Deb VanDyke-Ries has been named Director of the Nebraska Court Improvement Project, a specialized division within the judicial branch of government. Under her direction, the Court Improvement Project will address court system issues regarding both delinquent and abused/neglected children while continuing to focus on better outcomes for Nebraska’s children, youth, and families in juvenile court. In announcing the appointment, Nebraska State Court Administrator Corey Steel said, “We are very happy to have Deb VanDyke-Ries as our new Court Improvement Project director. She is a proven leader and an experienced administrator. She has and will continue to be an incredible asset to the judicial branch.” VanDyke-Ries joined the Court Improvement Project division in October 2015 as a Program Specialist with more than 10 years’ experience working in juvenile court as Director and Volunteer Coordinator for Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) of Lancaster County and as Interim Director for the state-level CASA association. During her tenure at CASA, she was a member of the Nebraska Supreme Court’s Through the Eyes of the Child team and the education subcommittee of the Nebraska Supreme Court’s Commission on Children in the Courts. As a CASA volunteer, she has directly provided advocacy for nine children in four separate juvenile court cases. VanDyke-Ries received her Master’s Degree in Social Work at the University of Kansas and her Bachelor’s Degree in Criminal Justice from the University of Nebraska. She has been an adjunct professor of Social Work at Nebraska Wesleyan University and has supervised numerous students from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Nebraska Wesleyan University, and Southeast Community College. Most recently, she was a member of the Southeast Community College Advisory Board for Health and Human Services.