THE CLEAN SLATE INITIATIVE’S
2024 CONVENING: LEARNING, LEADING, GOING FOR MORE
June 13 - 14, 2024//Philadelphia, PA
Join us at The Clean Slate Initiative’s 2024 Convening on June 13-14 in the City of Brotherly Love, Philadelphia, PA. Don’t miss this opportunity to learn strategy from others, share campaign leadership tips, and discover ways to achieve more of your campaign goals with Clean Slate advocates and directly impacted partners from across the country.
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Check Out the Program
Check in will also be available June 12 4:30-6:30PM in the lobby of Convene to grab your badge and swag bag early.
Explore tracks:
June 13, 2024
June 14, 2024
Speakers
Alex Williams
Chief of Staff, CSI
Alexandra (Alex) Williams is the Chief of Staff at The Clean Slate Initiative. In this role, she manages a wide array of strategic initiatives across the organization, collaborates closely with CSI team members and external partners to advance CSI's mission, and acts as a top advisor to CEO, Sheena Meade. Alex brings years of experience as a social impact strategist and advisor. Most recently, she was a Senior Manager at The Bridgespan Group where she worked with a range of clients, including large-scale philanthropic platforms, advocacy and criminal justice organizations, and diverse coalitions and network organizations — helping them develop strategies to grow, scale, and sustain their impact. During her time at Bridgespan, Alex co-led the organization’s Advocacy Area of Expertise and initiated original research in the criminal justice field. Her publications include: Making the Case: Philanthropy’s Role in the Movement to Reimagine Criminal Justice and her work has been featured in Inside Philanthropy, Chronicle of Philanthropy, and the Social Innovations Journal. Across all of her work, she brings a focus on advancing equity and justice. Alex holds a Bachelor of Arts with distinction from Yale University in Political Science. She is on the Board of the Black Veterans Project and the proud granddaughter of two Black veterans. When not working on making automatic record clearance a reality for millions of Americans, Alex can be found at the yoga studio, exploring the outdoors, or traveling to beautiful places with her partner.
Alia Toran-Burrell
Program Director, Clear My Record, Code for America
Alia is the Program Director for Clear My Record, where she leads overall strategic direction and programmatic implementation. Before joining Code for America, she managed a jail diversion program in Massachusetts, working to divert people with mental health and substance abuse issues away from the criminal legal system. Alia is a social worker by training and has over 15 years of experience in the field, including work as a community organizer and social justice educator.
Amy Simon
Founding Partner, Goodwin Simon Strategic Research
As founding partner at Goodwin Simon Strategic Research (GSSR) http://goodwinsimon.com, Amy Simon brings over three decades of political experience to her work as a pollster and communications strategist. Ms. Simon has a unique background among the nation's top pollsters. She was a community and field organizer, campaign manager, direct mail fundraising consultant, and political director, before becoming a pollster—and she brings that diverse political understanding to all of her message development and message delivery research.
Amy has a special expertise in conducting innovative qualitative and quantitative research on socially sensitive and emotionally complex issues, with a winning record developing effective messaging to support social and narrative change. GSSR’s cutting-edge approach is rooted in the latest research on neuroscience, emotion, psychology, cognitive linguistics, and narrative theory.
Ms. Simon is one of the leading architects of the pro-marriage messaging that helped propel Maine and Washington state voters to support allowing marriage for same-sex couples in the November 2012 elections. She has conducted in-depth messaging research focused on narrative change on a variety of public policy issues, including healthcare, immigration, and criminal justice reform.
With support from the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, Ms. Simon and her frequent collaborator Robert Perez of Wonder: Strategies for Good, co-wrote Heartwired: Human Behavior, Strategic Opinion Research and the Audacious Pursuit of Social Change (https://heartwiredforchange.com), a strategy guide to share lessons learned from their decades of experience on the front lines of social change.
Antonio Lightfoot
Deputy Director, Workers Center for Racial Justice
Antonio Lightfoot serves as Deputy Director at the Workers Center for Racial Justice, a Black liberation organization working at the intersection of workers' rights and criminal justice reform. He has been organizing since graduating from Chicago State University in 2014. His mission to end systemic pathways to the penal system was sparked while serving a 6-year sentence in the Illinois Department of Corrections. At WCRJ, Antonio heads campaigns for policies that will eliminate mass incarceration, increase employment for Formerly Incarcerated Persons (FIPs), and reduce recidivism. Antonio also leads the Workers Center for Racial Justice’s FIP Council, a group of members directly impacted by the carceral system who create and steer policies at the Workers Center for Racial Justice, and its Policy Advocacy committee, a grassroots policy advocacy team.
Chelsea Murphy
Campaign Strategist, CSI
Chelsea is a Campaign Strategist at The Clean Slate Initiative, working directly with state campaign partners to pass and implement Clean Slate policies. Chelsea has been immersed in politics for nearly two decades and has advocated on behalf of various clients ranging from Fortune 500 companies, trade associations, nonprofits, and local governments. More recently, Chelsea was the Florida State Director for Right on Crime and the Texas Public Policy Foundation. She helped work to pass the Florida First Step Act, raise Florida's felony theft threshold from $350 to $750, and Florida's Criminal Justice Data Transparency System, among other impactful criminal justice reforms. Along with her many accomplishments, Chelsea brings a personal passion to this work: as someone who’s been directly impacted by the legal system, she knows first-hand the importance of helping people break free from their past mistakes. Chelsea is based in Tallahassee, Florida where she lives with her husband and two children.
Christi Smith
Senior Fellow, Criminal Justice and Civil Liberties, R Street Institute
Dr. Christi M. Smith analyzes and presents objective policy solutions through publications on criminal justice issues including overcriminalization; parole and probation; community supervision; and reentry and reintegration. Prior to R Street, Smith enjoyed dual careers in academia and in community supervision, spanning two decades. She served as the interim department chair, academic graduate program director and assistant professor of criminal justice studies at Delaware Valley University. Additionally, her practitioner experience includes working as an adult probation and parole officer, specializing as a domestic violence investigator, forensic mental health specialist, drug court officer and interstate compact officer in the suburban Philadelphia area. She is an executive committee member on the Bucks County, PA Reentry Coalition and the HEAL PA Criminal Justice Reform Action Team. She received a doctorate in public safety with a specialization in criminal justice from Capella University, a master’s degree in criminal justice from West Chester University and a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice administration from Delaware Valley College. Smith’s activities at R Street include: coalition work, submitting testimony, producing educational pieces, and presenting at local, national and international professional conferences on clean slate record-sealing, reducing jail populations, trauma-informed probation, parole and reentry, cannabis policy, debt-based license suspensions, and effective community supervision strategies. Professional membership organizations, conferences and presentations include but are not limited to the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences, the American Society of Criminology, the National Sheriff's Association, the American Probation and Parole Association, the National Association of Reentry Professionals, the Pennsylvania Criminal Justice Advisory Board, the National Conference of State Legislatures, the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation and the County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania.
Colleen Chien
Professor, Berkeley Law, Paper Prisons
Colleen Chien is Professor of Law at the Berkeley Law School where she teaches, mentors students, and conducts empirical research on intellectual property, innovation, artificial intelligence, and the criminal justice system and co-directs the Berkeley Center for Law and Technology. From 2013-2015 Chien served in the Obama White House as a Senior Advisor, Intellectual Property and Innovation and in 2021, Professor Chien began working part-time as a Senior Counselor for the Department of Commerce after serving on the Biden-Harris Transition team and she currently serves an expert advisor for the US Patent and Trademark Office. Professor Chien is a recipient of the Early Career Medal of the American Law Institute, and numerous other accolades. Chien is a graduate of Stanford (Engineering) and Berkeley Law Schools and lives in Oakland with her husband and their two sons. She is the founder of the Innovator Diversity Pilots Initiative (diversitypilots.org), which uses rigorous evidence to boost participation in innovation, and the Paper Prisons Initiative, which works to address the second chance gap between eligibility and delivery of second chance relief and expand economic opportunity.
David Roberts
Executive Director/CEO, SEARCH Group, Inc.
