Michael Umpierre

Program Coordinator

Michael Umpierre joins the National Center for Youth in Custody (NC4YC) with a wealth of experience as a youth advocate, public defender, and juvenile justice administrator.  Prior to working at NCY4C, Michael served as the Chief of Staff for the District of Columbia Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services (DYRS), Washington D.C.’s cabinet level juvenile justice agency.   At DYRS, Michael helped manage an agency of approximately 600 staff responsible for the care of 1,000 court-involved youth.  He initially joined DYRS as Special Assistant to the Director.

Michael has dedicated his career to working on behalf of children and youth.  While in college at Stanford University, Michael worked at the National Center for Youth Law and Legal Services for Children, and served as the Program Coordinator for the Pacific Juvenile Defender Center.  Following his graduation from Stanford, Michael received the John Gardner Public Service Fellowship to work at the Youth Law Center in Washington, D.C. where his efforts focused on addressing the disproportionate representation of Latino youth in the juvenile justice system.

Michael received a law degree from Yale Law School.  At Yale, Michael participated in the Advocacy for Children and Youth Clinic where he represented children in dependency proceedings .  Michael, who is of Cuban heritage, is a recipient of the prestigious Paul and Daisy Soros Fellowship for New Americans.

Michael has significant legal experience.  He clerked for the Honorable Stephen H. Glickman of the District of Columbia Court of Appeals, and subsequently worked as a trial attorney at the Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia (PDS).  At PDS, Michael represented youth and adults in delinquency and criminal proceedings, including trying many bench and jury trials.

Michael is licensed to practice law in California and the District of Columbia.  He resides in San Diego, California with his wife and son.

Pam Clark

Program Associate

Mrs. Clark is an independent consultant and trainer specializing in youth development, juvenile justice and non-profit leadership and governance.  She serves as adjunct faculty at the Indiana University Purdue University and Ivy Tech Community College Columbus campuses.  She has a master’s degree in Social Work (MSW) from the Indiana University School of Social Work. 

Mrs. Clark served as the Director of the Bartholomew County Youth Services Center In Columbus, Indiana from 1999 to 2008. She has served as Executive Director of the Foundation for Youth of Bartholomew County, Inc., and of the Bartholomew County Youth Advocacy Commission.  She was a Los Angeles County Deputy Sheriff, a U.S. Peace Corps volunteer teacher, in Kenya, East Africa, and a VISTA volunteer paralegal with the Legal Aid Society of Lincoln, Nebraska.

Mrs. Clark is a member of the National Association of Social Workers (NASW), the Association of Child and Youth Care Practice, Inc. (ACYCP) and the National Partnership for Juvenile Services (NPJS), and she is a past President of the Indiana Juvenile Detention Association (IJDA) and the National Juvenile Detention Association (NJDA).

In 1994 Mrs. Clark received the Indiana University School of Social Work’s Dr. Janeth Dunigan Memorial Award for Scholarship.  In 2005 she was recognized by both the NASW as the Region 10 Social Worker of the Year in Indiana, and the NJDA, as the Grimm-Hill Member of the Year.  In 2011 Mrs. Clark received the National Partnership for Juvenile Services’ Hammergren-Dunlap Distinguished Service Award For Exemplary and Meritorious Service to Juvenile Justice and Detention Services.