Meet the Commissioners

Christa Caceres is proud to serve in her third term as president of the Monroe County branch of the NAACP and as 1st Vice-President and chair of the Political Action Committee for the NAACP Pennsylvania State Conference. Mrs. Caceres believes empowering community residents and protecting their human and civil rights are essential to any healthy democracy. She holds a B.A. in Jurisprudence and M.S. in Law and Public Policy from the California University of Pennsylvania, and is a passionate community advocate whose volunteer work spans well over twenty years.

 
For nearly five years, she worked to help constituents as a Senior Constituent Advocate for U.S. Representative Matt Cartwright (PA-8th District). In 2022, the current Pike County Commissioners appointed her to be the founding chairperson of the newly-created Pike County Commission on Women. In 2023, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro appointed her as vice-chair of the Governor’s Advisory Council on African-American Affairs.
 
Christa serves on the hiring committee of Stroud Area Regional Police and on the board of directors for organizations that include her role as vice-president of Saw Creek Estates Community Association, (the former) Safe Haven of Pike County, the Greater Pike Community Foundation, Pocono Mountains United Way, and the Pocono Chamber of Commerce.
 
Following calls for reform in law enforcement, Christa took a proactive approach and formed the Monroe and Pike County Community Roundtable in August of 2020 which united the heads of local and State police to find strategic and creative ways to make lasting changes in their community together.

Professor Emeritus David A. Sonenshein taught Criminal Procedure and Evidence at Temple University School of Law for 35 years. A graduate of Cornell University and the New York University School of Law, Professor Sonenshein has taught at Boston University, DePaul University, and was the Lyle T. Alverson Professor of Law at George Washington University Law School. He was named the I. Herman Stern Professor of Law at Temple in 1992. Professor Sonenshein has received the Outstanding Professor Award at both DePaul and Temple Law Schools a total of six times.

Professor Sonenshein is formerly the Director of the American Institute for Law Training within the Office, the in-house training arm of the American Law Institute-American Bar Association. He has performed training in Trial Advocacy, Deposition Practice, Evidence, Motion Practice and Negotiation Skills at America's premier law firms and government agencies, including the U.S. Department of Justice. In addition, Professor Sonenshein teaches Evidence to Federal Judges for the Federal Judicial Center.

Finally, he earned the Francis E. Rawle Award from the American Law Institute and American Bar Association for his outstanding contributions to the field of post-admission legal education.

Chuck Bailey is a former member of the Pennsylvania State Troopers Association. He served with the Pennsylvania State Police for 25 years in Southeastern Pennsylvania, retiring as a Corporal with their Member Assistance Program, where he worked in peer support and assisted troopers who responded to critical incidents.

Bailey is also a member of the Pennsylvania State Lodge Fraternal Order of Police executive board.

Fran Chardo was elected as Dauphin County District Attorney in November 2019. He has served as a full-time prosecutor in the Dauphin County District Attorney's Office for 29 years as one of only 11 board certified criminal trial advocates in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

Chardo currently serves on the Board of Trustees of the Dauphin County Library System, and previously served as board president of both the Boys and Girls Club of Harrisburg and the Capital Area Unit of the American Cancer Society. Additionally, he also served as a member of the Pennsylvania Joint State Government Commission Advisory Committee on Human Trafficking.

Chardo taught law both at the Dickinson School of Law of the Pennsylvania State University and at Widener University Commonwealth School of Law.

Leon Ford is a celebrated author, social entrepreneur, impact investor, international speaker and changemaker dedicated to driving positive change in his community and beyond. In 2012, Ford was tragically shot five times by a police officer, leaving him physically paralyzed. Nevertheless, he has continued to positively impact his community, founding The Hear Foundation, working with police officers on cultural competency and partnering with legislators to draft policies to modify the use of force law. An influential figure in social justice and mental health, Ford continues to inspire change in Pittsburgh and beyond. Through speaking engagements, mentorship, and fostering open dialogue, Ford cultivates leaders, organizers, and social entrepreneurs, ensuring his vision for a compassionate and just society endures for future generations.

Ford's accomplishments include executive producing the Cannes Film Festival award-winning documentary Leon (2019) and Breaking Bread: A Conversation on Race in America (2021), which won a Shorty Award. President Obama's Volunteer Service Award (2017), The Root 100 (2018), Pittsburgh's 40 Under 40 (2019), Forbes 30 Under 30 (2023), and National Urban League Community Service Award (2023).