David J. Roberts is Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of SEARCH Group, Incorporated. He has extensive experience supporting justice information technology (IT) policy, planning, and research in state and federal governments, nonprofit organizations, and private industry.
Mr. Roberts supports the SEARCH Membership Group of Governor-appointed representatives and SEARCH’s business lines in criminal history law & policy, justice information sharing, research & statistics, and cybercrime & digital forensics training and technical assistance. Dave also serves as Executive Director/CEO of the Open Justice Broker Consortium (OJBC), which functions as the technical development arm of SEARCH, and provides software and data engineering services to state and local jurisdictions. He represents SEARCH before various branches and levels of government, including the U.S. Congress and the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security, with partner criminal justice and public safety associations, and with industry.
Mr. Roberts holds graduate degrees in criminal justice from the State University of New York at Albany (M.A.) and Oklahoma City University (M.C.J.A.).
David Safavian
General Counsel and Executive Vice President, CPAC
David Safavian is the General Counsel and Executive Vice President of the Conservative
Political Action Coalition (“CPAC”) and the CPAC Foundation, where he oversees policy,
advocacy, political activity and operations. Prior to taking on these roles, Safavian was the
Director of the CPAC Foundation’s Nolan Center for Justice, which advocates for policies that
improve public safety, reduce recidivism, maintain fiscal austerity, and advance human dignity.
Safavian held two senior policy positions in the Administration of George W. Bush:
Administrator for Federal Procurement Policy at the Office of Management and Budget, and
Chief of Staff at the US General Services Administration.
David was also the chief of staff for Congressman Chris Cannon (R-UT), a member of the House
Judiciary Committee. He served as a legislative aide to former Michigan Attorney General Bill
Schuette (R), when Schuette was in the US House of Representatives. Safavian clerked for US
Magistrate Judge Paul Komives and held a civilian position in the US Army Aviation and Troop
Support Command. He has also taught Ethics courses at Georgetown University’s School of
Continuing Studies.
In his spare time, David regularly addresses graduate business schools as a guest lecturer on the
topics of business ethics and criminal justice. He has spoken at Catholic University, Georgetown
University, George Washington University, Johns Hopkins University, Loyola University
Maryland, Villanova, and Virginia Tech.
Safavian is a prolific writer of articles and op-eds, regularly appearing in Politico, The Hill, and
in newspapers and magazines across the country. He has been named by Washingtonian
Magazine as one of DC’s most influential people on the topic of civil rights and criminal justice
for 2023 and 2024.
David Safavian has an MBA from Loyola, an LL.M from Georgetown University Law Center, a
JD (magna cum laude) from Michigan State’s Detroit College of Law, and a Bachelor’s from St.
Louis University. He is married and has two daughters.
Destiny Garcia
Executive Director, Clean Slate Utah
Destiny Garcia, Executive Director of Clean Slate Utah, is a dedicated mother, advocate, and
individual in recovery. Through her own experiences of incarceration and the expungement
process, Destiny has firsthand knowledge of the challenges that come with having a criminal
record. She shares her personal journey openly, with her story being featured in Congress,
national, and international media. She is passionate about advocating for programs before
incarceration and clean slate legislation. Destiny aims to raise awareness of their benefits and
support their expansion on both local and national levels.
As a board member for the Utah Criminal Justice Center, she is committed to increasing
awareness of Utah’s transformative Law and its potential impact. In recognition of her efforts to
promote understanding of the law and encourage civic responsibility, the Utah State Bar
honored Destiny with the prestigious 2023 Liberty Bell award.
Dr Topeka K Sam
Founder & CEO, The Ladies of Hope Ministries, Inc
Dr. Topeka K. Sam is the CEO of The Ladies of Hope Ministries, Inc. (@TheLOHM) and founder and President of EPIC Financial PBLLC, TKS Ventures LLC and Faces & Voices Inc. She serves on the board of directors for The Marshall Project, Operation Restoration, Pure Legacee and United Justice Coalition. She is a strategic advisor for RBIJ, FRSH and HARP. Since her release from federal prison on May 5, 2015, Topeka has served as a 2015 Beyond the Bars Fellow and a 2016 Justice-In-Education Scholar both from Columbia University, 2017 Soros Justice Advocacy Fellow, 2018 Unlocked Futures Inaugural Cohort Member, 2018 Opportunity Agenda Communications Institute Fellow, Director of #Dignity for Incarcerated Women Campaign and Senior Advisor for NYUJ. She hosted “The Topeka K. Sam Show” on SiriusXM UrbanView Channel 126 for 3 years and is now developing scripted and unscripted series as an Executive Producer for TV & Film, inspired by her fight to change the many problems that plague female incarceration. In 2020, the United Nations appointed Topeka as the Goodwill Ambassador for Social Justice (Incarceration Reform) of the Global Festival of Creative Economy. In December 2020, Topeka received a full presidential pardon for her dedication to helping women turn from a path of despair towards a path of redemption. On May 5th, 2022, Google.org presented her with the first Social Impact Award at the Variety Magazine/Lifetime TV Power of the Women Summit and later that month she also received her Honorary Doctorate in Divinity from New York Theological Seminary. Dr. Sam has worked and continues to work selflessly and relentlessly in her fight for the dignity, decriminalization, and decarceration of women and girls.
Dustin Chicurel-Bayard
Senior Communications Strategist Campaigns, CSI
Dustin Chicurel-Bayard is the Senior Communications Strategist, Campaigns, for The Clean Slate Initiative. In this role, he leads the organization’s campaign communications and media relations, as well as supporting storytelling and narrative change efforts. Before joining The Clean Slate Initiative, Dustin served as the Communications Director for the American Civil Liberties Union of North Carolina, the Southern Coalition for Social Justice, and the North Carolina Sierra Club, where he also served as the interim state director during a leadership transition. Having seen first-hand the consequences that having a record can have on families and loved ones, Dustin’s professional skills and expertise are fueled by a personal passion for ensuring everyone has a shot at redemption. While working at the Southern Coalition for Social Justice, Dustin saw the transformational impact that records relief can provide for working families. The organization’s Clean Slate clinics helped people navigate the petition-based expungement process. Dustin is proud to help advance efforts through The Clean Slate Initiative that ensures everyone has access to meaningful opportunities and the chance to build a better life. Dustin earned a bachelor’s degree in Communications from Appalachian State University and an executive certificate in Environmental Communications from Duke University. Dustin lives in Chapel Hill, NC, with his wife Miriam and their 19-year-old cat Bug. When not working to make the country and his community a more fair and just place, you can find him tinkering in his woodworking shop, kayaking, and thinking of ways to help dismantle white supremacy.
Elsa Chen
Professor and Chair, Political Science, Santa Clara University
Elsa Chen is a Professor and Chair of Political Science at Santa Clara University. Her work focuses on criminal justice reform, reentry from incarceration, criminal record expungement, the implementation and effects of mandatory minimum sentences, and racial and ethnic disparities in sentencing outcomes. She co-edited Beyond Recidivism: New Approaches to Research on Prisoner Reentry and Reintegration (NYU Press 2020). Dr. Chen’s work has appeared in journals including Justice Quarterly, Punishment & Society, Law & Policy, Feminist Criminology, Social Science Quarterly, the Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice, and the Journal of Ethnicity in Criminal Justice. She is a member of the National Academies of Science, Education, and Medicine (NASEM) Committee on Law and Justice, and was a member of the NASEM Committee on Evaluating Success Among People Released from Prison that authored The Limits of Recidivism: Measuring Success After Prison (2022). Dr. Chen has served on the American Society of Criminology (ASC) Executive Board, the Racial Democracy, Crime and Justice Network steering committee, and the U.S. Dept. of Justice, Office of Justice Programs’ Science Advisory Board, and chaired ASC’s Division on People of Color and Crime. Dr. Chen has a PhD in Political Science from UCLA, an MPP from Harvard, and an AB in Public and International Affairs from Princeton.
Erica Averion
Executive Director, Florida Foundation for Correctional Excellence
Erica believes people want to live their greatest wishes- not resolve their greatest regret. She’s especially passionate about advocating and working alongside those who have made grave mistakes and those navigating the narrative of fair and second chances. With an uncanny way of finding the good in anyone and any situation she has spent a great deal of her time over the past decade serving in jails & prisons- facilities and institutions that she believes are filled with the biggest underdogs and overlooked talent pool in America- people with criminal histories.
