Ms. Barden has been working within various areas of the criminal justice system for over 40 years, including 21 years as a local and federal prosecutor. In 2006, she became one of the first six Department of Justice reentry coordinators in the nation, directing reentry efforts throughout the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. In 2007, she helped initiate one of the first federal reentry courts for people with serious, violent criminal histories. She also worked with judges, probation officials, government and community organizations, educational institutions, the legal community, and others to develop opportunities for reentry court participants. From 2013 to 2017, Ms. Barden worked with state and county officials on a number of other issues concerning prison reentry, including pre-release enrollment in Medicaid. As a consultant for the Pretrial Services Pilot Project of the County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania, she provided technical assistance and funds for wrap-around services to several Pennsylvania counties seeking to establish or expand pretrial services programs. Ms. Barden graduated cum laude from Columbia University School of General Studies and received her J.D. from the New York University School of Law. Ms. Barden was confirmed by the Senate on February 5, 2018.
Khadija T. Diggs, Esquire
A native of Pittsburgh, Khadija T. Diggs, Esq., received her Bachelor of Arts Degree in Psychology, with honors, from Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee, and earned her Juris Doctorate from Howard University School of Law in Washington, D.C. Ms. Diggs has worked in various facets of the criminal justice system. She began her legal career with the Allegheny County Office of the Public Defender and moved to the position of Assistant City Solicitor in the City of Pittsburgh Law Department, during which time she also served as the Acting Police Legal Advisor for the City of Pittsburgh Police Department. Ms. Diggs was the Project Coordinator for the implementation phase of YouthWorks’ "BluePrint" a very successful and innovative juvenile offender reentry demonstration project in Pittsburgh with a $3 million-dollar budget funded by the Federal Department of Labor. Her legal career continued to advance as an Assistant Federal Public Defender in the Western District of Pennsylvania and then as a Deputy Public Defender in Allegheny County. Beginning in 2005, until her appointment to the Board, Ms. Diggs served as a member of the Pennsylvania Interbranch Commission for Gender, Racial and Ethnic Fairness and chaired the Criminal Justice Committee, which among other matters, has had initiatives focused on: the death penalty in Pennsylvania, overhauling the public defender system in Pennsylvania, reviewing the sentencing and re-sentencing of life without parole for juveniles, automating expungement of juvenile delinquency records, expanding “ban the box,” and student loan forgiveness for public interest attorneys. After a brief solo practice, Ms. Diggs became the Deputy Director for the Southwest Regional Office of Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf. Leading up to her appointment as a Parole Board Member, Ms. Diggs was an Assistant Counsel in the Governor’s Office of General Counsel, with a focus on Corrections, Probation and Parole. After her nomination by Governor Wolf to become a Parole Board Member, Ms. Diggs was unanimously confirmed by the State Senate on May 13, 2020, to serve a six-year term.
Leo L. Dunn, Esquire
Mr. Dunn received a J.D. cum laude from Widener University School of Law Harrisburg in 2007 and three B.S. degrees from Penn State University in 1987. Mr. Dunn had a solo law practice and was an Adjunct Professor of Law. Mr. Dunn has served the citizens of the Commonwealth for over 29 years. Mr. Dunn is passionate about making state government work more effectively for the citizens of the Commonwealth. He has served as a member of the Juvenile Act Advisory Committee, the Homeless Program Coordination Committee, the Mental Health Justice Advisory Committee at the Commission for Crime and Delinquency, as chair of the GLBT Rights and Corrections System Committees and as a Council Member for the Solo and Small Firm Section of the Pennsylvania Bar Association. He was appointed Director of Policy and Legislative Affairs for the Board of Probation and Parole in 2012 after working nine years as the assistant director. Prior to working for the Board of Probation and Parole, Mr. Dunn spent 15 years with the Department of Agriculture serving in various roles. He was instrumental in the original development of the PA Preferred Program. He grew up on a family dairy farm in northern Pennsylvania. Mr. Dunn was confirmed by the Senate as a Board Member on December 9, 2015 for a partial (3 year) term and became Board Chairman on March 15, 2016. One of his main focuses has been improving the supervision and support network for mentally ill offenders being paroled. He has also led the agency from relying on paper files to becoming a leader in the use of electronics to reduce costs and expedite processes. Mr. Dunn was re-appointed in September 2018 and confirmed to a full six-year term on October 17 by the state Senate. This new term expires on October 17, 2024. He served as Chairman until February 5, 2019.
C. James Fox
Jim Fox began his criminal justice career in 1984 as a police officer for what is now known as the West Shore Regional Police Department. He served as a Captain in the United States Air Force as an Intelligence Officer from 1985 until 1990. After his military service, he again returned to policing until 1991, when he was appointed a Federal Probation Officer in the United States District Court, Middle District of Pennsylvania. He served as a Federal Probation Officer until 1999. Fox then left federal service to become the Police Academy Training Director at Harrisburg Area Community College. He was promoted to Dean of Public Safety and Workforce Development where he oversaw all public safety and workforce training for the College. Governor Edward Rendell appointed Fox to the Pennsylvania Board of Probation and Parole in 2007, where he served a 6-year term as Board Member. After his term, he was the Board’s Chief Hearing Examiner until 2016, earning the Board’s “Excellence in Leadership” award. He conducted criminal justice consulting and worked for Montgomery County Community College until he was nominated to return to the Board. Fox holds a Bachelor’s Degree in police administration from Eastern Kentucky University and a Master’s Degree in operations management from the University of Arkansas. A noted speaker, Fox has taught many academic classes and presented at numerous seminars on various criminal justice issues. In October 2018, Fox was nominated by Governor Tom Wolf to complete a partial term and returned to the Parole Board. He was re-nominated by Governor Wolf to serve a full six-year term and was confirmed by the Senate on May 13, 2020.