The Marin County Probation Department is getting its first new leader in a decade.
Michael Daly, the chief probation officer, is retiring after 30 years at the department and 10 as the director. Marlon Washington, the superintendent of Napa County’s Juvenile Hall, has been named to replace him.
Washington will be formally introduced as the new chief at the Board of Supervisors meeting on Tuesday.
The transition from Daly, who is white and grew up in Fairfax, to Washington, who is Black and grew up in Richmond, comes amid the Black Lives Matter movement and nationwide calls for law enforcement reform.
Washington said his parents hosted foster children and growing up in that environment piqued his interest in social services. He said when it comes to the Black Lives Matter movement, the best approach is education and community engagement.
“I think we all benefit from diversity and learning about different cultures,” he said. “I have to be that liaison. I am here for everyone. I am here for the community.”
Matthew Hymel, the county administrator, said leaders conducted a nationwide search of highly qualified candidates and Washington “rose to the top of that list.”
“He had a great background in both juvenile and adult probation, he is from the Bay Area and he understands the issues,” Hymel said. “He’s a genuine, positive person who, throughout his career, has made the extra effort to be part of the county team, even outside his assigned roles, and that’s something that we value.”
Washington, 46, earned a sociology degree with an emphasis in law from the University of California at Davis. He is married with two children and lives in Fairfield.
Washington started his career in 1997 in the Contra Costa County Probation Department. He advanced to supervising roles in both the adult and juvenile divisions.
In 2015, he became the superintendent of the youth jail in Napa, where he oversaw 37 employees and a $6.8 million budget.
Washington is a member of the California Association of Probation Institution Administrators and the California Probation, Parole and Correctional Association. He has experience as an academic outreach coordinator, boys camp supervisor, case management counselor and youth services program administrator.
Washington starts on Aug. 10. His starting annual salary of $182,270. In the position, he will oversee 113 full-time equivalent staffers and a $25 million budget.
Washington said Daly is handing off a “well-oiled machine” that he feels comfortable running.
“I’m really about positive reinforcement, about restorative justice,” Washington said. “I’m big on evidence-based practices.”
Restorative justice is a law enforcement approach that emphasizes offender rehabilitation and repairing the harm inflicted by crimes.
Daly said his successor is “a really nice guy and he fits in nicely with the community.”
“I know Chief Washington is a real advocate of restorative justice,” he said. “He is also a person who wants to get involved and speak directly to the community and that’s what needs to happen.”
Daly, 55, graduated from Sir Francis Drake High School before earning a bachelor’s degree in social sciences with a criminal justice concentration from California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo.
He became a Marin County probation officer in 1990. While on the job, he earned a master’s degree in public administration from Golden Gate University in 1999.
After working as a supervisor, Daly became chief deputy of the probation department in 2005 and the chief in 2009. He was elected president of the Chief Probation Officers of California in 2014.
The state Senate appointed Daly to the California Rehabilitation Oversight Board, and he started the first restorative justice program from inside a probation department for adult offenders.
His final day is Tuesday.
“What really stands out about Mike is his integrity. He is in it for the right reasons,” Hymel said. “He will be missed.”
Felecia Gaston, a Marin City community leader and founder of the Performing Stars youth program, was on the hiring committee that interviewed Washington.
“It’s refreshing to have a Black man in the position,” she said. “Marlon was the right person to take the helm.”
Gaston said Marin City and the county-funded Phoenix Project, a program for at-risk young men, are indebted to Daly for his leadership and support
Gaston said around the time Daly became the chief probation officer, crime was exploding in the Marin City community. Gaston said there was mounting tension between the young Black men in the community and law enforcement.
She reached out to Daly and law enforcement agencies to find a solution. That’s when the county started backing the Phoenix Project.
“Mike was immediately on board,” she said. “Mike is a community-born leader. There are a lot of people who could take some lessons from Mike Daly. I’m going to miss him. I’m just honored to know him.”
Since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, Daly and his wife of 24 years, Peggie, have been staying at their home in Lake Almanor in Plumas County. Daly said they are also planning to build a home in San Luis Obispo and will split their time between the two towns.
Daly said he plans to coach basketball and fish in his retirement.
“Next to marrying my wife, this job has been the best part of my life,” he said.