She has served within Florida prisons leading programming initiatives in character dorms: Faith & Character, Re-Entry, and the Veterans/Honors dorms. It is there where she co-founded a re-entry transition mentor program targeting adults in custody who are within six months of their release date and who do not have loved ones to assist with post-release plans.
Most recently, Erica now serves as the Executive Director for the Florida Foundation for Correctional Excellence, a direct support organization to Florida Department of Corrections that brings together public and private partners to increase investment in re-entry programs and workforce training. She works alongside FDC’s Office of Programs and Re-Entry and the foundation’s board of directors to bridge the gap between community resources and re-entry needs by connecting private and public partners, increasing investment in public correctional re-entry & workforce training programs that support public safety, and healthy Florida communities.
Erica is a TEDx speaker where she illuminated how we find the good within the often forgotten- those who are justice involved. She is also a Global Leadership Summit Prison Program Host and has worked to bring the summit to correctional facilities across Florida and with a team who has expanded it to over 100 prisons across the country. In addition, she has strong commitment to Prison Fellowship where she has served as a National Justice Ambassador advocating for cultural change and legislative reforms that advance constructive prison culture, and fair chances. Her most recent engagement with them was being an instructor of their signature course, Outrageous Justice.
Erik Altieri
Interim Director of Campaigns, CSI
Erik Altieri is a political activist and the former executive director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), born in Philadelphia, PA. Altieri relocated to Washington, DC, and attended American University, where he received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy and Religious Studies. In 2008, Altieri became the communications director and federal lobbyist for NORML, the oldest and largest marijuana reform organization in the United States. He held this position until 2015 when he began working as a political strategist for groups such as MAYDAY.US PAC and the Patriotic Millionaires. After the departure of NORML’s then-executive director in 2016, Erik Altieri was selected by the organization’s board of directors to assume the leadership position. He was NORML’s ninth executive director since its founding in 1970 and the youngest to hold the position. Altieri’s efforts were honored by Forbes magazine when he was named one of their Top 30 Under 30 for Law and Policy in 2018. During his tenure at NORML, Altieri was a leading voice in the fight for marijuana legalization and legal system reform. He appeared on numerous media outlets, including CNN, CBS News, HSN, MSNBC, and Fox News, to advocate for the cause. Erik also played a vital role in passing numerous marijuana legalization laws at the state level, with 13 additional states legalizing the adult use of marijuana during his tenure. He departed the organization after a six-year term at the helm in 2023. Altieri is also a respected political commentator and has written for several publications, including The Huffington Post, Truthout, The Hill, Aspen Times, and Forbes. He has been a regular guest on political talk shows, has appeared as a recurring guest on programs such as the Bill Press Show, and was a regular guest on Thom Hartmann’s Progressive Roundtable. With his new role at The Clean Slate Initiative, he aims to remain an influential voice in the fight for legal system reform.
Greg Rowe
Executive Director, Keystone Restituere Justice Center
Greg Rowe is the executive director of KRJC. In that capacity, Greg oversees the administration, oversight and planning of KRJC.
Greg has extensive criminal justice and public safety experience on the local, state, and federal levels. Greg spent nearly 14 years working with and for the Pennsylvania District Attorneys Association, most recently as its Executive Director, where he led and directed all aspects of the Association. He previously served as its Director of Legislation and Policy, where he developed and implemented the Association’s legislative and policy agenda. Greg also served as the Chief of the Legislation and Policy Unit in the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office. In these roles, Greg has been extensively involved in many important legislative and policy initiatives, initiatives which focused on helping the most vulnerable victims, addressing the opioid crisis, and enacting meaningful criminal justice reforms.
Greg regularly collaborated with representatives from victim services organizations, the courts, academic practitioners, law enforcement and other governmental agencies, and criminal justice reform organizations. In addition to teaching continuing legal education courses on newly enacted laws to law enforcement, Greg coordinated and implemented a new training series for the Association on issues related to procedural justice, including topics on implicit bias, diversion, community engagement, and reentry, and utilizing criminal justice data.
Before working with PDAA, Greg served as Governor Rendell’s Senior Policy Manager for Public Safety and as Special Assistant for Criminal Justice. In these positions, Greg oversaw Pennsylvania’s public safety functions with regard to policy, legislation, and operations and was the Governor’s day-to-day contact for Pennsylvania’s State Police, Department of Corrections, Board of Probation and Parole, and Commission on Crime and Delinquency. Greg also practiced commercial litigation for several years and began his legal career in the Appeals Unit of the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office.
Greg has worked with the National Governors Association, the Council of State Governments, and the PEW Center on the States to help officials from other states learn about successful strategies to reduce recidivism. Greg was also selected as a participant in the Kennedy School of Government’s Executive Session for State Court Leaders in the 21st Century.
Greg was named to City & State’s 2022 “Pennsylvania Law Power 100,” which takes an in-depth look at the district attorneys, federal prosecutors, white-collar defense attorneys, public interest lawyers, law school deans and bar association leaders who are shaping the direction of the state politically, legally and otherwise.
Before attending law school, Greg was a research assistant to the late Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan and helped coordinate public safety issues for the Senator.
Greg holds a J.D. from the University of Wisconsin, and an A.B. from Harvard College. Greg lives in Philadelphia with his wife and their daughter.
James Telesford
Senior Research Analyst, Goodwin Simon Strategic Research
James Telesford, senior research analyst, brings a broad knowledge base of qualitative and quantitative research methods steeped in years of academic research experience to Goodwin Simon Strategic Research (GSSR), where he applies those skills to drive narrative change. At GSSR, his messaging research experience includes a range of topics, including health care, housing, and immigration. On criminal justice reform, James has helped lead messaging research projects to increase public support for eliminating cash bail, community-based alternatives to policing and incarceration, violence interruption programs to prevent violent crimes, marijuana decriminalization, parole and probation reform, and alternatives to incarceration for youth. He is excited to bring his messaging research expertise to building public support for clean slate initiatives.
Jason Cooper
VP of Programs, CSI
Jason Cooper is Vice President of Programs at The Clean Slate Initiative. He leads the general management of all program areas and drives the strategic direction of CSI’s programs and campaigns. Jason brings years of transformative leadership in public policy, community development, social impact, and sustainability. Formerly the Director of Collaborative Policing for the City of Cincinnati, he worked with the city manager, police department, and other agencies to prepare effective strategies for reducing crime, improving residents’ perception of public safety, and strengthening justice system operations. Before that, he led crime reduction initiatives as Program Director at the Local Initiatives Support Corporation, a national social enterprise that invests more than $1 billion annually to spur economic opportunity and revitalize communities. Jason started his career at the National LGBTQ Task Force as a field organizer, providing training and technical assistance to marriage equality campaigns running statewide electoral and legislative campaigns. Following his time in the marriage equality movement, he was the Director of Program and Administration at the Pushback Network. He focused on supporting grassroots state-based alliances and networks that changed the electorate’s composition and participation levels to create a breakthrough in civic engagement. Jason has served as a past board member for Community Voices Heard and Wave Pool. He has also served as an advisory board member for LA Room and Board and has had various other civic roles. An avid outdoorsman, Jason lives in downtown Cincinnati, where he likes to bike, hike, or kayak most weekends when the warm weather permits.
Jason Pye
Director, Rule of Law Initiatives, Due Process Institute
Jason Pye joined Due Process Institute in 2021, bringing many years of lobbying experience to the team. His views on criminal legal reform are partially formed by his own life experiences, the advocacy work he has done, and his libertarian/classical liberal convictions. He has worked on several pieces of legislation that have become law, including the First Step Act and the Fair Chance Act.
The son of a Vietnam veteran who passed away in 1993, Jason believes his life could have taken a very different direction considering that addiction issues are present in his family. Thankfully, his mother guided him down the right path. In addition, through his criminal legal reform advocacy, Jason has met several individuals who were incarcerated and heard their stories. These stories have guided his work through which he hopes to see a fairer legal system and preservation of civil liberties.