As a member of The Aspen Institute's Inaugural Civil Society Fellowship, Ford is devoted to nurturing the next generation of leaders and activists. He serves as an entrepreneur in residence for Bronze Investments and is the co-founder of the Leon Ford Legacy Fund and holds board positions with multiple organizations.

In addition to his activism, Ford has authored valuable resources for overcoming adversity and promoting well-being, such as his recent memoir, An Unspeakable Hope (2023), Untold: Testimony and Guide to Overcoming Adversity (2017), and The Leon Self-Care Handbook: From Surviving to Thriving, offering practical tools for healing and personal growth.

From 1996 to 2019, Benjamin Lerner was a judge on the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas, where he was the supervising judge for the Court's Homicide Program. Judge Lerner also presided over direct file/decertification hearings in cases where the district attorney sought to try older juveniles in adult court. Judge Lerner increased funding for experts and investigators in indigent homicide cases and developed the concept of "dual jurisdiction" that enabled older juvenile defendants to return to juvenile court for treatment and rehabilitation. In addition, in collaboration with the District Attorney and defense bar, Judge Lerner oversaw improvements in early case preparation, which led to substantial reduction in death penalty cases, both at charging and trial stages.

From 2016 to 2018, Judge Lerner left the bench to serve as the City of Philadelphia's Deputy Managing Director for Criminal Justice. In that role, Judge Lerner was the liaison between the City's executive branch and criminal justice agencies including the Philadelphia Police Department and the Police Advisory Commission (now the Citizens Police Oversight Commission).

From 1975 through 1990, Judge Lerner served as Chief Defender of the Defender Association of Philadelphia, which represented criminal and juvenile defendants as well as child advocacy and mental health cases. From 1973 until 1975, Judge Lerner served as Deputy Attorney General and Chief of the Office of Criminal Law in the Pennsylvania Department of Justice. During that period, the Justice Department's Office of Criminal Law served as Counsel for various state criminal justice agencies, including the Pennsylvania State Police.

Judge Lerner is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania Law School. He was recently awarded Penn Carey Law School's 2023 Alumni Impact Award for his trailblazing career and his commitment to public service.

Kevin Mahoney is a member of the Municipal Police Officers' Training Commission (MPOETC). Governor Shapiro nominated Mahoney to serve on the MPOETC earlier this year, and his nomination was unanimously approved by the Pennsylvania Senate on June 21, 2023.

Mahoney is the Director of the Lackawanna College Police Academy. He served as a member of the Pennsylvania State Police for over 25 years, from April 1996 to June of 2021. During his time with PSP, he served in a variety of supervisory and command positions, including as a criminal investigation unit supervisor, station commander for Troop R Gibson, and commander of internal affairs, eastern division, for the Bureau of Integrity and Professional Standards.

In 2021, Kevin Mahoney joined the Lackawanna College Police Academy as an Assistant Director of Academy Operations and was promoted to Director in May 2022.

Jeffrey Wilson is the President of the Johnstown Police Advisory Board, and the First Vice President of Johnstown's N.A.A.C.P branch. Wilson also serves as the Flood City Youth Fitness Academy Program Manager.

Wilson was one of the original organizers of the Johnstown Police Advisory board, which was formed during the 2000s and was instrumental in changing state law to require police officers to record the results following a traffic stop. Wilson has been an advocate for more diversity in police recruitment and more de-escalation training in law enforcement.

Amy Zapp served as the senior executive counsel to the PA Attorney General from 2016 to 2019. Zapp, a Wilkes-Barre native, worked at the Attorney General's office for over 40 years until her retirement in 2019. Her tenure with the Office of Attorney General includes nearly 20 years in the OAG's Civil Law Division, where she primarily worked on cases involving state prisons and state agencies in the criminal justice system. Zapp, in 1999, joined the OAG's Criminal Law Division, where she worked on capital litigation. She was appointed in 2003 to the position of chief deputy attorney general of the OAG's Appeals and Legal Services Section. Since 2009, she has served as the chief deputy attorney general of the office's Special Litigation Section.

Zapp studied French at Wilson College, where she earned her bachelor's degree. She is a graduate of the Temple University James E. Beasley School of Law.