Resilience, persistence and independence have always shaped Denise Peña’s life. And they remain with her today in her new role helping to lead the Department of Community Justice as deputy director.
Born in Brazil, Peña moved around a lot as a child, including Venezuela, Georgia, California and Florida. She lived in Brazil before coming to Oregon when her father got a job at Intel.
She grew up in the Beaverton-area and attended Aloha High School. Her ability to speak three languages — English, Spanish and Portuguese — helped her make connections with many people.
Yet being bicultural is sometimes complicated, said Peña.
“On one hand, I have variety, diversity, perspective and experiences that I would not trade for the world. But on the downside, you can sometimes have a feeling of never quite fitting into one place.
“You have a leg in different worlds.”
Finding her place often meant taking care of herself as a young person. Peña’s parents were divorced. She spent summers in Brazil with family members who lived very different lifestyles than people in Beaverton, Oregon.
She had an older sibling, but managed much of her life on her own. And by the time she turned 18, she was more than ready to leave. She went to school and then found what became her life’s calling thanks to a job at a nearby women’s shelter.
“It was women and kids escaping domestic violence,” she said. “Families that were in the middle of crisis and traumatizing situations — and that’s how it really started for me, being able to provide support during what may be one of their most volatile moments in life.”
Today – with 22 years of experience working with clients, their families, victims and survivors of crime, and providing leadership in her field – Peña is the deputy director of Multnomah County’s Department of Community Justice (DCJ). It’s a role that combines her skills and track record managing large and complex portfolios with genuine heart and her deep care for the people she works with and serves.
She was promoted to deputy director after a six-month process and a national search.
“She was selected from a very competitive pool of candidates after a national search which prompted international interest,” said Erika Preuitt, the department’s director, who announced the decision to staff in June.
“She possesses unique qualities, strengths, skills and experience that will help to guide DCJ toward continued transformation and continued work toward ‘Community Safety Through Positive Change.’”
Peña launched her career while pursuing a degree in liberal arts at Portland State University. In college, she became an on-call employee at the nearby YWCA in downtown Portland, which served as a women’s shelter at the time.
She worked her way up to becoming a residential assistant and then a case manager for the YWCA. As a residential assistant, she was sometimes the only staff person on site. She ran a 24-hour hotline and would come up with transition plans for victims.
She later joined the Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office to work as a victims’ advocate. Peña guided victims through the prosecution process and connected them to resources in the community.
Her tenure provided a greater perspective of victims’ and survivors’ experiences with the justice system and laid the foundation for much of her work at the Department of Community Justice.
“I heard one victim say, ‘Crime takes a moment, but justice takes an eternity,’” Peña recalled of her time as an advocate. “That’s something that I used in my training to bring home the fact that this doesn’t end at conviction.”
In 2004, Peña was hired as a parole and probation officer (PPO) with Community Justice’s Domestic Violence Unit. Her team worked with advocates to provide a range of resources for victims and survivors, including financial assistance, housing, help with restraining orders, safety planning and emotional support. The program is set up to support offenders in changing their lives, with a goal to end the cycle of abuse through a targeted approach of domestic violence intervention, supervision, sanctions and services.
“I actually wanted to work in the DV unit and to continue to work for victims by working to change the justice-involved person’s behavior,” she said.
Peña was tapped to run Multnomah County’s Victim Services Unit in 2013 and broaden services for victims and survivors. Her work within the unit led to the launch of a statewide association of Community Corrections Victims Services Providers, a forum to share knowledge and expertise.
As manager of Victim and Survivor Services, Peña also met Susan Walters, a survivor and a friend who experienced the devastation of violence. In 2006, Walters wrestled the hammer away from the hitman her husband sent to kill her. The highly publicized 14-minute struggle ended in the death of Walters’ attacker.
Pena created security plans with Walters and connected her to the National Crime Victims Law Institute, which also helped advocate on her behalf.
“We were able to connect her to an attorney and help her navigate post-convictions,” said Peña.
While Walters’ fear of another attack eased when her ex-husband died before he was scheduled to be released from prison, the connection she made to the people who cared and helped her through the process proved to be vital.
“She [Peña] spent a great deal of time being emotionally supportive as a community justice manager,” said Walters. “She coordinated my safety planning and response. We had a plan in place,” she stressed.
“The first time I went to her office to talk about these things, I thought that because I had killed my attacker, people wouldn’t take my safety concerns seriously. But the first thing she said to me was, ‘I work for you.’ Not every victim gets the level of support that I was fortunate to have.”
“We ask a lot of victims, during a time of trauma, and then we say, ‘Hey the trial’s done, make sure you register with the parole board, make sure you do this and that, etc.’ And then it’s sort of forgotten,” Pena said.
“Other counties may not have the same resources, and it was a remarkable gift,” said Walters.
Peña’s work earned her two awards, including the Joe Kegans Award for Victim Services in Probation and Parole, an annual award presented by the American Probation and Parole Association.
But she gives all the credit to her team.
“I may win an award, but I’m not doing it on my own,” she said. “It’s a reflection of the work of my unit and staff. It’s the parole and probation officers and juvenile court counselors who also focus on the needs of victims. It’s a reflection of the department taking this on as a commitment and priority. ”
Peña’s work with Victim and Survivor Services connected her with both the Juvenile Services Division and Adult Services Division and led to a natural transition as a senior manager. For over three years, she served as a senior manager in the Adult Services Division and oversaw the Women and Family Services Unit, the Domestic Violence Unit, Records, Administration and other units.
There is so much work that people don’t see, said Peña.
“Parole and probation officers to juvenile court counselors, corrections counselors, administrative staff, employment coordinators, community health specialists, program specialists and juvenile custody services specialists who work in detention. There’s a variety of positions, and what we went through during the pandemic, everyone had to navigate in different ways.”
As deputy director, Peña helps oversee three divisions for the department, including the Director’s Office, which includes the Research and Planning Team, contracts, facilities and anything that might affect the whole department.
“There’s much work on the horizon throughout the justice system,” she said. “DCJ priorities are always to support community safety and positive change.”
The work with victims and survivors remains close to her heart.
“That exposure, as it related to victims’ issues and changing their practices, helped me as a deputy, because I have existing relationships but also because of the work and understanding its significance.”
Friends describe Peña as candid, caring and genuine. She’s not afraid to share her story with others and makes friends wherever she goes.
“Denise is a wonderful person with a heart full of love with the ability to help survivors feel a sense of safety and control in their lives,” said Walters.
Today, Peña lives in Northeast Portland. Her two young children are now working adults who live nearby.
She spends lots of time with her adopted 90-pound, beautiful boxer named Barry. “He loves people,” said Peña. “He is the craziest and best dog ever.”
She also has a lifelong goal to wake up in a different country, every year on her birthday. She is making good on that promise. This year she woke up in Greece.
“Crete, Santorini, Naxos, Athens,'' she said. “I love to travel and have always traveled. I believe that experiencing different cultures, places, languages and people is good for the soul.”
To quote one of her favorite world traveler’s Andrew Zimmern, “I want to be a traveler, not a tourist,” she said.