Prior to joining DPI, Jason served as the Vice President of Legislative Affairs for FreedomWorks. In this role, he was responsible for lobbying on federal legislation, forming relationships with congressional offices, and keeping tabs on congressional activity. Policy issues in his portfolio at FreedomWorks included criminal justice reform and civil liberties.
Jason has appeared on Fox News, Fox Business, and numerous radio programs. He has contributed commentary to Forbes, The Hill, and Washington Examiner and has been cited or quoted in pieces published by The New York Times, Politico, Roll Call, and The Wall Street Journal.
Jesse Kelley
Senior Policy Strategist, CSI
Jesse Kelley is a Senior Policy Strategist with The Clean Slate Initiative. Jesse is responsible for applying her deep expertise of Clean Slate policies to support CSI's overarching policy strategy, collaborate on policy analysis with key partners, and more. Since March 2021, Jesse has worked on our state-level campaigns and still closely supports that work by analyzing complex state-specific statutes and creating policy goals, including drafting policies, writing educational publications, and testifying as a policy expert at state legislative hearings. Previously, Jesse served as Government Affairs Manager for Criminal Justice & Civil Liberties at the R Street Institute, where she advocated, researched, and drafted policy papers relating to policing reform, juvenile justice, reintegration, post-conviction life, and related topics. Earlier in her career, Jesse served as Legislative Counsel at the Marijuana Policy Project. She led the development and implementation of state advocacy initiatives and saw decriminalization and legalization successes across the country. Jesse practiced law as a Criminal Defense Attorney in Alabama and worked with the Mississippi Innocence Project on post-conviction issues, specifically investigating cases where convictions relied heavily on forensic evidence. Jesse graduated magna cum laude from Troy University with a bachelor’s degree in English literature. She also holds a Juris Doctor from the University of Mississippi, with a concentration in international law from Cambridge University, and is a member of the Alabama State Bar. Jesse lives in Alabama with her husband.
Jessica Jackson
Chief Advocacy and Operating Officer, REFORM Alliance
Jessica Jackson’s quest for justice began in a
Georgia courtroom. The high-school dropout held
her two-month-old daughter and watched
helplessly as her husband was sentenced to six
years in prison. At that moment, she decided to
turn her shock into a crusade to change the
justice system. As a single mother, she graduated
from college and law school. Today she is leading
the bipartisan movement to end excessive
incarceration.
Jessica’s specialty is bringing political rivals
together to pass bills considered “impossible.” As
the bill’s main advocate, she led the drive to pass
2018’s “First Step Act.” The New York Times
called the law “the most substantial justice reform
in a generation;” it has already helped free more
than 7,000 people.
While leading her national initiative, #cut50, Jessica helped ban the shackling of jailed pregnant
women in 14 states. Her “Dignity for Incarcerated Women” campaign enlisted formerly
incarcerated women and dozens of celebrities to deepen the focus on women’s issues.
At the helm of #cut50, Jessica built the biggest national grassroots network for bipartisan
reform, #cut50’s Empathy Network. She also produced the first-ever Bipartisan Criminal Justice
Summit, attracting leaders as diverse as Newt Gingrich and the then-Attorney General Eric
Holder.
Jessica has not only led on the national level but was also elected the youngest-ever Mayor of
Mill Valley, California. Today, she helps lead the REFORM Alliance, an organization where she
is continuing her work to end mass incarceration and mass supervision.
Jessica turned her hopelessness into hope for millions.
Jibria White
Operations Manager, CSI
Jibria White is a graduate of Bethune-Cookman University where she was an intern at The Mary McLeod Bethune Foundation-National Historic Landmark, where she gained pre-curatorial training. In addition, she served as a Resident Assistant for a resident’s hall at Bethune-Cookman University. In spring 2015, Jibria interned at Ortona Elementary School in Daytona Beach, FL where she contributed to the lesson plans and curriculum of the classroom in which she was interning. Jibria is also an active member of the community. She committed every Thursday of the week to mentor and tutor the children of Campbell Middle School in Daytona Beach, FL. In addition, annually Jibria volunteers with the United Methodist Church Mission-U Event, where she serves as a children’s youth counselor. At Bethune-Cookman University, Jibria became a member of the NAACP, Sigma Alpha Pi National Honor Society, and is the founder of Phenomenal Women in High Education Think Tank. After graduating from Bethune-Cookman University, Jibria started her Advocacy and philanthropic career at Florida Rights Restoration Coalition where she was the Organizing Administrator and quickly progressed to the Programs Administrator. As the Programs Administrator at Florida Rights Restoration Coalition, Jibria had the pleasure of planning the 2019 Women’s Retreat, Advocacy day 2020, and the COVID-19 Mask Distribution bus tour. In both roles at FRRC Jibria connected with grassroots organizations to solidify partnerships, developed, and maintained detailed project plans, organize events for returning citizens (formerly incarcerated), and directly impacted persons and process implementation. Recently, Jibria was the 2018-2019 United Methodist Women Theressa Hoover Community Service and Global Citizenship Awardee and grant recipient, where she partnered with the United Methodist Women on a journey to dismantle specific policies that push minority children out of schools and into the prison pipeline. Jibria is also a recent graduate of Saint Leo University, receiving her Master's in Business Administration, and a proud member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. Currently, Jibria is the Operations Manager at The Clean Slate Initiative and will continue her advocacy career there.
John Cooper
Executive Director, Safe & Just Michigan
John S. Cooper is the executive director of Safe & Just Michigan, and is responsible for the organization’s strategic vision and direction. He joined Safe & Just Michigan in 2017 as policy director after serving as a criminal justice policy advisor to State Representative David LaGrand (D – 75th, Grand Rapids).
Cooper’s research and advocacy is focused on Michigan’s adult criminal legal system, with an emphasis on strategies to reduce Michigan’s prison and jail populations, remove barriers to successful reentry, and shift resources into programs and services that promote public safety and health.
During his tenure at Safe & Just Michigan, Cooper has led several successful legislative campaigns to reform Michigan’s criminal legal system, including the campaign to enact “objective parole,” 2018 PA 339, and the Michigan “Clean Slate” Campaign, 2020 PA 187-193.
Before he joined Rep. LaGrand’s office, Cooper spent seven years as a litigator in the Washington, D.C. office of Latham & Watkins LLP. He also served as a law clerk to Hon. Boyce F. Martin, Jr., of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit.
Cooper obtained his juris doctorate from the University of Virginia School of Law after graduating with honors from Calvin College.
Jolene Forman
Chief Program Officer, The Just Trust
Jolene Forman is the Chief Program Officer at The Just Trust. She has spent over two decades working on criminal justice reform. She has led legal and legislative advocacy, reentry, in-prison programming, and philanthropic initiatives. Prior to joining The Just Trust, she was the Criminal Justice Policy Director at the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. Before moving to the philanthropic sector, she worked at the Drug Policy Alliance and the ACLU.
Forman earned her J.D. from UC Berkeley School of Law and M.Sc. in Criminal Justice Policy from the London School of Economics and Political Science. Her work has been quoted in many media outlets, including the New York Times, the Economist, the Atlantic, the Los Angeles Times, the Washington Post, CNN, USA Today, and Reuters.
Joshua Hoe
Senior Policy Manager, Dream.Org
Since returning from incarceration, Josh has been a Policy Analyst, a social media and messaging consultant, an organizer, the host and creator of the Decarceration Nation Podcast, and is currently the Senior Policy Manager at Dream.Org. Josh has a background in public speaking, debate, and public policy research. He holds a Master’s Degree in International Relations, is a former national college debate champion (1990), and was a long-time college debate coach.
Katie Svoboda-Kindle
Senior Staff Attorney, Community Legal Services of Philadelphia
Katie Svoboda-Kindle is a Senior Staff Attorney in the Employment Unit at Community Legal Services in Philadelphia. Ms. Svoboda-Kindle represents clients facing a variety of employment issues and works to break down criminal record barriers to employment through policy and legislative change. Ms. Svoboda-Kindle’s advocacy work focuses on expanding and supporting implementation of Clean Slate in Pennsylvania and beyond, supporting record clearing work nationwide, and improving criminal record protections in employment and occupational licensing in Pennsylvania.
