A Path Forward

MICHELLE TAYLOR has spent her career helping people find a path forward. Now, as the new director of New Hanover County’s Community Justice Services, she is leading a department that works every day to provide alternatives to incarceration, connect people with resources, and give them the support they need to succeed. 

Taylor’s journey into public service began in California in 1989, when she joined the San Bernardino Police Department. Over the next 15 years, she held roles with both the police department and the city clerk’s office. In 2005, she moved to Jacksonville, North Carolina, to be closer to her sister, and the following year, she settled in Wilmington. Soon after, she joined New Hanover County as an administrative support technician with the pretrial release program. 

“When I first was hired, I didn’t even know what pretrial was,” Taylor recalls. “But I’m the type of person who wants to understand the work I’m supporting. Over time, I really started to connect with the people we serve.” 

That connection turned into a twenty-year career with the county. Taylor steadily advanced into leadership positions, serving as pretrial supervisor, then manager of adult enhancement services, before being promoted to director of Community Justice Services (CJS) on July 1. 

CJS today is a department of thirty-six people with two major divisions: adult enhancement services and youth empowerment services. On the adult side, programs include pretrial release, veterans treatment court, mental health court, drug and DWI recovery court, and a misdemeanor diversion program. For youth, the department offers prevention services in schools, case management for families, clinical services, and community service and restitution opportunities. 

“Our programs are really about public safety and productivity,” Taylor says. “On the adult side, that may mean ensuring people come to court, stay arrest-free, and comply with treatment. On the youth side, it’s about prevention – helping young people develop the skills they need to make better choices.” 

Taylor says that the programs’ success is measured less by charges or convictions and more by whether participants stabilize, stay engaged in treatment, or find sobriety. “We don’t serve the crime or the charge – we serve the people,” she emphasizes. “Once you sit down and really talk to someone, you understand the root of why they’re in the system. Then we can focus on how to help.” 

Her goals as director center on strengthening collaboration across programs and with community partners. “I really want to make sure our treatment courts are connecting people with our case managers, or that our misdemeanor diversion program can refer students into prevention groups at their schools,” she says. “It’s about innovating with the resources we have and finding ways to provide better services.” 

Taylor acknowledges that the work isn’t always easy. “The challenges are really the people themselves,” she says. “Sometimes there’s anger, or a lack of ownership for why they’re in the system. But once you take the time to understand them, explain the requirements, and treat them with respect, it makes a difference.” 

That difference is visible in the many success stories that come back to CJS years later. Taylor recalls graduates from treatment courts who stop by to share updates, introduce their children, or simply say thank you. “When people want to come back and check in after they’ve moved on, that tells us we’re doing the right thing,” she says. 

For Taylor, the work is deeply personal and rewarding. “This wasn’t the career I planned. I thought I’d go into nursing,” she says. “But this has been such a pleasant surprise. I enjoy the work, the people, and the chance to make an impact every day.” 

As she looks ahead in her new role, Taylor is energized by both the challenges and opportunities before her. “It’s exciting. I didn’t expect it, but I welcome it,” she says. “We have a great team here – everybody gives 110 percent, from the youngest clients we serve to the adults. The heart and passion of this staff is in the right place, and together we want to see people succeed.”

To view more of photographer Aris Harding’s work, go to arisharding.com.

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