Executive Staff

Robert “Bob” Bermingham Jr. is the Director of the Department of Juvenile Justice. He has nearly 40 years of experience as a youth justice professional. Bob began his career as a childcare specialist at the Fairfax County Juvenile Detention Center. During his 35-year tenure working for the Fairfax County Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court – Court Service Unit he served in many capacities. He has extensive experience working in community based residential facilities and serving field probation officer to include providing intake services. During his time in Fairfax County Bob held management positions within probation services, served as the County’s first Gang Prevention Coordinator and from 2009 until his retirement in 2022 he served as the Director of Court Services and provided oversight of the Fairfax County Alcohol Safety Action Program. Following his retirement from Fairfax County Bob worked as an independent youth justice consultant focusing on providing training, conducting probation system reviews, dual status youth service coordination, and facility reviews. In 2005 Bob was appointed the Interim Director of the Loudoun County Department of Youth Services where he coordinated both community and residential services. Bob holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Marymount University and a Master of Public Administration from George Mason University. Bob and his wife (Kathy) of 38 years have relocated to the City of Richmond and are looking forward to enjoying everything the city has to offer.

Marilyn G. Brown was appointed as chief deputy director of the Department of Juvenile Justice by Governor Abigail Spanberger in January 2026. Marilyn began her career over 25 years ago with the Department of Juvenile Justice as a Planner and was assigned to work on a legislative study regarding funding of local and regional detention homes. Through that experience, she became the Department’s first Detention Specialist, working in partnership to provide oversight, training, and technical assistance to Virginia’s twenty-four juvenile detention homes. In 2011, she became the Director of the Chesterfield Juvenile Detention Home, and in 2020, her role there was expanded to include oversight of the County’s community-based juvenile justice programs and the Children’s Advocacy Center. In addition to her work at the state and local levels of government, she also was part of a monitoring team providing assistance to the State of Maryland’s juvenile justice facilities at a time when they were under a federal Civil Rights Against Persons Act (CRIPA) decree. She is so honored and excited to return to DJJ in this role working alongside such dedicated and experienced public servants to positively impact youth. Marilyn has a Bachelors of Sociology from the University of Mary Washington and a Master’s in Social Work with a concentration in Planning and Administration from Virginia Commonwealth University.

Linda McWilliams is the Deputy Director of Community Programs. She has over 35 years of experience in the juvenile justice field. She began her career with the Department of Juvenile Justice where she provided supervision and case management services for youth and she held progressive positions of responsibility and management. She served as case manager supervisor, residential division administrative assistant and as superintendent for the Oak Ridge and Bon Air facilities for over 10 years. She most recently served as a Deputy Secretary for the Maryland Department of Juvenile Services for over seven years where she had oversight of 13 residential facilities and 32 court service offices. Ms. McWilliams has extensive knowledge and experience in policy, program, and standards development and implementation. She has served as an elected member of the American Correctional Association delegate assembly for 15 years. She is a strong advocate for the implementation of reforms that support positive changes in the lives of our youth. Ms. McWilliams holds a bachelor of science degree in psychology from Virginia Commonwealth University.

Lara Kate Jacobs Todd is the Deputy Director of Education and Rehabilitative Care. She previously served DJJ as the Director of Compliance and Legal Support, where her duties included managing the agency's policy guidance to the court service units, the juvenile correctional center, and other support divisions; serving as the agency’s FOIA Officer and managing the juvenile records request process; and oversight of the team responsible for assessing and monitoring DJJ’s compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, Title IX, and other federal requirements. She joined DJJ in 2014 as an Education Administrative Hearings Specialist and later became the Records and Legal Support Manager. Prior to coming to DJJ, she was an Assistant Attorney General in the Office of the Virginia Attorney General, where she advised and represented the Virginia Department of Corrections, the Virginia Board of Juvenile Justice, and DJJ. She also served as a prosecutor in Petersburg, where she spent much of her time on cases involving juveniles, either as victims or defendants. Her interest in serving youth began when she worked as a substitute teacher in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, after graduating with her Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and International Relations from the University of Wisconsin – Madison. She is a graduate of the Washington and Lee University School of Law in Lexington.

Nikia D. Jones is the Deputy Director of Administration and Finance. She joined DJJ in 2021 as the budget manager, providing oversight of the agency’s $230 million annual budget and directing agency appropriated resources to achieve efficiency in meeting strategic goals while serving the needs of youth. Her professional journey, which began as a correctional officer at Pamunkey Regional Jail, has included progressive roles across multiple agencies such as the Richmond Police Department and the federal Transportation Security Administration. Prior to joining DJJ, she served as the cross functional and strategic initiatives manager for the Virginia Department of Transportation’s Budget and Funds Management Division, where she was responsible for leading strategic initiatives to ensure successful fund management of the agency’s $1 billion federal program. Other previous roles include assistant division administrator and budget team lead for VDOT’s Asset Management Division, budget and seized assets director for Virginia State Police and information technology budget manager for Virginia State University. Ms. Jones holds a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from Virginia Commonwealth University and a master’s degree in public administration from Strayer University.

Michael Favale, Deputy Director of Policy, has been a member of DJJ’s Policy Team since 2013, first as a legal specialist and then as a manager of the Human Rights Team. Working primarily with partners in Residential Operations, Human Resources, the Investigative Unit, and the Training Center, his job duties have varied from handling resident and employee grievances, to instructing staff on PREA and civil liability, to working with the Procedures Committee to ensure compliance with policy and the law. Before joining DJJ, Mr. Favale served seven years at the Virginia Attorney General’s Office working on crime prevention programs and public safety legislation, spearheading initiatives to combat human trafficking and prescription drug abuse, as well as producing two anti-gang videos. Before coming to Virginia, he was a practicing attorney in New York, where he began his career as a prosecutor in a local district attorney’s office. He also practiced as a criminal defense attorney before moving. Mike received his bachelor’s degree from Cornell University and J.D. from Cornell Law School.