Before joining CLS in January 2019, Ms. Svoboda-Kindle served as an assistant public defender for 7 years at the Miami Dade Public Defender’s Office. During her time there, Ms. Svoboda-Kindle tried 35 cases before a jury, filed over 500 motions, conducted over 600 depositions, and worked in a supervisory role over new attorneys, providing training and overseeing performance.
Ms. Svoboda-Kindle attended law school at New York University School of Law, where she was a member of the Moot Court Board, Competitions Division. She earned her J.D. cum laude in 2011. She graduated from Colgate University with honors, summa cum laude in 2007.
Kristie Puckett
Senior Project Manager, Forward Justice
Kristie Puckett is a prominent (dis)organizer and civil rights activist whose personal experiences with poverty, drug addiction, domestic violence, and incarceration have profoundly shaped her advocacy and policy work. She is the Senior Project Manager at Forward Justice and specializes in issues related to the conditions of confinement for women and girls in carceral facilities, including pregnant women and girls, and focuses on empowering communities that are typically disenfranchised.
Her activism and expertise have led to significant roles and impacts at various levels of government. North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper has appointed Kristie as the Women in Incarceration Workgroup chair for the State Reentry Council Collaborative. She also serves as a commissioner on the North Carolina Commission on Racial & Ethnic Disparities in the Criminal Justice System (NC CRED), where she engages in efforts like removing Confederate monuments to empower local communities.
Kristie's dedication and effectiveness in advocacy have earned her prestigious recognitions, including the Dogwood Award from North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein, which acknowledges her relentless advocacy for incarcerated pregnant women. Furthermore, she holds positions on several boards for national and statewide organizations. She advises numerous research projects, applying her lived experience to critical issues such as policing, political violence, pretrial, and perinatal incarceration.
An abolitionist at heart, Kristie is committed to dismantling racist systems and strategically fostering a healthy, vibrant, safe, and just community. She remains a vocal and steadfast advocate for individuals affected by social injustice, especially those behind bars.
Kristin Bechtel
Principal Scientist, RTI International
Kristin Bechtel Ph.D. is a Principal Scientist in RTI International’s Center for Criminal Legal Systems Research and serves as a Senior Justice Researcher affiliated with RTI’s Court System Research Program. She is currently engaged in research projects spanning pretrial, community supervision, and corrections, providing expertise in both research and policy. She has over 20 years of research experience evaluating programs, interventions, and policies aimed to improve individual and system outcomes within the juvenile and adult criminal legal systems, conducting multi-site implementation and outcome evaluations, leading multiple statewide Justice Reinvestment efforts, developing, implementing, and validating pretrial and post-disposition assessments, conducting meta-analyses and cost-benefit analyses on a variety of interventions, and creating and delivering large scale technical assistance and training initiatives on core correctional practices, assessments and case management, and reintegration. Dr. Bechtel holds a Ph.D. in Criminal Justice from the University of Cincinnati.
Kungu Njuguna
Policy Strategist, ACLU of KENTUCKY
Kungu Njuguna is a first generation American of Kenyan descent and a lifelong resident of Louisville, Kentucky. He is the “Smart on Crime” Policy Strategist for the ACLU of Kentucky, where he advocates in the General Assembly for criminal legal reform. He is a justice-involved person and an individual in long-term recovery. His article, I’ll Never Be an IV Drug User: A Lawyer’s Unexpected Path to Heroin Addiction (KBA Bench & Bar, Sept/Oct. 2017) recounts his road to sobriety.
He served as a prosecutor for the Jefferson County Attorney’s Office and as a city attorney for Louisville Metro Government. He currently serves on the Board of the Louisville Recovery Community Connection and is a former Vice-President of the Board of the ACLU of Kentucky. He received his JD from the University of Kentucky J. David Rosenberg College of Law.
Laura Chavez
Director of Research and Data, CSI
Laura Chavez is the Director of Research and Data at The Clean Slate Initiative (CSI). She manages a multi-faceted, data-driven research agenda designed to inform CSI's advocacy and public education efforts, measure and refine impact, and expand the policy footprint in clearing barriers and increasing opportunities for millions of people with records. She is responsible for curating, managing, and implementing research strategies that advance CSI's mission while establishing a body of analyses to validate the impact of Clean Slate policy among academics, policymakers, donors, bipartisan allies, and the public. Dr. Chavez is a proven leader with over a decade of experience in research and data analytics. Prior to joining The Clean Slate Initiative, she served as the Chief of Research and Evaluation for the Alameda County Probation Department. There, she led a team of researchers and data analysts and oversaw program evaluations conducted internally and in partnership with external researchers. In this role, she built the organization's research and data analytics capacity to address historical racial and ethnic disparities. Before that, Dr. Chavez was an Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology at Georgia Southern University. She researched various criminal justice issues centered on understanding the role of social inequities in multiple facets of the criminal legal system. She taught courses on gender, race, and crime; research methods; victimology; and social inequalities, and taught one semester in a women's prison. Laura holds a Bachelor of Science, Master of Science, and Ph.D. in Sociology from Virginia Tech and has published a book and over thirty research publications, including more than twenty peer-reviewed journal articles. She lives in the San Francisco Bay Area and enjoys the local scenery, from the mountains to the beach.
Lenore Anderson
President, Alliance for Safety and Justice
Lenore Anderson is the co-founder and President of Alliance for Safety and Justice (ASJ), one of the largest justice and public safety reform advocacy organizations in the country, and founder of Californians for Safety and Justice, the nation’s largest state-based advocacy organization. ASJ’s flagship program, Crime Survivors for Safety and Justice, is the nation’s largest network of crime survivors advocating for new public safety policies and expanded support for victims. Lenore also served as campaign chair of California’s Proposition 47, a 2014 ballot initiative to reduce incarceration and reallocate prison spending to mental health and victim services. She also served on the executive committee for California’s Proposition 57 ballot initiative in 2016 to expand earned rehabilitation credits to people in prison, as well as Florida’s Amendment 4 ballot initiative to restore voting eligibility to people with prior convictions. Previously, Lenore served in various local government leadership capacities including as Chief of Policy and Chief of the Alternative Programs Division at the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office; Director of Public Safety for the Oakland Mayor; and, as Director of the San Francisco Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice. Lenore also serves on the Advisory Board of the Institute for Innovations in Prosecution of John Jay College of Criminal Justice. She holds a J.D. from NYU School of Law and a B.A. from UC Berkeley. She is the author of In Their Names: Victims’ Rights, Mass Incarceration and the Future of Public Safety (The New Press, 2022).
Maha Jweied
CEO, Responsible Business Initiative for Justice
Maha Jweied is the CEO of the Responsible Business Initiative for Justice. She is an international expert on access to justice and has dedicated her career to advancing legal and policy reform to improve systems of justice.
Prior to joining RBIJ, Maha worked with several organizations that partner with the business community to advance access to justice policy and practice in the United States, Europe, and across the globe, including the National Legal Aid & Defender Association, Kids in Need of Defense, and the Pathfinders for Peaceful, Just and Inclusive Societies. She also spent nearly a dozen years in the federal Executive Branch and led the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office for Access to Justice and served as the Executive Director of the White House Legal Aid Interagency Roundtable. Maha also served as the U.S. Government’s Subject-Matter Expert for UN Sustainable Development Goal 16 indicator identification and development.
Micah Derry
Principal, Reality Public Affairs
Micah Derry is the principal and founder of Reality Public Affairs and leads the Board of Directors for The TAP Foundation. He has a proven track record advocating for sound public safety and criminal justice policies across the nation in red and purple states. With fifteen years of public and government affairs experience, Micah has served as a conservative consultant for some of the largest philanthropies in the nation on conservative philosophy, ideology, and policy solutions.
Previously Micah has served as President and CEO of The Adams Project and State Director for Americans for Prosperity in Ohio. During this time he grew to serve as a foremost right-of-center voice on criminal justice reform in Ohio with a focus on constitutional rights such as indigent defense, appropriate criminal sentencing, and pretrial detainments.
