California Youth Defender Center: Executive Director
California Youth Defender Center (CYDC) seeks a dedicated Executive Director who will play a pivotal role in cultivating strong relationships with staff, the Board of Directors, partners, and stakeholders, while fostering collaboration across California’s youth justice ecosystem. This position demands a hands-on, values-driven leader with robust management and fundraising experience, alongside a profound commitment to equity and justice reform. The ideal candidate will possess a proven track record of leading impactful change, building high-performing teams, and navigating complexities with integrity and vision. CYDC is looking for a strategic and relational leader with an executive presence capable of ensuring stability and guiding the organization toward a long-term vision for impact, particularly at this critical juncture in its evolution. With a current staff of three, the new Executive Director must be both pragmatic and visionary, equipped with the skills to sustainably grow and enhance the organization’s mission.
About California Youth Defender Center:
CYDC seeks to set the standard for youth justice in California. Our statewide efforts seek to ensure that:
Every county has a holistic team ready to defend and transform the potential of each young person;
Every community has place-based alternatives to youth detention; and
Every child has an equitable chance to heal, grow and thrive.
CYDC is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. For more than 25 years, CYDC has strengthened youth defense in California by equipping defenders with the training, tools, and community needed to advocate 1 effectively for young people. Through a small, experienced staff and a robust, dedicated, statewide network of members, CYDC delivers high-impact training, advances policy reform, engages in strategic litigation, and promotes equity to improve outcomes for youth.
Responsibilities
Strategic Leadership
Continually develop bold new approaches and evaluate impact in collaboration with staff, members, and external partners.
Management
Ensure the ongoing stability and operation of the organization, including recruiting and leading a talented and diverse team. Oversee and optimize core organizational functions including fiscal planning, budgeting, general management, human resources, event planning, organizational culture, technology, safety and security, and legal compliance.
Fundraising
Create and implement annual and long-term strategic fundraising plans, cultivating and stewarding sustained relationships with philanthropic partners and individual donors and securing the support necessary to ensure stability and growth. Partner with those who support CYDC work to ensure they are informed and engaged.
Public Relations and Communication
Serve as a public-facing thought leader, spokesperson, and advocate for CYDC and the issue areas and campaigns we engage in to increase our visibility, amplify the voices of our members and partners, and help to shift the narrative about youth justice issues in California. Raise awareness and create urgency around matters of priority for CYDC. Ensure visibility and knowledge of CYDC in appropriate public arenas to ensure meaningful presence and influence in dialogue and decision-making.
Board Relations
Build and maintain a robust partnership with the Board of Directors and ensure they have the tools and information needed to govern the organization. Provide regular reporting to inform the Board about CYDC operations, programs and activities, achievements, and challenges. Lead and coordinate input from the Advisory Board, ensuring alignment with the Strategic Plan and the ongoing development of this group.
Partnerships and Collaborations
Play an active role in establishing and maintaining partnerships with our members, advocacy allies, and movement partners, and regularly identify opportunities for collaboration and greater impact.
Qualifications
Executive Leadership
Inspiring, values-driven leader with significant senior or executive-level experience leading an organization, team, or major initiative of comparable size and complexity.
Demonstrated track record of initiating and leading strategic change efforts that produced meaningful impact.
Skilled at leading through change management, conflicts and moments of growth with steadiness, humility, and clarity.
Ability to lead with high integrity, self-awareness, optimism, and a commitment to listening to and valuing diverse perspectives.
Learner’s mindset with continuous curiosity and interest to grow in this role.
Operations and Internal Management
Ability to work independently from home and manage a small staff remotely.
Strong people management with experience building, mentoring and supervising high performing teams and fostering a culture of accountability, collaboration, and learning.
Experience overseeing organizational operations, including planning, budgeting, staff coordination, and administrative systems.
Exceptional organizational, interpersonal, and decision-making skills, with the ability to manage competing priorities and navigate complexities.
Cultivate a strong team culture through clear structure, defined roles, and aligned organizational direction.
Legal & Youth Justice Expertise
Experience leveraging litigation, policy advocacy, and community-centered legal strategies to advance equity and challenge harmful systems.
Significant professional experience in criminal or youth justice, juvenile defense, movement lawyering, or youth defense policy and advocacy fields.
Understanding of youth justice systems, legal practice, and policy reform strategies, with an appreciation for the ways legal advocacy can support broader systems change.
Juris Doctor (J.D.) preferred, or equivalent deep experience working in close partnership with legal teams.
Fundraising and Resource Development
Proven track record of cultivating, soliciting, and stewarding major grants from philanthropic and government institutions and securing major gifts from individual donors.
Experience designing/overseeing long-term fundraising strategies, cultivating new donors and funder relationships.
Movement & Community Partnership
Demonstrated commitment to racial justice, equity, and transformative change, with a history of working in partnership with impacted communities, grassroots organizations, families, and system-involved youth.
Knowledge and familiarity with the youth justice ecosystem in California.
Compensation
Work Location: This role is remote and can be based anywhere in California.
This is a full-time position. The salary range is $140,000 to $160,000, with a generous benefits package that includes health insurance, a 403b retirement plan with employer matching, eighteen paid holidays (including closure between Christmas and New Year’s Day), paid sick time, and four weeks of paid vacation.
To Apply
To apply, please click here.