Faculty Profile: Kathy Sinback

Kathy Sinback has been with the Metropolitan Government since 1997. She began her career as an attorney with the Metropolitan Public Defender’s Office, where she represented youth in delinquency cases and specialized in juvenile transfer litigation. She then moved to the Metropolitan Department of Law, where she served as senior legal advisor to the Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools. During Kathy’s time at Metro Legal, she also served as legal advisor to the Metropolitan Courts, the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department, the Mayor’s Office of Emergency Management, and other Metro departments, boards, and commissions. Through these various positions, Kathy witnessed firsthand the root causes of delinquency in Nashville, such as poverty, school absenteeism/ suspensions, mental health issues, family conflict, addiction, and trauma. Kathy was brought on board to serve as Juvenile Court Administrator by Judge Sheila Calloway in 2014.

As Juvenile Court Administrator, Kathy helps ensure that Juvenile Court procedures are aligned with evidence-based best practices. In addition to overseeing the programs of Juvenile Court, Kathy serves as Juvenile Court’s public information officer. She also collaborates with Metro and community agencies to promote policy reforms to decrease delinquency and increase public safety. A primary area of focus is enhancing educational and behavioral supports in the schools for children and youth who have experienced trauma and Adverse Childhood Experiences.

Kathy was a member of the Tennessee General Assembly’s Blue Ribbon Task Force on Juvenile Justice in 2017. She currently serves as the Co-Chairperson of the Alignment Nashville Action Team on Student Discipline; Co-Chairperson of the Early Intervention Work Group of the Davidson County Community Mental Health Systems Initiative; and Chairperson of the Court Improvement Committee of the Tennessee Joint Task Force on Children’s Justice and Child Sexual Abuse. Kathy is a 2019 recipient of the Founder’s Award from End Slavery Tennessee for her work in bringing attention to the problem of human trafficking in Tennessee.