Micah's earlier experiences include serving as the Deputy Director of Policy & Legislative Affairs at the Ohio Treasurer of State, a Legislative Aide and committee clerk in the Ohio House. He still lives in Central Ohio where in his spare time he can be found either working for a 911 EMS system as an EMT or preparing for his next backpacking expedition to destinations unknown.
Michael McBride
Executive Director, Live Free USA
Rev. Michael McBride is the executive director for LIVE FREE USA, a national organizing and social change network committed to ending the criminalization of people of color, reducing gun violence and transforming the policing and the criminal justice system. He was named by the Center for American Progress as one of the Top Clergy Leaders in 2013 and served on President Obama's Faith Based and Neighborhood Partnerships Council to address Poverty and Inequality in 2016. He is one of the national leaders in the movement to implement public health gun violence prevention programs which have contributed in 30% reductions of gun related homicides in Oakland, Stockton, Richmond, Camden and many other cities across the country. He is the co-founder of Black Church PAC and the Black Brown Peace Consortium. Pastor McBride serves as the Lead Pastor of The Way Church in Berkeley, CA. He has been a frequent contributor to the New York Times, the Washington Post, MSNBC, CNN, the Huffington Post and many other media outlets.
Nicholas Turner
Director, President, Vera Institute of Justice
Nicholas Turner joined Vera as its fifth president and director in August 2013. He is the first
person of color to occupy the role. Under his leadership, Vera has committed itself to ending
overcriminalization and mass incarceration in the United States. Vera works to shrink jails and
prisons, elevate restoration and a commitment to human dignity, and redefine how public
safety is delivered, with greater investment in public health and community. Under Nick’s
leadership, Vera has focused its efforts on driving national change, tripled its budget, and
strengthened its policy advocacy and ability to shape public debate.
Recent major initiatives from Vera include a successful campaign to eliminate the ban on Pell
Grants for incarcerated students, creation of a multi-city network committed to providing
representation to immigrants facing deportation, a multi-city effort with prosecutors to reduce
racial disparities, and a network focused ending incarceration of girls.
Nick previously served at Vera from 1998 to 2007. During his first tenure, he guided the
expansion of Vera’s national work, launching and directing Vera’s state sentencing and
corrections program while supervising Vera’s domestic violence projects and the creation of its
youth justice program. As vice president and chief program officer, Nick was responsible for the
development and launch of the Prosecution and Racial Justice Program and the Commission on
Safety and Abuse in America’s Prisons.
Prior to re-joining Vera, Nick was a managing director at the Rockefeller Foundation, where he
was a member of the foundation’s senior leadership team. He provided leadership and strategic
direction on key initiatives, including transportation policy reform in the U.S. to promote social,
economic, and environmental interests, and redevelopment in New Orleans to advance racial
and socioeconomic integration.
Earlier in his legal career, Nick was an associate in the litigation department of Paul, Weiss,
Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison in New York from 1997 to 1998. He was a judicial clerk for the late
Honorable Jack B. Weinstein, United States District Judge in Brooklyn, from 1996 to 1997.
Before attending Yale Law School, he worked with court-involved, homeless and disconnected
young people at Sasha Bruce Youthwork, a Washington, DC youth services organization, from
1989 to 1993.
Nick is a current trustee for the Council on Criminal Justice; the Policy Academies, a nonprofit
dedicated to creating a pathway for BIPOC students into policy advocacy; and Vera Action,
Vera’s aligned 501(c)(4). He is chair of the Advisory Board of the Policing Project at NYU Law
and serves on the Leadership Advisory Council for the Tsai Leadership Program at Yale Law
School as well as the Independent Commission on New York City Criminal Justice and
Incarceration Reform. Nick also is on the Board of the Joyce Foundation in Chicago and serves
as member of their Finance Committee. Nick has previously served on the boards of Common
Justice, the National Council on Crime and Delinquency, Living Cities, Center for Working
Families, St. Christopher’s Inc., and the advisory council of the My Brother’s Keeper Alliance.
Noella Sudbury
CEO & Founder, Rasa Legal
Noella graduated from the University of Utah S.J. Quinney College of Law in 2009 and has already had a full and diverse career.
Following a clerkship for the Honorable Ronald Nehring of the Utah Supreme Court, she began her legal practice as a public defender, where she quickly developed a passion for criminal justice reform.
In 2016, Noella was appointed by the Salt Lake County Council as the Director of the Criminal Justice Advisory Council for the County, and in that role, led the successful bipartisan legislative campaign to pass Utah’s Clean Slate law--a new law that automates the criminal record expungement process for more than 450,000 Utahns.
Noella went on to found Clean Slate Utah, a non-profit to raise awareness of the automatic clearance law, and is the current CEO and Founder of Rasa Public Benefit Corporation, a new legal tech company that provides low-cost legal expungement services to people not eligible for automatic record clearance.
Noella has received several honors and awards for her public service, including being recognized as a Young Alumna of the Year, by the University of Utah S.J. Quinney College of Law, the 2019 Woman of the Year by Utah Business Magazine, and as a Pioneer of the National Clean Slate Movement, from the National Clean Slate Initiative.
In 2022, she was selected to receive the Distinguished Service Award by the Utah State Bar. In 2023, she was named by Inc. Magazine as one of the Top 200 most dynamic female founders in America.
Nyron Crawford
Associate Professor of Political Science, Temple University
Nyron N. Crawford, Ph.D., is Associate Professor of Political Science and Faculty Fellow in the Public Policy Lab (PPL) at Temple University. His research, teaching, and practice draw on political psychology to explore law and policy, especially as they relate to local and racialized public problems.
Patrick Purtill
Director of Legislative Affairs, Faith & Freedom Coalition
Patrick Purtill serves as the Director of Legislative Affairs at Faith & Freedom Coalition where he oversees all federal legislative, regulatory and amicus activities and coordinates the state-level policy activities of more than twenty independently incorporated affiliate nonprofit organizations. Patrick also serves as the Charles Evans Hughes Lecturer in Politics and Co-Director of the Washington Study Group at Colgate University. Previously, Patrick practiced law, advising corporations on formation, transactions, corporate governance, and regulatory compliance issues. He created and implemented a lobbyist compliance training and reporting system to better protect clients. He successfully defended a federal candidate’s equal access claim under The Communications Act creating a precedent clarifying the Commission’s de minimis exception and he drafted a U.S. Supreme Court amicus brief on the First Amendment rights of private corporations. In the George W. Bush Administration, he spent three years as Special Assistant to the Deputy Attorney General where he managed drafting and implementation of regulatory reforms and pilot grant programs and served on the Attorney General’s Prisoner Reentry Working Group, the President’s Prisoner Reentry Initiative Group, and the Strategic Management Council’s Subcommittee on Violent Crime and Gangs. He spent another two years in the Office of the U.S. Secretary of State as Director of New Partner Outreach for the Global AIDS Coordinator where he created and implemented the New Partners Initiative, a $200 million program coordinated across the Department of Health of Human Services, the U.S. Agency for International Development and the Department of State to support U.S. relationships with domestic and indigenous service and medical nonprofit organizations in 15 countries to deliver HIV/AIDS programming internationally. Additionally, Patrick has served as CEO of two Washington-based NGOs. As President and CEO of the National Council For Adoption, he coordinated relations with more than 100 corporate member agencies worldwide and worked with legislative and committee staff and coalitions to secure passage of the Adoption and Safe Families Act, the Adoption Tax Credit, the Multi-Ethnic Placement Act, and other legislation. As President and Executive Director of Washington Scholarship Fund, he oversaw a three-fold program expansion to support nearly 1,400 low-income Washington, D.C. children attending 125 private, parochial, and independent schools of their choice and coordinated a longitudinal program evaluation of Fund’s impact conducted by Harvard University. He has testified before the U.S. Congress and multiple state legislatures, been an NGO Representative to the Hague Conference on Private International Law and provided commentary on a host of public policy issues for national broadcasts and newspapers, including ABC’s World News Tonight, NBC’s Today Show, CNN, MSNBC, and USA Today, in addition to many regional and local broadcasts and newspapers. Patrick holds a J.D. from the College of William and Mary Law School, and Master’s and Bachelor’s degrees in political philosophy from the University of Dallas.
