Janelle Herrera earned her Bachelor of Science degree from the University of California, Davis, in 2002. She began her career with the Kern County Probation Department as a Group Counselor, assigned to James G. Bowles Juvenile Hall in 2003. In 2005, she promoted to a Deputy Probation Officer and worked in Juvenile Investigations and Juvenile Metro Supervision, where she acted as a liaison between Bakersfield High School and the Probation Department. She was also a member of the Truancy Review Board for the Kern County Superintendent of Schools. In 2011 she was promoted to Senior Deputy Probation Officer and was assigned to Camp Erwin Owen where she served as a Duty Supervisor and was later reassigned to Adult Investigations in the Adult Court Services Division. In Adult Investigations, she acted as a report writer and as a dedicated Court Hearing Officer until she was promoted to Probation Supervisor in 2019. She remained in Adult Investigations where she supervised staff working in various capacities including misdemeanor and felony Court Hearing Officers and report writers. Janelle has served as a Department Core Trainer in the areas of social media, report writing, adult sentencing and restitution, fines, and fees. She also served as a local board member for the California Probation, Parole and Correctional Association for nearly 20 years and was on the state CPPCA legislative committee where she held the position of Committee Chair for over 10 years. In February 2026, she was promoted to Assistant Division Director and was assigned to the Administrative Services Division.