Vanessa Garrett Harley is currently the Deputy Commissioner of the Children and Youth Division at the Department of Human Services.  In this position she is responsible for child welfare services provided to the children and families of Philadelphia in the hotline, intake, ongoing services and adoption divisions of DHS. These services are strategically designed to ensure the safety, permanency and well being of the Department’s clients.

Prior to arriving at DHS, Ms. Garrett Harley served as the Chair of the Social Services Law Group of the City of Philadelphia Law Department where she was responsible for providing legal advice to the City’s social services agencies.  Ms. Garrett Harley supervised the work of both the Child Welfare Unit and the Health and Adult Services Unit.  Ms. Garrett Harley joined the Child Welfare Unit in 2002 and was promoted to Chair in 2007.  Prior to working in the Child Welfare Unit, Ms. Garrett Harley worked in the Major Trials Unit of the Claims section of the Law Department.

Ms. Garrett Harley’s past legal experience also includes working for the federal government, corporate counsel and private practice. 

A 1985 graduate of Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. with a dual major in Government (Public Administration) and Sociology, Ms. Garrett Harley received her J.D. in 1991 from Temple University School of Law.  She was admitted to the Pennsylvania Bar in December 1991 and the United States District Court Eastern District of Pennsylvania in January 1992.  Ms. Garrett Harley is also a 2007 graduate of the Urban League Leadership Forum, a program that identifies and trains minority leaders and establishes a forum for promoting effective leadership in all sectors of society.

Susan Kinnevy, Ph.D., is Deputy Commissioner for Performance Management and Accountability at the Department of Human Services in Philadelphia. She received her MSW from George Warren Brown School of Social Work at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, a Child Development Certificate from the St. Louis Psychoanalytic Association, and a PhD from the University of Pennsylvania.  Formerly, Dr. Kinnevy served as Co-Director for the Center for Research on Youth and Social Policy at the University of Pennsylvania School of Social Policy and Practice.  Her work at the Center focused on the Florida child welfare system, families served by the Philadelphia Housing Authority, violence-reduction programs facilitated by The Center for Neighborhood Enterprise, victim input in parole release decisions, and the role of social workers in dependency court proceedings. She also worked with the Administrative Office of the Pennsylvania Court on an assessment of juvenile court proceedings statewide.  Dr. Kinnevy is currently an Adjunct Professor at the University of Pennsylvania School of Social Policy and Practice, a grant reviewer for the National Institute of Justice, and the author or co-author of over 50 presentations, professional reports and publications. Prior to her academic career, Dr. Kinnevy worked for 15 years in the television and motion picture industry in Los Angeles. She currently lives in South Philadelphia with her cats, Oscar and Asia.

Timene Farlow, Deputy Commissioner for the Division of Juvenile Justice Services began her career with DHS in 1995 as a social worker. Her first job was in the intake unit, conducting investigations of alleged abuse and neglect and then transitioned to Adoptions as a supervisor. Convinced that her true passion could be lived out working primarily with adolescents, she began  working at the Youth Study Center, the City's only secure juvenile detention facility, in 1999.  Later, she left the Youth Study Center to take on the role of Director of Court and Community Services, a position which served to broaden her exposure to the larger  juvenile justice system and which greatly aided in her acquisition of the skills and understanding needed for her current role as the Division's Deputy Commissioner.  

Ms. Farlow is passionate about her work and is a staunch advocate for youth in the juvenile justice system.   She has a special interest in gender-responsive services for females as well as the issue of disproportionate minority contact and confinement.  She firmly believes that the needs of adjudicated youth can best be met through quality, evidence-based programming which looks not only to address the delinquency needs, but the unresolved dependency needs with which many of these youth also present.      

Ms. Farlow is a native Philadelphian who attended LaSalle University for undergraduate studies and received her MSW from Temple University. She has one adult daughter and a teen-age grand-daughter.

Rumana Ahmad is Deputy Commissioner for Finance at the Philadelphia Department of Human Services. In her role as Deputy, Ms. Ahmad oversees all DHS financial operations including the agency’s budget, financial services and contracting process. Contracting with more than 250 providers, and employing more than 1800 staff, DHS has an annual operating budget of around $600 million.

Prior to joining DHS, Ms. Ahmad was a consultant with Public Financial Management’s Strategic Consulting Group. Her work at PFM centered around improving financial operations for various state and local clients including the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare and the City of New Orleans. Earlier in her career, Rumana worked as an adoption case worker for the State of New Jersey and taught English in China and South Korea.

Ms. Ahmad has a Master’s in Public Administration and Management from New York University’s Robert F. Wagner School of Public Service. Rumana earned her Bachelor’s degree in Economics and History from Roanoke College, in Salem, VA.