About UsAbout Us
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Marcus Jackson, ACLU Kentucky, Smart Justice Advocates
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Mission + VIsonMission + Vision
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Alabama Justice Initiative
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The Just Trust is part of a larger story, one forged by decades of advocates championing justice reform.

By scaling, aligning, and deploying funding to the field, we accelerate their momentum—from watershed legislative victories to the generations-long battles that change perceptions—across every corner of the country.

Our criminal justice system has devastated generations of families and entire communities in America. To watch without responding is not an option. People across the nation are advocating for a more just and compassionate engine of public safety for all—one where we hold each other to account, treat each other with dignity, and where the strength of our communities keep people safe. We CAN and MUST tackle the incarceration crisis and public safety side by side.

Theory of ChangeTheory of Change
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VOTE
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This is long-game work, requiring sustained investment across the full ecosystem for change. The heart of our big tent approach focuses on building a strong advocacy infrastructure for criminal justice reform in all 50 states, alongside a complementary national strategy that weaves it all together.

Organizations need to be durable, so they can weather the tough times, ride waves of momentum, take action on issues that matter in their communities (whatever they may be) and continue to engage and persuade lawmakers to keep reform top of mind, for good.

With a thriving advocacy field, we can layer on resources for media and narrative work, discrete campaign moments, rapid response dollars, and funds for advocates to learn together, convene and strategize. It’s not one or the other. It’s all of the above.

Funding Vehicles

The Just Trust funds and collaborates across political spectrums and state lines to advance the hard work of advocates, build creative alliances, center the work of directly-impacted individuals, and sustain the calls for reform among the mainstream. We offer both 501(c)(3) and 501(c)(4) funding for a flexible, dual pronged approach.

501(c)(3) – The Just Trust for Education

The Just Trust for Education is a 501(c)(3) organization that funds a breadth of criminal justice reform advocacy and educational work.

We offer a range of general operating and project grant types, with a focus on multi-year commitments that serve as a stabilizing force for organizations. We also always encourage our (c)(3) partners to come back to us with (c)(4) opportunities for a nimble, multi-layered approach.

The Just Trust for Education

501(c)(4) – The Just Trust for Action

The Just Trust for Action is a fully independent 501(c)(4) organization that funds legislative and other advocacy work.

This space has historically had a dearth of (c)(4) resources which has held back significant progress on these issues and has had a grave human cost. The majority of real, measurable change in criminal justice reform comes from advancing policy and practice together. That’s why we’re making sure that leaders in the field can engage in robust advocacy, which requires robust 501(c)(4) resources—it’s that simple

News from The Just Trust for Action
Our TeamPhoto of The Just Trust CEO speaking at a conferencePhoto of The Just Trust CEO speaking at a business conference
Ana Zamora

Chief Executive Officer

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Ana Zamora

Until I crossed over into philanthropy in 2018, I spent my career fighting on the front lines of criminal justice reform—as an organizer, advocate, and campaigner. I’ve been in the trenches of this work when we lost way more than we won. I know the deep, painful sting of losing a major campaign that you’ve thrown your whole heart into. I also know what it feels like to be part of progress. It’s these experiences that built my advocacy chops and taught me that the pathway to real change is crooked, rife with setbacks, and that no map exists to help you traverse it.

My journey began in an administrative role with the California Appellate Project, an organization that provides legal services to people in California facing execution. There I learned about the harm and stigma that our punitive, unforgiving system has on communities and families, including my own. I then spent the next ten years working at the ACLU, ultimately as director of criminal justice reform. Using integrated advocacy, I worked to advance issues including sentencing reform, reducing use of the death penalty, legislative and administrative reforms around wrongful convictions, and greater prosecutorial accountability through voter education and engagement. During these years, I also served in leadership roles in two California ballot measures: as Deputy Campaign Manager for Yes on 34 in 2012 and as Campaign Manager for No on 66 in 2016. And I launched the first ever statewide prosecutor accountability campaign, simply called: “Meet Your DA.”

In my advocacy life, I was deeply frustrated with the extreme lack of resources in our movement—especially for organizations with directly impacted leaders. I saw philanthropy as a critical unlock and eventually moved into a new role as director of criminal justice reform at the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI), which became one of the largest funders of frontline criminal justice reform work in the country—a $143 million portfolio in just under three years. My team at CZI backed key wins like Measure 110 in Oregon to decriminalize all drug possession; helped defeat Proposition 20 in California, which sought to roll back key justice reforms; funded the Clean Slate Initiative, supporting record-clearing policies for millions of people in Pennsylvania, Utah, Michigan, and other states; and, importantly, supported countless reform and organizing efforts led by directly impacted groups, in states often passed over like West Virginia, Kentucky, and North Carolina.

