Shelley Curran Biography

Shelley Curran is the Judicial Council’s Administrative Director. She took office on January 1, 2024. 

Ms. Curran previously served as the Judicial Council’s chief policy and research officer. In that role, she was responsible for coordinating the council’s research and policy agendas, identifying judicial branch priorities in emerging policy areas, and advancing these priorities within the executive and legislative branches.

Ms. Curran joined the Judicial Council staff in 2009 to establish the council’s Criminal Justice Services office. As director of that office, she played an integral role in implementing key criminal justice reforms affecting the courts and the public.

In both roles, Ms. Curran was involved in major policy issues for the judicial branch, including remote court proceedings; pretrial detention; evidence-based practices in sentencing; recidivism reduction; ability-to-pay determinations for fines and fees; and the Community Assistance, Recovery, and Empowerment (CARE) Act.

Ms. Curran has more than 20 years of experience working on public policy matters in California. Before joining the Judicial Council, she served as principal consultant to the President pro Tempore of the California State Senate on budget and legislative matters related to adult and juvenile criminal justice, civil law, civil rights, and the judiciary. She was also a policy analyst with Consumers Union, where she advocated on behalf of low-income Californians on matters related to credit and finance.

Ms. Curran is the first woman to hold the permanent Administrative Director position at the Judicial Council and is the first openly LGBTQ+ person to hold this statewide office. She has a bachelor of arts degree from Indiana University Bloomington and a master’s degree in policy analysis from the University of Wisconsin–Madison.