Philippe Andal
Rev. Dr., Congregations Organized for a New Connecticut
Rev. Philippe E. C. Andal, Ph.D. serves as the senior pastor of the Community Baptist Church
and as President of the Hananiah Community Foundation Corporation in New Haven,
Connecticut. Under his leadership, several ministries have been developed and re-organized to
meet the needs of a changing intergenerational and hybrid faith community in the heart of the
Newhallville neighborhood. With a heart for the community, Pastor Andal established a
partnership with Lincoln-Bassett Community School that provides for the social and learning
needs of 25 students and their families, a monthly grocery giveaway distributing over 2,000
pounds of food to 100+ families, and has raised significant funds to support disaster relief locally
and abroad.
Leading beyond the church, Dr. Andal serves as the Co-Chair of Congregations Organized for a
New Connecticut, an interfaith collective of 37 congregations representing over 30,000 people
who work together through building relational power to effect change for the common good on
the local, state, and national levels. Under his leadership, the CONECT has adopted an anti-
racist commitment, has doubled both membership dues and grant income, and continues to
lead in advancing a grassroots policy agenda on issues of equitable education funding, reducing
health care costs, affordable housing, and automatic expungement implementation.
Additionally, Dr. Andal serves as a member of Agora Strategy Council of the Dr. N. Joyce Payne
Center for Social Justice of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund, a nonprofit national think tank
and research center, rooted in the Black American community with the intent of convening
scholars, public policy leaders, social advocates, and solution-makers.
Dr. Andal earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Fisk University, a
Master of Divinity from Yale University, and a Doctor of Philosophy in Public Policy from
Southern University and A & M College. Additionally, he is a 2017 Fellow of Fellowships at
Auschwitz for the Study of Professional Ethics and completed a Certificate in Executive Church
Leadership from the Howard University School of Business. Dr. Andal holds appointments at
Yale Divinity School as Lecturer in Pastoral Leadership and Church Administration, founding
member of the Black Church Study Certificate Program Faculty Committee, and as a member of
the Alumni Board.
Reginald Darby
Federal Legislative Director, CSI
Reginald Darby is a seasoned government relations professional with over fifteen years of experience in the field and the US House of Representatives. Darby currently serves as the Federal Legislative Director at The Clean Slate Initiative. Darby will manage all aspects of the federal congressional lobbying and advocacy efforts in this role. He will also develop forward-thinking strategies to support policy objectives and craft federal policy proposals to advance CSI's goals. Darby has held the position of President and Chief Executive Officer of Rosewood Strategies, a Washington, DC-based government relations firm. In this role, he provided leadership for all aspects of the firm’s operations, emphasizing long-term goals, growth, profit, and return on investment. Darby also partnered with the executive leadership of the firm's clients to define the strategic direction of their policy and advocacy objectives, working to develop, grow, and maintain an influential position for his clients in Washington and across the nation, impacting federal and state public policy. Prior to founding Rosewood Strategies, Darby served as the Senior Director of Government Relations at Humanity Forward, where he worked closely with the Government Affairs team to initiate, manage, and coordinate outreach to federal policymakers in Congress and across the executive branch, working to ensure the administration and stakeholders on Capitol Hill viewed Humanity Forward as a resource when considering the development of legislation on issues surrounding direct cash relief and universal basic income. Reginald also actively identified and pursued opportunities to promote Humanity Forward's issues and surrogates, working with relevant teams to produce, promote, and develop legislative outreach and communication strategies. Previously, Darby has worked in the House leadership and with multiple members of Congress. Most recently, Darby was the Deputy Chief of Staff and Legislative Director for the Offices of Congressman Scott Taylor (R-VA) and Congressman W. Gregory Steube (R-FL).
Ryan Ewing
Campaign Strategist, CSI
Ryan is a Campaign Strategist at The Clean Slate Initiative, working directly with state campaign partners to pass and implement Clean Slate policies. Ryan is a long-time political organizer, spending the first decade of his career working for environmental causes, candidates and campaigns, building advocacy coalitions, and holding local elected office. After that, Ryan went back to school to earn his law degree and has been a practicing attorney for the past decade, serving as a public defender in multiple jurisdictions. Through his law practice, Ryan has seen firsthand what conviction and arrest records can do to the long-term prospects and well-being of those caught up in the legal system. For that reason, he is thrilled to be resuming work as a political advocate, working on clearing records and providing a Clean Slate to people at the wholesale level, rather than through a burdensome case-by-case basis. A native of Maryland’s Eastern Shore, Ryan now lives in Eastern Carolina with his wife and three children. He is a graduate of McDaniel College, The Graduate School of Political Management at The George Washington University, and University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law.
Samuel Sinyangwe
Data Scientist, CSI
Samuel Sinyangwe is a data scientist and policy analyst who built Mapping Police Violence and the Police Scorecard, and co-founded Campaign Zero, to advance data-driven solutions to end police violence in America. Previously, Sam worked at PolicyLink, where he worked to connect 61 federally-funded communities to research-based strategies to build cradle-to-career systems of support for low-income families. He has also helped city leaders, youth activists and community organizations develop citywide agendas to achieve quality education, health, and justice for young black men. Sam grew up in Orlando, FL, and has been involved in community organizing and advocacy since he was in high school. He graduated from Stanford University in 2012, where he studied how race and racism impact the U.S. political system.
Sarah Mae Jennings
Policy Director, Texas Fair Defense Project
Sarah Mae Jennings is the Policy Director at the Texas Fair Defense Project (TFDP), a statewide legal nonprofit fighting the criminalization of poverty in Texas. Sarah Mae joined TFDP as a Staff Attorney, building out TFDP’s criminal record clearing program and working with the Clean Slate Texas Coalition to advocate for policy changes to increase access to criminal record clearing in Texas. In 2021, Sarah Mae became TFDP’s Bono Program Director, training and supervising pro bono attorneys assisting low-income Texans in their communities with criminal record clearing and Class C misdemeanor cases; and recruiting pro bono attorneys to join TFDP in the fight to end the criminalization of poverty. In her current role of Policy Director, Sarah Mae advocates for state and local policy changes to fight the criminalization of poverty in Texas. Sarah Mae is an adjunct professor at her alma mater the University of Texas School of Law and faculty for the Texas Justice Courts Training Center. Before joining TFDP, Sarah Mae worked as a trial attorney at the Orleans Public Defenders, where she defended hundreds of clients from arrest through post-conviction. Sarah Mae is admitted to practice law in the State of Texas and in the State of Louisiana.
Scott Peyton
Regional Director, Right on Crime
SCOTT PEYTON is Right on Crime's Regional Director, and Louisiana and Mississippi state director. Prior to Right on Crime he worked in Adult Probation and Parole for nearly a decade. Peyton has witnessed firsthand the need for criminal justice reform, the impacts of rehabilitation and re-entry programs, and the inner workings of the Louisiana Probation and Parole system. He graduated from the University of Southwestern Louisiana with a BS in Criminal Justice, and LSU - Shreveport with a Master’s in Nonprofit Administration.
Sharon Dietrich
Litigation Director, Community Legal Services, Inc.
Ms. Dietrich has been an attorney with the Employment Unit of Community Legal Services, Philadelphia, since 1987. She became CLS’ Managing Attorney for Public Benefits and Employment in 1997, and its Litigation Director in 2014. A focus of Ms. Dietrich’s work has been issues involving the employment of people with criminal records.
Ms. Dietrich was one of the architects of Pennsylvania’s innovative Clean Slate law (Act 56 of 2018), which seals minor criminal records by automation. Almost 46 million cases have been sealed in Pennsylvania to date. She also was a leader in the campaign in Pennsylvania to expand Clean Slate to drug felonies. In addition to facilitating the legislation and implementation of Pennsylvania’s Clean Slate law, she speaks widely about automated sealing and provides technical assistance in other states looking to adopt and implement Clean Slate.
