News & Announcements

On behalf of the National Association of Sentencing Commissions, the Executive Committee is excited to announce the selection of Meredith Farrar-Owens, Director of the Virginial Criminal Sentencing Commission, as the 2025 recipient of the Richard P. Kern Memorial Award. The Kern Award was established to honor the lasting legacy of Rick Kern, who was a tremendous advocate for sentencing guidelines, sentencing reform, and data-driven decision making. The award recognizes individuals who have contributed greatly to the development of sentencing policy and research; Meredith is an obvious and fitting choice for this honor.

 

Some of Meredith’s most notable achievements with the Virigina Criminal Sentencing Commission include the development of Probation Violation Guidelines, the automation of guideline preparation and delivery, the creation of a consolidated sentencing worksheet that integrates both jail and prison sentence recommendations, and her work with the Virginia Pretrial Project. In addition to her many accomplishments within the Commonwealth of Virginia, she has been a significant contributor to sentencing and criminal issues on the national level as well. Her expertise in forecasting offender populations and pretrial data collection is heavily relied upon across the country. In addition to routinely consulting with other jurisdictions and Commissions and serving as a mentor for new Commission directors, she has also been an active member of NASC. She served as NASC President from 2008 through 2012, and under her leadership, Virginia hosted the annual conference in 2019. Meredith regularly attends the annual conference and has contributed to numerous panels and plenaries on a wide variety of topics.

 

The NASC Executive Committee sincerely thanks the staff of the Virginia Criminal Sentencing Commission for nominating Director Farrar-Owens. The Kern Award will be presented at the upcoming NASC Conference in Madison, Wisconsin, where Meredith will deliver remarks to the membership. Congratulations, Meredith!