October 7, 2026 – In this virtual talk, Marc Schindler of the Georgetown Center for Youth Justice will introduce the Forgotten Children Initiative, a project dedicated to uncovering and honoring the lives of children who died or were killed while incarcerated and were buried in unmarked or forgotten graves on or near the grounds of youth prisons around the country.

The presentation will focus on the initiative’s Maryland origins, including the rediscovery of the burial site connected to the House of Reformation for Colored Children in Cheltenham, where Black boys—some as young as five—were confined under segregation-era policies and many died in state custody between the late 1800s to about 1940. Schindler will discuss what the historical record reveals, how families of the children are being engaged, and how the work in Maryland is helping to catalyze a broader national conversation led by the Forgotten Children Initiative about memory, accountability, and racial justice in youth justice.

This talk will invite participants to consider how confronting difficult histories can contribute to truth-telling, remembrance, and healing today.

This is a FREE virtual event. Registration is required.

Register here!

Marc Schindler has spent more than 35 years advancing the well‑being of young people through leadership roles in youth justice, nonprofit management, advocacy, and philanthropy. His career includes serving as a public defender, a national civil rights attorney, Executive Director of the Justice Policy Institute, and a partner at Venture Philanthropy Partners. He has also taught at George Washington University and American University and authored more than two dozen research publications. Most recently, he served as Assistant Secretary and Chief of Staff for the Maryland Department of Juvenile Services, helping to steer the state’s youth justice system toward a more developmental, community‑centered model.

At the Georgetown Center for Youth Justice, Schindler is a Research Professor of the Practice and Senior Fellow and leads Forgotten Children, a new national initiative dedicated to restoring dignity to incarcerated youth buried in unmarked graves, while also supporting programs such as the Public Information Officers Learning Collaborative and the Transforming Juvenile Probation Certificate Program. Earlier in his career, he played a key role in reforming Washington, DC’s youth justice system as Interim Director, Chief of Staff, and General Counsel of DYRS. A Yale‑educated political scientist with a law degree from the University of Maryland, Marc lives in Washington, D.C., with his wife and is the proud father of two college‑aged children.