Group of awards on a table. Group of awards on the table.

Mark Bergstrom, Pennsylvania Commission on Sentencing

Bergstrom has managed a commission that is a national model for both navigating these often-challenging substantive waters and providing fair and reliable data. Indeed, he has championed transparency and data-driven policies for decades. Under his leadership, the Pennsylvania Commission on Sentencing has helped to develop policies relating to such things as community service, fines, intermediate punishment, and recommended enhancements as alternatives to mandatory penalties. At the express direction of the General Assembly, Bergstrom also guided the commission through the process of creating a risk assessment instrument. This legislatively mandated task was frequently controversial, but stakeholders on all sides of this issue praised the commission for its transparent and honest approach.

Bergstrom has gone above and beyond the responsibilities of a commission's executive director. He has been a true leader at the local, state and national levels. Taking a holistic view of the challenges facing us, he has consistently strived to make connections beyond a narrow conception of sentencing to improve the justice system more broadly. He has also collaborated with the Juvenile Court Judges' Commission, the Justice Reinvestment Initiatives, and countless other groups addressing such issues as probation, mental health, and correctional capacity.

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