National District Attorneys Association in Transition
The National District Attorneys Association is the nation’s only membership organization whose mission is to serve the state, local and county prosecutors in this country. It has existed for 57 years through many tumultuous changes in the nation’s criminal justice system. When the National District Attorneys Association started there were no computers, mobile phones, fax machines or email. Prosecutors dialed each other up on the telephone and networked the best they could. There were no Miranda, Brady, or Jencks cases. Over the course of the last half-century, the National District Attorneys Association has created a network of prosecutors across the country. The National District Attorneys Association has developed education programs and training for prosecutors and has performed research and evaluation.
As the Interim Executive Director of the National District Attorneys Association, I am committed to the mission of our organization. The National District Attorneys Association has and will continue to give its members excellence in prosecution education. With a change in administration, there is always some change in focus. Administratively, our headquarters is being reorganized to reflect this leaner financial climate that all of our offices are experiencing to different degrees. Through this transition, programs are continuing at their usual high level of professionalism and substance.
We have added a number of member benefits to the website which can be accessed at www.ndaa.org. These benefits are expected to continue to grow and we welcome any requests or suggestions for additional member benefits. A member survey will be sent out shortly soliciting members’ input on how the National District Attorneys Association can best serve prosecutors and, specifically, how the National District Attorneys Association can improve its current service to prosecutors. As a member organization, we need the input of our members and we welcome it.
In the coming months, we will continue to serve America’s prosecutors enthusiastically with education programs and publications from the American Prosecutors Research Institute and the National College of District Attorneys, our two major divisions. We continue to fight for National Advocacy Center funding so that both the American Prosecutors Research Institute and the National College of District Attorneys can educate prosecutors at the Ernest F. Hollings National Advocacy Center in Columbia, South Carolina. The legislative committee and the Board of Directors of the National District Attorneys Association are committed to saving our ability to provide quality training at the National Advocacy Center and we encourage all members to help with this critical effort.
Thank you for the warm welcome I have received as the Interim Executive Director. The overwhelming support and encouragement from our membership and staff has been amazing. Working together, we will launch the National District Attorneys Association into its next half of a century.
