After a remarkable tenure marked by visionary leadership and unwavering dedication, Jennifer Shaffer, our esteemed Board of Parole Hearings (BPH) Executive Officer, is embarking on a well-deserved retirement in 2025. Her years of service (June 2011 to December 2024) have shaped this organization, leaving an indelible legacy of growth and innovation. As we (all stakeholders) celebrate her accomplishments, we also warmly welcome Scott Wyckoff, who will be stepping into the role of Executive Officer.
Prior Governor Brown appointed Shaffer to the board office in 2011, and lauded her “steady hand” leadership of what, during her administration, grew from a panel of 12 commissioners to the current group of 21.
The departure of Jennifer Shaffer from the board marks the end of an era of progress and change at the BPH. New laws, new social attitudes and studies have contributed to the change, but it took an individual with enough confidence to buck the ‘old boys system,’ acknowledge the humanity of those incarcerated and intent on following the law to make that progress.
Jennifer’s hope is that “ the Board will continue to seek ways to help the public better understand the process through meaningful outreach, publications like the Parole Hearing Process Handbook, and videos like those recently produced by the nonprofit Parole Justice Works that explain the parole hearing process from the perspective of formerly incarcerated persons, Board members and staff, attorneys, victims, and survivors.”
Jennifer's contributions over her distinguished career (over 13 years) are truly too numerous to fully recount. However, amidst her vast achievements, we would be remiss not to highlight the increase Grants of Parole, Increased transparency of the Board, Professional training for state appointed attorneys, as well as the increase in Board size to accommodate new laws – these are pivotal moments.These accomplishments, among many others, have profoundly shaped the BPH/CDCR organization and will hopefully continue under the new Director.
Increase
in parole grant rate as noted below:
- Grants rose from 466 in 2011 to 1433 in 2023
- Over 15,000 grants between 2011 and the end of 2023
- Over 1,000 grants in 2024
- Current grant rate for completed hearings is 34% (2023)
- Change in board size from 12 to 21 commissioners
Some of
the Biggest changes to the Parole hearing Process as seen by Jennifer:
“There have been many significant changes regarding the parole hearing process over the past 14 years. We have seen parole eligibility expand with changes in the law implementing youth offender hearings and elderly parole hearings. We have witnessed the Board become more professional and make evidence-based decisions through extensive training, greater transparency, and by adopting a structured decision-making framework. Also, we used technology to automate and streamline many administrative aspects of the parole hearing process, to go “paperless,” and to conduct hearings by videoconference. “The changes have been significant, and we have learned a lot about the transformative power of hope and the resiliency of the human spirit from all those who participate in the parole hearing process.”
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The new 2025 Executive Director of the Board of Parole Hearings - Scott Wyckoff
Although
the face at the helm may be unfamiliar, Scott Wyckoff, the new Executive
Director of the Board of Parole Hearings, wants to assure all stakeholders,
especially lifers, that there are no major, sudden changes in the works.
Wyckoff, appointed to the position in early November by Governor Newsom, was
sworn in to the position on January 2, 2025, following the retirement of
long-time BPH Director Jennifer Shaffer.
Relatively new to the parole side of CDCR, Wyckoff most recently served as Deputy Legal Affairs Secretary in the Governor’s office since 2022, so he is no stranger to issues confronting CDCR. With his proven expertise and fresh perspective, we are confident that Scott will guide the BPH towards continued success, building upon the strong foundation Jennifer has laid.
Since his swearing in Wyckoff has spent extensive time learning the process and personalities involved in parole hearings, including the subject of those hearings, by attending random parole hearings on many days, and meeting a list of stakeholders, including Life Support Alliance (LSA) staff.
Wyckoff was personable, outgoing and receptive to
questions and comments and seems as interested in receiving incoming information
and observations as dishing them out. He emphasized he’s still learning the
ins-and-outs of the parole process, practices and people involved. In previous
comments Wyckoff had noted the ‘profound’ impact of Shaffer’s 13-year tenure,
adding he hoped to build on that legacy.
He did, however, enunciate intention to maintain the transparent habits of the Board’s last several years in making figures on number of hearings, number of grants and similar data available to the general public via such avenues as the yearly Significant Events report and similar reports lending to maintaining and increasing the transparency of the Board’s history and current operations. Wyckoff also expressed in desire and intention to meet lifers in person, if no other way than by attending some groups and classes, responding to a specific invitation to drop in on any of LSA’s weekly lifer groups or scheduled workshops at any time. (See LSA information below)
While we bid a fond farewell to Jennifer and celebrate her incredible legacy from her years as BPH Executive Officer, we eagerly anticipate the future under Scott Wyckoff’s leadership. As he steps into the role of Executive Director in 2025, we look forward to collaborating with him, building upon past successes, and embarking on a new chapter of growth and innovation for BPH.
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If you have comments to offer to the New BPH Executive Officer the Life Support Alliance (LSA) group has the opportunity to route those comments through them (LSA) to BPH offices.
Please make these serious, considered comments, not simple complaints about your personal situation/denial. You need not sign your name and envelopes that would provide that information will not be included in the messages we forward to Wyckoff. . Please be succinct — it is a chance to have your voice heard
Send your comments to:
LSA / Comments to Director
PO Box 277
Rancho Cordova, Ca. 95741
A huge shout-out to Vanessa of the LSA group, whose tireless advocacy for the Lifer population makes a profound difference!
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