About

David Muhammad is a leader in the fields of criminal justice, violence prevention, and youth development. David is the National Director of Justice Programs at the National Council on Crime and Delinquency (NCCD).

Through NCCD, David is the lead Positive Youth Development consultant and technical assistant provider to four California counties through the Sierra Health Foundation’s Positive Youth Justice Initiative. He is also providing leadership and technical assistance to the CeaseFire Violence Reduction Strategy in the cities of Oakland and Stockton, CA. David is helping to develop a new organization in Los Angeles, the Anti-Recidivism Coalition (ARC), which was founded by successful Hollywood producer Scott Budnick. ARC is a support network and advocacy organization for the formerly incarcerated. David is also co-coordinating a statewide coalition of juvenile justice advocates, the California Alliance for Youth and Community Justice.

The former Chief Probation Officer of the Alameda County Probation Department, David was responsible for overseeing 20,000 people on probation, a staff of 600, and a $90 million budget. David ushered in enormous reform in Alameda County to move probation away from a deficit-based correctional model into a strengths-based Positive Youth Development model.

David formally served as the Deputy Commissioner of New York City's Department of Probation, and was responsible for overseeing 35,000 people on probation and a staff of 800. David previously served as the Chief of Committed Services for Washington, DC's Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services. At DYRS, David’s responsibility included 300 staff, a $42 million annual budget, a juvenile institution, and 900 youth committed to his department’s care.

David Muhammad was formally the Executive Director of The Mentoring Center in Oakland, CA. Under David’s leadership, The Mentoring Center (TMC) doubled in staff size and tripled its budget as it became the premier agency serving highly at-risk youth in the Bay Area. While at TMC, David was contracted by the City of Richmond, CA to help design the Office of Neighborhood Safety, which has now been credited for bringing significant reductions in violence to the city.

As a graduate of Howard University’s School of Communications, David also has an extensive journalism career.  Since 1997, Muhammad was a contributing editor and television show host for Pacific News Service in San Francisco. His columns continue to be published in publications around the country. David was the editor of the “Seeking Solutions to Black on Black Crime” series in the Globe Newspapers from 2007-2009.

In honor of his work with youth, Muhammad received the 2000 Community Leadership Award and Fellowship from The California Wellness Foundation, honoring community leaders who are involved in violence prevention.  In 2002, he was awarded the prestigious Next Generation Leadership Award from The Rockefeller Foundation.

In December 2003, David completed a course on “Systems Dynamics for Senior Managers” at the MIT Sloan School of Management in Cambridge, MA. In August of 2008, David completed a certificate program on Juvenile Justice Multi-System Integration from the Georgetown Public Policy Institute. 

David Muhammad's proudest accomplishment is being a father to his three children.