- President: Aaron Johnson
- Vice President: April Craig
- Secretary: Darcy Hasty
- Treasurer: Akua Cosby
- Northeast Region Representative: Miguel Canales
- Southeast Region Representative: Antonio Salazar Rosas
- Western Region Representative: Joel Bishop
President:
Aaron Johnson was appointed the Director of Personal Bond and Collections for Galveston County in 2019. Prior to coming to Galveston County, he served in multiple roles across the Country. As the Director of Pretrial Services in Santa Clara County from 2016-2019, he helped implement 16 recommendations developed by the Bail and Release Work Group for Santa Clara including the implementation of the ODARA tool for intimate partner violence cases as well as multiple diversionary efforts through the department.
He also helped develop and implement the first Pretrial Service Agency for Johnson County Kansas in 2010. In conjunction with Alex Holsinger from the University of Missouri-KC and technical assistance from the Pretrial Justice Institute, he helped develop and validate Johnson County’s pretrial risk assessment tool which also led to the development of the Pretrial Release and Detention Guidelines for Johnson County. He has also worked for the
State of Kansas and other County public safety agencies since 1995.
He has been active on pretrial reform for the past nine years. He has participated at the national level as a member of the National Association of Pretrial Service Agencies (NAPSA), currently serving on their Education Committee. He has been a regular guest speaker on Pretrial Risk Assessments and Leadership at NAPSA’s annual conferences for the past six years. He was also a member of the California Association of Pretrial Services Board of Directors.
Aaron received his Bachelors of Science Degree in Sociology with an emphasis on Crime and Delinquency Studies from the University of Kansas and his Master’s Degree in Business Administration from Mid America Nazarene University. He served as a United States Army Reserve from 1995 to 2003 in Topeka, Kansas, as a combat field medic. He also has completed Pretrial Executive Training at the National Institute of Corrections in 2013.
Vice President:
April Craig graduated from Texas State University in December 2013. She began her career with the Hays County District Attorney’s office as a Felony Legal Assistant, then went on to work for Caldwell County Community Supervision and Corrections Department as a Probation Officer. While at the Caldwell County CSCD she was promoted to the specialized caseload of Pretrial Supervision.This role sparked her passion for bail reform and she desired to take an active role in TAPS and continue her education, having obtained her Master’s Degree in Criminal Justice with an Infancies in Leadership and Management in 2018 from Lamar University. She was elected to the position of TAPS Treasurer in 2015, and has maintained her role since. She finds great joy in assisting with planning the TAPS conferences and promoting Pretrial education. In 2017 she relocated back to her home city of Dallas to begin her career
with the Dallas County Pretrial Services Department, and in 2020 was promoted to Supervisor. She understands that helping people maintain or gain their stability (post arrest) and facilitating services that may help them, is crucial to making Pretrial Supervision a success. She is passionate about Pretrial Supervision and hopes that her dedication and enthusiasm will help bring awareness of all that Pretrial Services has to offer in the State of Texas.
Secretary:
Darcy is currently the Director of the Pre-Trial Services and Indigent Defense for Medina County, Texas. She has worked as a juvenile detention officer, adult detention officer, a corrections officer for TDCJ. She also worked for Bexar County Pretrial Services for more than 7 years before accepting her current position in 2018. All told, Darcy has been involved in criminal justice for more than 20 years and loves teaching, speaking and mentoring.
Darcy serves on the Hill Country Regional Public Defender’s Office oversite board, the Texas Indigent Defense Commission’s Stakeholders Committee and she currently sits on the Bandera City Council as well as various other boards and committees.
Treasurer:
Akua Cosby
Akua Cosby is currently a Trainer in the Pretrial Service Department of Dallas County. She received her tertiary education from Kansas State University-a bachelor’s degree in psychology with an emphasis in leadership studies. Ms. Cosby attained a master’s degree in professional counseling from MidAmerica Nazarene University. She is graduate of the Dallas County Leadership & Management Academy, Class of 2022. Ms. Cosby is a doctoral student at Baylor University in their Learning and Organizational Change program.
In 2011, She fine-tuned her career by focusing on increasing public safety and reducing recidivism, as a Community Supervision Officer and later as a, Program Facilitator with the Community Supervision and Corrections Department of Tarrant County. In 2017, Ms. Cosby continued her work in Community Corrections, as a Program Provider with the Kansas Department of Corrections Northern Parole Division, which she led offender education and substance groups.
In 2020, Ms. Cosby joined the Texas Association Pretrial Services (TAPS), which she participated in the TAPS 2021 Virtual Conference and the TAPS 2022 Conference in San Antonio, TX. In 2022, She was appointed to the TAPS Board of Directors, as Treasurer. In 2022, Ms. Cosby joined the Dallas County Coalition of Community Justice Agencies (DCCCJA), as a committee member. She is also a member of the National Association of Blacks in Criminal Justice (NABCJ), since 2022.
As a Pretrial Trainer and Practitioner, she recognizes the importance in adhering to best practices/evidence-based research to support the advancement of Pretrial Services and providing resources to pretrial practitioners. Ms. Cosby is committed to collaborating with pioneers of the field to continue towards progressive change.
Northeast Region Representative:
Miguel Canales
Miguel Canales is an accomplished professional in the field of criminal justice and currently serves as the Manager of Pretrial Services Supervision Units in Dallas County, Texas. He was born in Laredo, TX and spent much of his upbringing in Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, Mexico before moving to San Marcos, TX, where he earned his undergraduate degree in Criminal Justice with a minor in Forensic Psychology from Texas State University in 2005. His career with Dallas County began in 2011 as a Juvenile Supervision Officer, and he has since held various positions in Dallas County, including Juvenile Probation Officer, Pretrial Service Officer, and Criminal Justice Advisory Board (CJAB) Manager. In 2016, he was promoted to Pretrial Service Officer, where he learned all about Pretrial Services, and developed a passion for advancing Pretrial Services. Outside of work, Canales enjoys spending quality time with his family, traveling, and exploring new cultures and experiences.
Southeast Region Representative:
Antonio Salazar Rosas is currently the Population Impact Control Unit (PICU) Manager in Bexar County, Texas. He was born in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, and raised in Laredo, Texas. After graduating from high school, Antonio joined the United States Army. He served for 12 years, including four combat tours to various locations in Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Criminology/ Criminal Justice from Texas A&M University-San Antonio and is currently pursuing a Master’s of Science in Criminology from Texas A&M University-Commerce. Antonio began his work in the field of Pretrial in February 2019 when he joined Bexar County Pretrial Services as a Pretrial Bond Officer (PBO) II, where he interviewed and released defendants at the Bexar County Jail. In April 2020, he was promoted to PBO III and assigned to supervise defendants on GPS conditions. In November 2020, he was promoted to Pretrial Supervisor and served in that position until December 2022. As the current PICU manager, Antonio is responsible for overseeing and implementing procedures that will assist with management of inmate traffic within the County Jail; assess, directs and monitors the jail population on a daily bases. He is a member of the National Association of Pretrial Services Agencies and the Texas Association of Pretrial Services. Antonio plans to use the knowledge gained through his many years of service and his association with professional pretrial organizations to assist officers and defendants better.
Western Region Representative:
Joel Bishop has worked in criminal justice for over 20 years in two different states. He has successfully worked on integrating pretrial justice initiatives with a variety of stakeholders, including judges, prosecutors, defenders and law enforcement. He has been successful in measuring outcomes from the various initiatives to help gauge the impact of changes on the justice system as a whole. He has served as a consultant with a variety of jurisdictions around the United States. He currently oversees the public defenders, pretrial services, community services and domestic relations in El Paso, Texas.