Peña, serving as deputy director since 2022, will succeed Erika Preuitt, who announced her retirement as director in December 2023 and will depart April 30 after more than 30 years with Multnomah County. Peña will serve as the interim department director until her appointment is confirmed.
Peña emerged from a nationwide field of 25 applicants, distinguished by over 25 years of service and leadership across the department and deep experience working directly with clients, their families, and victims and survivors of crime.
As deputy director, Peña has supported the department’s Research and Planning Team, contracting, budgeting, facilities and other department-wide efforts. Peña previously served as a senior manager in the department’s Adult Services Division. She also worked as a community justice manager and served as a lead parole and probation officer and trainer. Before coming to the Department of Community Justice, she worked as a victims advocate in the Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office.
Pending consent of the Board of County Commissioners, Peña will oversee the department’s nearly $112 million annual budget and 460 employees.
“We had a very strong candidate pool, and I’m grateful many qualified candidates came forward to lead our Department of Community Justice,” said Chair Vega Pederson. “Denise Peña has a proven track record at DCJ of centering the needs of our community and employees. She brings deep knowledge of parole and probation. I have no doubt she will deliver on a vision of community justice that fulfills the needs of Multnomah County now and into the future.”
The Department of Community Justice provides supervision, treatment and other support services to justice-involved youth, adults and families, and their communities, guided by evidence-based and culturally specific strategies that maximize resources and results.
As director, Peña will oversee work that not only holds justice-involved people accountable as they return to the community, but also addresses the underlying issues that lead to criminal behavior, and helps people heal.
“I am deeply grateful to have the opportunity to lead the department where I spent the last 20 years of my career,” Peña said. “I have seen firsthand the hard work that Department of Community Justice employees do every day to keep our County safe and help justice-involved individuals transition back into their communities and improve their lives. And I’m proud of the values we bring to this work — providing support to victims while holding the people who harmed them accountable.”
Deep experience with justice system
Born in Brazil, Peña moved around as a child, including Venezuela, Georgia, California and Florida, before her family settled in the Beaverton area, where Peña attended Aloha High School. She became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 2000.
That upbringing, and the ability to speak three languages — English, Spanish and Portuguese — helped shape Peña’s perspective and ability to connect with people across cultures and communities.
But Peña ultimately found her calling while attending Portland State University, where she took on-call shifts at a nearby YWCA that was serving as a women’s Domestic Violence shelter .
She worked her way up to becoming a residential assistant and then a case manager, running a 24-hour hotline and developing safety and transition plans for victims and their children. Then, in 1999, she moved to the District Attorney’s Office as a victims advocate guiding victims of crime through the prosecution process and connecting them to resources.
Peña joined the Department of Community Justice in 2004, working as a parole-probation officer in the Domestic Violence Unit. During her time as a parole-probation officer, she was also a Survival Skills Instructor, EPICS Coach and a Lead PPO.
Peña was later tapped to run the Victim and Survivor Services Unit in 2013 to help ensure that victrims’ rights post-conviction were upheld. She also helped to launch a statewide association of corrections providers to better share information and expertise and was pivotal in Multnomah County being selected by “Code for America” to help create a website for victims to better access information about their cases.
Her team worked to provide resources for victims and survivors, including financial assistance, housing, help with restraining orders, safety planning and emotional support. Her work earned two awards, including the Joe Kegans Award for Victim Services in Probation and Parole, an annual award presented by the American Probation and Parole Association.
Her work at Victim and Survivor Services connected her with both the Juvenile Services Division and Adult Services Division and led to a natural transition as a senior manager. For over three years, she served as a senior manager in the Adult Services Division and oversaw the Women and Family Services Unit, the Domestic Violence Unit, Gang Unit, African American Unit, Records, Administration and other units.
As deputy director, Pena oversaw units of the Director’s Office Division, focusing on the infrastructure that supports the direct services work happening in the Adult and Juvenile Services Division. She examined the Department of Community Justice’s efforts to improve their work as it relates to contract compliance, and she is leading the Department through a gap analysis in partnership with Justice System Partners.
Nationwide recruitment process
A search firm launched a nationwide recruitment for a new Department of Community Justice director in January 2024.
County officials selected five candidates to advance for further review from an initial field of 25. In March, the selected candidates met with an interview panel of eight County stakeholders, including Department of Community Justice leadership, Countywide leadership and labor union representatives.
The panel recommended three finalists who proceeded to larger stakeholder forums, including an in-person event, as well as individual meetings with Commissioners, the Chair and the Chief Operating Officer. Stakeholders provided feedback on each finalist to help inform the Chair's decision.
Peña lives in Northeast Portland where she raised her two children. Her daughter lives in New York working in the fashion industry, and her son is planning on pursuing a career in public service himself. Peña spends a lot of time with her rambunctious adopted boxer named Barry and visits a new country each year with her partner.
