the Year Award, a 2007 Recipient of the “Hayward Pearl Award” honoring volunteer service to the community, and he was also awarded in 2013 as University of Phoenix’s Faculty Member of the Year for the San Francisco Bay Area Campus region. In 2015, he was selected by the Southern Alameda County NAACP for its most prestigious honor—the “Person of the Year” Award.
His manuscript, Law Enforcement Turns to Face Recognition Technology, was published by Information Today Magazine in May 2007. His strategic plan, 2008 and Beyond, was officially adopted and published by the City of Hayward in December 2008, and was the first of its kind for the organization since 1991. In 2016, he was honored to be one of a select number of police chiefs in the country to be invited to the White House to take part in a critical discussion with President Obama and his staff about how to build trust between police and the communities they serve.
Chief McAllister holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Occupational Studies from California State University, Long Beach, and a Master’s Degree in Administrative Development from Alliant International University. He is currently completing coursework for a Doctorate in Educational Leadership at Saint Mary’s College of California. He is a graduate of the FBI National Academy in Quantico, Virginia—a professional course of study for U.S. and international law enforcement leaders. He is also an alumnus of the California Command College—a graduate level futures study program of the California State Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training.
MEDINA, PAUL
Officer Paul Medina has served as a correctional officer with the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation since 1997. Officer Medina has distinguished himself during his twenty years of law enforcement experience. Currently, Officer Medina is the Lead Gang Investigator with the Investigative Services Unit at California State Prison, Solano. He has identified and validated hundreds of gang members and associates and regularly testifies in court as a subject matter expert on Nuestra Familia and Mexican Mafia, both notorious prison gangs. Part of his role includes debriefing members of various prison gangs, including the Aryan Brotherhood, Black Guerrilla Family, Mexican Mafia, and Nuestra Familia.
Among his other important assignments, Officer Medina has directed his attention to investigations at Pelican Bay and Corcoran State Prisons which contain Security Housing Units (SHUs) within CDCR. He has participated in numerous street operations partnering with both state and federal law enforcement to target Nuestra Familia Leadership. He regularly trains external law enforcement at all levels on gang activity, as well as presenting at universities and colleges across the state of California. Officer Medina is an active member with the following organizations: California Gang Task Force, California Gang Investigators Association, Central Coast Gang Investigators Association, Northern California Gang Investigators Association, Orange County Gang Investigators Association, Riverside County Gang Investigators, and the National Alliance of Gang Investigators Association.
MITCHELL, GARY
Deputy Gary Mitchell is a native of North Carolina and has lived in both Southern and Northern, California, as well as abroad since 1980. He was born to the parents of six boys and four girls, all of whom choose careers in public service areas, including the Military, Law Enforcement, and Nursing.
Deputy Mitchell has dedicated most of his life to serving his country both at war and in peace, in public and a military capacity. He has served a long and distinguished career in the United States Marine Corps, retiring with honor after twenty years of service. While in the Marines, Deputy Mitchell served as a Tank Commander in Operation’s Desert Storm and Desert Shield. He was subsequently selected by the U.S. Department of State to become a Diplomatic Security Officer, overseeing security at the United States Embassies in Cairo, Egypt and Nairobi, Kenya. His final assignment with the United States Marine Corps was with the Recruiting Command in San Francisco, California. He enjoyed his time in the Bay Area and decided to make it his permanent home.
Deputy Mitchell has continued to serve his country and community as a First Responder and Law Enforcement Officer with the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office for more than ten years. Deputy Mitchell has completed multiple assignments during his tenure with the Sheriff’s Office, including his current assignment with the Backgrounds and Recruiting Unit as a Background Investigator. Deputy Mitchell enjoys Law Enforcement and cannot think of a better way to give back to society and be a role model than that of serving and helping people. Semper Fi.
ROBERTSON, MATTIE
Mattie Robertson is a dispute resolution professional who has facilitated over 300
cases, and is certified as both a mediator and arbitrator. She has mentored many other
professional mediators and conducted numerous conflict resolution trainings. Mrs.
Robertson has worked for SEEDS Community Resolution Center managing the Court Mediation
Program, which provided same-day mediation services to litigants in the Alameda County
Superior Courts, and she was the Program Director for the Arts Arbitration and Mediation
Services (AAMS) program for California Lawyers for the Arts in the San Francisco Bay
Area. Currently, Mrs. Robertson is Deputy Director of the Center for Negotiation and
Dispute Resolution (CNDR) at UC Hastings College of the Law. Mrs. Robertson also serves
as Co-Chair for the Alameda County Bar Association's ADR Executive Committee, is on
the Alameda County Superior Court's ADR Administration Committee, and is a member
of the Chabot College Administration of Justice Department’s Advisory Board.
Mrs. Robertson is a graduate of UC Hastings College of the Law in San Francisco, and
has a Bachelors in International Relations from San Francisco State University.
SCOTT, TAMARA
Tamara has 14 years of solid diverse experience in the Alameda County Probation Department, in both juvenile and adult divisions. She is intensely familiar with the function and goals of probation, Courts and institutions. She has worked with youth in a variety of settings from minimum security camps and county schools to maximize security institutions such as juvenile hall. As a Deputy Probation Officer, she collaborates with parole agents, task force, schools, group homes and community based organizations. As a juvenile DPO, Tamara was involved in developing Reaffirming Young Sisters Excellence, an all female intense program, one of few in the United States. She worked intimately with adolescent girls, their families and connected them with any community based service that would aide them in becoming successful. She has also specialized in a mental health and a gender-specific caseload. Tamara advocates for juveniles, while also holding them accountable to their conditions of probation. In her field work, she develops case plans, conducts assessments and keeps statistics to help track the progress of individuals to help them reach their maximum potential.
In the adult division, Tamara held a specialized caseload of sex offenders, domestic
violence and served on the Domestic Violence Committee, which was composed of community
providers. She has also been trained in motivational interviewing and evidenced based
practice.
Mrs. Scott served on the Juvenile Justice Commission and Delinquency Prevention Commission in Contra Costa County. From 2013-2015, she served as Co-Chairman, implementing new policies and procedures and by-laws and trainings for Commissioners. Additionally, Tamara is a guest speaker at local colleges.
Advisory Board Meetings