I missed this.  The Bureau of Justice Assistance’s new Director Denise O’Donnell, was confined by the Senate in late May.

Given BJA’s critical role in federal grants to the justice system, this is an important appointment.  Here is a list of their initiatives, and more detail on programs here.

Denise E. O’Donnell has been New York State Deputy Secretary for Public Safety.  Extract from biography from DOJ site here:

In recent years, O’Donnell has served as the New York State Deputy Secretary for Public Safety, overseeing 11 homeland security and criminal justice agencies. She also has served on the Conviction Integrity Advisory Panel for the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office; the Criminal Justice Council of the New York City Bar Association; and the Criminal Justice Section of the New York State Bar Association.

O’Donnell has also taught at the State University of New York (SUNY) at Buffalo and served as a lecturer with the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Education.