In addition, Ms. Dietrich has represented thousands of people who have been denied employment because of their criminal records. She founded CLS’s work in the National Record Clearing Project, to provide technical assistance nationwide for provision of expungement and sealing representation. She has litigated national class actions against background screeners and constitutional challenges of overbroad laws restricting work opportunities.
Ms. Dietrich received numerous awards for her work on Clean Slate, including from the National Legal Aid and Defender Association, the Pennsylvania Bar Association, and the Pennsylvania Legal Aid Network. She also has received awards from the Pennsylvania Prison Society (2002), the Philadelphia Bar Association (2005), the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania (2011), and the University of Pennsylvania Law School (2016).
Sheena Meade
CEO, CSI
Sheena Meade empowers the disenfranchised. She is a walking barrier breaker and one of America’s leading experts on legal system reform. As CEO of The Clean Slate Initiative (CSI), Sheena leads a national bipartisan organization to advance policy that automatically clears all eligible arrest and conviction records across the US. Sheena is boundless in her commitment to making change. Under Sheena’s leadership, The Clean Slate Initiative has helped pass legislation that provides a path for 6 million people to receive full or partial record clearance. In April of 2023, Sheena’s organization, CSI, received a landmark financial commitment through The Audacious Project, a donor collaborative housed at TED. The award supports the organization’s strategy to unlock opportunities for up to 14 million additional people in America and is an unprecedented investment in second chances. As part of the announcement from The Audacious Project, Sheena presented a TED talk at the TED2023 Conference in Vancouver, BC, where she shared her own experience of living with a record and CSI’s mission with a global audience. Request Sheena To Participate Or Speak At An Event Prior to becoming CEO of The Clean Slate Initiative, Sheena helped found Florida Rights Restoration Coalition (FRRC) as its first Organizing Director — along with wearing many other hats — and simultaneously took on the role of Senior Advisor to Second Chances Amendment 4 Florida Campaign. During this statewide, grassroots effort to return voting rights to people experiencing felony disenfranchisement, Sheena raised 15 million dollars, mobilized thousands of impacted families and supporters to get to the polls, trained hundreds of activists to engage within their communities on the issue of criminal justice, and brought together 800 faith congregations to support Amendment 4 efforts. Florida voters enthusiastically passed Amendment 4 in 2018, restoring voting rights to 1.4 million people. Sheena is regularly featured in media such as Ebony, CNN, PBS News, Newsweek, and more, as one of America’s most influential and dynamic nonprofit leaders, women empowerment experts, and the premier voice for criminal justice reform. Sheena currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Public Welfare Foundation and also sits on the boards of Live Free USA and the Florida Coalition on Black Civic Engagement. Over the course of her life, she has worked in communities around the country, channeling her passions and skill to advocate for those who need it most. She exemplifies bipartisanship by bringing together political notables to address critical issues related to justice. Her grassroots organizing savvy has led to successful voter registration drives around the country, including working with the likes of Lady Gaga, Ariana Grande, John Legend, and Roc Nation. Her own journey epitomizes resilience: from teenage mom and survivor of domestic violence to acclaimed executive, proud mother of five children, and half of one of America’s most dynamic power couples. Her husband, Desmond, shares his wife’s passion about criminal justice reform and voting rights. His organization, FRRC — an organization Sheena helped build — was recently nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize. Perhaps the greatest tool Sheena has in her arsenal is how she makes people feel. Whether it is someone who has fallen on hard times or a multimillionaire; she connects with them and leaves them feeling inspired. Ask Sheena about these accomplishments and her drive, her answer is simple: “I’m just Sheena.”
Tameshia Bridges Mansfield
Vice President, Workforce & Regional Economies Practice, Jobs for the Future
Tameshia Bridges Mansfield is vice president of the Workforce & Regional Economies practice. She oversees workforce development and future-of-work initiatives with an eye toward innovation and system transformation. She also oversees inclusive regional economic development. Her skills and areas of expertise include strategy development, fundraising, systems change, racial equity and justice analysis and practice, collaboration and community engagement. Tameshia is a co-chair of the board of the Clean Slate Initiative and a member of the boards of the Detroit Justice Center and the Chicago Jobs Council. She previously served as co-chair of Workforce Matters, where she was instrumental in the creation of the Racial Equity Framework for Workforce Funders.
Tony Gant
Co-Executive Director, Nation Outside
Antoniese (Tony) Gant is a passionate advocate for criminal legal system reform and
Co-Executive Director of Nation Outside, a grassroots organization in Michigan led by
formerly incarcerated individuals. With a wealth of personal experience, having spent 20
years in the Michigan Department of Corrections, Tony is dedicated to improving the
socio-economic success of justice-impacted individuals.
In his role, Tony leads statewide campaigns focused on fair chance housing laws, voting
access, clean slate laws, life and long sentences reform, and conditions of confinement
during the COVID-19 pandemic. He has successfully mobilized communities and individuals
to drive change and create impact in Michigan.
As a 2021 Leading with Conviction fellow with JustLeadershipUSA, a Board Director for the
Prison Creative Arts Program (PCAP), and Co-Chair for Region 7 OS Advisory Council, Tony is
actively involved in various initiatives that aim to empower and uplift directly impacted
communities. He is also a member of the leadership committee for the Voting Access for All
Coalition (VAAC).
In addition to his advocacy work, Tony is a dedicated father and author of Midnight
Whispers, His commitment to amplifying the voices of those affected by the criminal legal
system drives his power and movement building strategies, rooted in increasing civic
engagement and creating lasting change for marginalized individuals and communities.
Zoë Towns
Executive Director, FWD.us
Zoë Towns is the Executive Director of FWD.us. Zoë came to FWD.us to launch the organization's criminal justice reform work including defining its advocacy, policy, research, and philanthropic agenda. In her years at FWD.us, Zoë has overseen commutation, ballot, electoral, and legislative criminal justice reform campaigns in states across the country and at the federal level. Before joining FWD.us, Zoë was the Criminal Justice Project Director at the Pew Charitable Trusts where she collaborated with state leaders, administrators, practitioners and advocates on legislative reforms to reduce prison populations in Mississippi, Oregon, Utah, Louisiana, and elsewhere. Earlier in her career, Zoë was the inaugural director of The Bronx Freedom Fund, which housed a pioneering bail fund in the South Bronx providing relief to people facing criminal charges and a bond fund supporting immigrants in deportation proceedings. Zoë has a B.A. in ethnic studies and creative writing from Columbia University where she was Mellon Mays Undergraduate Research Fellow and a masters in criminal justice policy from King's College London where she was a Fulbright Scholar. Most recently, she was a Distinguished Teaching Fellow at Princeton University’s African American Studies Department. Zoë sits on the Advisory Boards of One for Justice, Recidiviz, and Center for Just Journalism, and on the Board of Directors for Civil Rights Corps.
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Location
Venue Name: Convene - CityView
Location: 30 S 17th St, Philadelphia, PA 19103
Registration
If you’d like to attend The Clean Slate Initiative’s 2024 Convening, you must register ahead of time.
There will be no on-site registration for this event.
Register today to join us in Philly this June!
“How to Convince Your Boss” Letter Template
Interested in coming to CSI’s 2024 Convening but need to convince your boss that the funds are worth spending? Check out this letter template below!
Dear [insert your boss’s name],
I would love to attend the Clean Slate Initiative’s 2024 Convening, taking place in Philadelphia, PA, on June 13-14. This is a unique opportunity to engage with people who play key roles in Clean Slate efforts across the country, including meeting with more directly impacted advocates who are at the center of this work.
I’ve selected this conference above others because I’m excited about the opportunities for networking, professional development, and advancing our organization’s work. [Insert specific skill(s) or program session(s) related to your role that you’re particularly excited about.]
The Clean Slate Initiative’s 2024 Convening is intentionally structured as an intimate space to foster networking and practical sessions for key takeaways. They have worked to ensure the conference is accessible and transformational. The cost for me to attend would be [insert current ticket price], plus [insert travel and lodging costs]. Overall, the Convening is a key opportunity to connect, learn, and grow our part in the Clean Slate movement, and I would greatly appreciate the opportunity to attend.
Thank you for your consideration,
[Your name]
