Gov. Nikki Haley Announces Next Department of Juvenile Justice Director

COLUMBIA, S.C. – Governor Nikki Haley today announced Sylvia Murray as the next director of the South Carolina Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ). Murray, who has been at DJJ for 11 years, most recently served as the agency’s deputy director of administration under former director, Margaret Barber.

“I typically go outside of an agency to find my next leader, but what I saw was that there is no one better than Sylvia Murray,” Gov. Haley said. “She has been with the Department of Juvenile Justice for eleven years as the business manager and also as a deputy director. She has also worked with the budget, she has worked with HR, she has worked with programs, and she has been Margaret’s right hand person. I know that she has to fill Margaret’s shoes, but I have no doubt that Sylvia is up for the challenge and we are excited to add her to the team.”

Prior to joining DJJ in 2004, Murray began her service in South Carolina state government at the Department of Natural Resources and later as an accounting manager at the Department of Consumer Affairs. Overall, Murray has built a nearly 20 year-long career serving South Carolina families.

“I’d like to thank the governor for the opportunity to serve as director of the Department of Juvenile Justice,” said Sylvia Murray. “This agency is all about saving the children, rehabilitating the kids, and making them better citizens so that when they leave us, they will be productive citizens, they will have developed skills through our job training programs, and they will leave us better than they were when they came to us.”