Press Release

CAMBRIDGE, MASS. — December 10, 2025 — Strategies for Youth (SFY), the national policy and training organization dedicated to improving interactions between law enforcement and youth, announced Wednesday the selection of veteran juvenile prosecutor Anthony V. Pierro as the organization’s next executive director.

Starting this January, Pierro will succeed SFY’s founder and long-time executive director, Lisa Thurau, who will continue with her vital policy and training work within the nonprofit as Founder and Strategic Policy Advisor.

Pierro served as the Chief Juvenile Attorney at the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office located in Toms River, New Jersey, from 2003 until his retirement in December 2024, leading effective juvenile justice reform efforts that he seeks to elevate on a national scale with SFY.

“Juvenile justice must be looked at as a standalone profession,” Pierro said. “As a country, we understand that doctors need special training to treat children as pediatricians. Law enforcement needs specialized training with youth, too.”

Founded in 2010, SFY provides developmentally appropriate, trauma-informed, and racially equitable training to police and youth. The organization’s Policing the Teen Brain training and Juvenile Justice Jeopardy are vital tools for reducing juvenile arrests and enhancing public safety, ensuring better outcomes for young people, police, and their communities.

“Our young people and law enforcement deserve better, and SFY is leading the way to help us all get there,” said Pierro.

Based in Cambridge, Mass., Thurau led the creation of SFY’s 12 Model Law Enforcement Policies for Youth Interaction, providing a foundational blueprint relied upon by experts and advocates nationwide.

“As a trusted partner of both law enforcement and young people, SFY builds bridges of understanding. Our work is about saving lives,” Thurau said. “From the moment I met Anthony in 2020 to work with his jurisdiction to offer Policing the Teen Brain training in New Jersey, I knew I’d found a kindred spirit. We are very fortunate to welcome Anthony on board as our new executive director.”

Pierro was appointed to the President’s Commission on Law Enforcement and the Administration of Justice and served on the Juvenile Justice and Youth Crime Working Group in 2020. In 2019, Pierro began his 2-year appointment on the Federal Advisory Committee on Juvenile Justice, which advises the president and Congress on matters related to juvenile justice and advises the Administrator of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP). In 2014, he was appointed to the New Jersey Governor’s Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Committee, where he served as Vice-Chair at the time of his retirement.

In 2021, Pierro was the recipient of the Outstanding Advocacy Award over a Career issued by the County Prosecutor’s Association of New Jersey. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Criminal Justice from Seton Hall University and his Juris Doctor, Magna Cum Laude, from New England Law-Boston.

“Anthony thinks, eats, and sleeps juvenile justice,” said Thurau. “He fights to support best practices at every level of the system. He’s a father of four and knows the joy and frustration the teen brain can provoke. The passion with which Anthony will lead SFY’s next chapter inspires me.”

New and current partners are encouraged to contact SFY to secure sessions of its groundbreaking training programs, with the organization now scheduling through 2026. SFY welcomes inquiries at info@strategiesforyouth.org or by calling 617-714-3789.

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