2026 Judges & Psychiatrists Leadership Summit

Hosted by The Council of State Governments Justice Center, the American Psychiatric Association Foundation, and the National Center for State Courts

Please join us for a virtual celebration of and policy discussion with leaders who are improving the lives of people with behavioral health needs in the justice system.

The Judges & Psychiatrists Leadership Summit will begin with a ceremony to honor the 2026 recipients of the Judge Stephen S. Goss Memorial Award for Leadership, which recognizes judges and psychiatrists who embody the late Judge Goss’s legacy of compassion, innovation, and collaboration.

After the award ceremony, we’ll host a panel on the evolving role that judges play in involuntary treatment with the current and incoming co-chairs of our JPLI Advisory Group. It will include:

• Illinois Appellate Court Justice Kathryn Zenoff (current co-chair)
• Johnson County, Kansas, District Court Judge Robert Wonnell (incoming co-chair and 2023 Goss award recipient)
• Miami-Dade County Judge Steve Leifman (current co-chair)
• Multnomah County, Oregon, Circuit Court Judge Nan Waller (incoming co-chair)

This event is open to anyone but intended for people shaping the future of behavioral health and justice systems.

The Judges and Psychiatrists Leadership Initiative (JPLI) aims to stimulate, support, and enhance efforts by judges and psychiatrists to improve judicial, community, and systemic responses to people with behavioral health needs who are involved in the justice system. Learn more about JPLI.