FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CRS

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 1998

(202) 616-2765

WWW.USDOJ.GOV

TDD (202) 514-1888

DIRECTOR OF COMMUNITY RELATIONS SERVICE TO BE FORMALLY

INSTALLED, SIX CRS EMPLOYEES ALSO ARE HONORED

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Justice Department today formally installed Community Relations Service Director Rose M. Ochi. The Community Relations Service (CRS) also recognized six staff members who received Director's and career service awards in conjunction with the installation ceremony.

Ms. Ochi, who first assumed her current position in June 1996, has supported national race relations efforts across America. She was instrumental in creating a Church Burning Response Team and played a critical role in mounting the White House Hate Crime Summit and the Attorney General's Hate Crime Initiative.

"Rose Ochi has brought her vision, know how, and energy to CRS," said Attorney General Janet Reno. "I am pleased to have someone of Rose's commitment and caliber leading the agency."

The Community Relations Service, which is an independent arm of the Justice Department, tries to ease community tension that may result from racial or ethnic controversies. CRS has over three decades of experience and success in helping local officials and community leaders come together to achieve calm.

Prior to her work at CRS, Ms. Ochi was the Associate Director at the Office of National Drug Control Policy, where she oversaw the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) program. She was also the Executive Director of the Criminal Justice Planning Office of the City of Los Angeles and a Reginald Herber Smith Fellow at the University of Southern California, Western Center on Law and Poverty.

Ms. Ochi's deep commitment to equal justice stems from her own family's experience with racial discrimination, as well as her own experience as one of the thousands of Japanese Americans unjustly interned during World War II.

Throughout its thirty year history, CRS has met with police officers, community leaders, and demonstrators before every known KKK and white supremacist march.

"The 45 conflict resolution experts that work at CRS carry no guns or badges and cannot file suits - they only have the power of persuasion. For 30 year CRS has helped maintain calm in our cities," added Reno.

At today's ceremony, six CRS employees were also presented with merit awards. Ozell Sutton received the distinguished Gilbert G. Pompa Leadership Award. This award is named after the fourth Director of CRS and recognizes an employee who has made significant contributions to the philosophy or approach to problem-solving in the area of civil rights, race relations, and conflict prevention and resolution.

Martin A. Walsh, received the Milton D. Lewis Career Recognition Award for Human Relations Service. This award is named after a career CRS employee who died in office and is awarded to employees who had shown high standards of excellence while working at CRS for at least 10 years.

Ernest Stallworth, received the Fred Miller Award for Exemplary Conciliation Services. This award is named after one of the first conciliators in the Atlanta Region and is presented to a conciliator who accomplished significant conflict resolution results in the face of personal risk and/or adverse conditions.

Jonathon Chace, Efrain Martinez and Jesse Taylor also received Director's Achievement Awards for their distinguished service advancing the CRS Mission.

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