Executive Team
Executive Director: Douglas Huntsinger
Douglas Huntsinger serves as Executive Director of the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute (ICJI), where he leads statewide efforts to strengthen Indiana’s justice system.
Nominated by Governor Mike Braun and approved by the Institute’s Board of Trustees in March 2025, Huntsinger directs policy development, program evaluation, and the administration of state and federal funding to improve public safety and justice outcomes across the state.
Huntsinger previously served as the Executive Director for Drug Prevention, Treatment, and Enforcement, and as Chairman of the Indiana Commission to Combat Substance Use Disorder. In these roles, he oversaw the coordination of statewide strategies to expand prevention, treatment, and recovery supports for Hoosiers living with substance use disorder. Under his leadership, Indiana achieved one of the nation’s largest year-over-year declines in fatal overdoses in 2023, a nearly 17% reduction.
Chief of Staff: Jade Palin
Jade previously served as Victim Services Division Director, leading a team responsible for distributing over $60 million in grant funding each year. Her prior work history was in social service programming, within both the public and private sector. Jade specializes in grant writing, quality assurance and personnel management. Jade’s greatest joy is in seeing the positive impact strength-based social service programming can have in the lives of others.
General Counsel & Director of Regulatory Affairs: Jon McDonald
Jon McDonald serves as General Counsel for the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute, a role he assumed in October 2025 after initially joining the agency as Deputy General Counsel in 2022. Prior to joining the Institute, Jon served as a deputy prosecutor in Marion and Boone counties for a collective 14 years. He earned his Juris Doctor from the University of Tulsa College of Law.
Chief Financial Officer: Sheryll Espinas
Sheryll joined ICJI in 2022 as the agency's Chief Financial Officer. Before that, she served as the controller for the Indiana Commission for Higher Education, after working in a similar capacity for the Indiana Department of Education.
Director of Public Affairs and Substance Use Policy: Shelby Thomas
Shelby joined ICJI in 2025 after serving more than five years in the Office of the Governor as the Deputy Director for Drug Prevention, Treatment and Enforcement, where she helped shape statewide substance use policy and coordinate cross-agency initiatives. Prior to joining state government, Shelby spent over five years as a reporter covering state and local government and education.
Research Director: Madison Knight
Madison Knight joined ICJI in 2025 as Director of Research, where she leads efforts to modernize data systems and strengthen research practices across the agency. Prior to joining ICJI, Madison served as Science Officer at the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration. Her work focused on integrating science and evidence into public health and criminal justice initiatives. She also coordinated statewide efforts related to opioid policy. Madison holds a Master of Public Affairs from Indiana University Indianapolis.
Division Directors
Behavioral Health: Shelby Thomas
Drug and Crime Control: Leann Jaggers
Leann started with ICJI in September 2016 as a Program Manager and was later promoted to Drug and Crime Control Division Director in May of 2022. Before joining the agency, Leann worked for the State Budget Agency for two years and the Department of Children Services for 5 years. She received a Bachelor's degree in Accounting from Harrison College.
Traffic Safety: Vacant
Victim Compensation: Nolan Jenkins
Nolan started with the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute in February of 2011 as a Claims Analyst and was later promoted to Victim Compensation Program Director in December of 2015. Before joining ICJI, Nolan worked for the Indiana Department of Transportation for 18 years. He attended Indiana University, but after a few years, left to serve in the US Marine Corps. After serving for six years, Nolan went back to school and earned a B.S. in Business Administration at Indiana Wesleyan University.
Victim Services: Kim Lambert
Before joining ICJI’s Victim Services Division in 2017, Kim managed a variety of housing programs in Elkhart and St. Joseph counties for the Oaklawn Psychiatric Center. She received a BA in Psychology from Indiana University South Bend.
Youth Services: Ellen Sheets
Ellen Sheets joined ICJI in 2017, starting as a Victim’s Services Grant Manager and then was a member of the Regulatory Compliance Monitoring team prior to being promoted to the Youth Division Director position. Ellen has worked for the Indiana Department of Child Services, & Indiana Department of Correction prior to joining ICJI. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Purdue University.