In my personal life, I am proud to serve on the Board of Directors of Openhouse in San Francisco, which serves LGBTQ+ seniors. It’s an honor and a privilege to now lead The Just Trust—where I get to wear all of my hats and channel the stings of losses, the glory of wins, and the hope that I feel from across this powerful, diverse, ever-evolving fight for justice, safety, and wellbeing.

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Annette Holmes

Vice President of Finance & Operations

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Annette Holmes

As a Southern-raised person of color, I have seen the beauty within my community and felt the pain toward it as well. I have personally seen many strokes of criminal injustice plague my family, from childhood to adulthood. As a child, my entrepreneur parents always instilled a need for education and business savvy. So I went to school for business administration with a concentration in accounting at Howard University. After graduating, I went into corporate accounting at Stewart Title Guaranty headquarters and worked my way up to Senior Accountant. While there, I developed an appreciation of financial reporting and internal audit controls. Yet, I felt that my profession was misaligned with my passion for social justice, which I was starting to explore through volunteerism.

By expanding my social lens, I learned more about inequities within the community. So I transitioned into the social sector focusing on education reform, as education had given me so many opportunities. In 2014, I applied for the Education Pioneers Fellowship, which connects analysts with a full-time work placement within an education organization to lead or support strategic, analytically driven work. I was selected from thousands of top graduate students and professionals to work with Tennessee SCORE, one of the largest education advocacy organizations in the state. I collaborated with the executive team on critical grant compliance, internal audit, budgeting, and business administration functionalities to drive continued organizational growth. After my fellowship, I continued my commitment to education reform by joining New Teacher Center, where I further honed my skills and engaged with and advised the senior management for six years.

The pandemic reawakened my passion for criminal justice reform. Even though I had volunteered with organizations spanning from Big Brother Big Sister, YMCA, Child Advocates, and United Way in programs that supported social and criminal justice reform, it was not enough for me. I wanted to be a part of an organization at the forefront of transforming the criminal justice system. The mission of The Just Trust aligns with my life’s purpose and passion that life as a whole should be equitable in justice, health, education, and economic opportunity regardless of status or color. So as a dedicated servant to equity and justice, I bring my background in business administration, accounting, financial planning and analysis, and operational oversight to The Just Trust with the desire to provide the infrastructure support needed for this organization to soar in its groundbreaking mission.

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Heather Moore

Grants Manager

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Heather Moore

I’ve always believed in the power of philanthropy and grantmaking to bring about positive change – to support work that transforms systems and improves real peoples’ lives. That’s why I’m so honored to bring my background in grantmaking operations and impact, along with my studies in community development, restorative justice, and public interest law, to the fight for criminal justice reform, and for safer, stronger communities.

Before joining The Just Trust, I spent more than a decade learning the ins and outs of grant lifecycle administration in the fields of education, public health, and health research. At the Philadelphia Youth Network, I focused on grants supporting youth workforce development. I then managed federal, state, and city grants funding public health initiatives at the Fund for Public Health in New York City. From there, I went on to lead grants management operations at the Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation and the Parkinson’s Foundation.

Work across these fields has taught me that grantmaking is most effective when it is strategic and trust-based. The Just Trust and its partners embody this approach, and I am so proud to be a part of this mission.

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James Gore

Senior Program Officer

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James Gore

My journey into this work began the summer between my junior and senior year of high school. I participated in a summer program focused on the intersection of identity and how society and systems conspire to sort people in positions of power and privilege. This experience created the seed for my life’s work, which has focused on interrupting the conscious and unconscious dynamics that prevent our collective selves from accessing opportunities to become our best humans. I believe that the structures of our criminal justice system prevent both people and communities from achieving the freedom that our nation says it promises.

Before the Just Trust, I served on the program team at the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation (ZSR) supporting grantmaking in areas of criminal justice reform, economic justice, LGBTQIA+ inclusion, immigrant rights, reproductive justice, and racial equity. I supported ZSR’s sabbatical
program and launched a nonprofit internship program aimed at increasing the racial and ethnic diversity of the nonprofit sector by providing paid internships. I also spearheaded the creation of an endowed scholarship fund in memory of Darryl Hunt, a wrongfully convicted Black man who spent nearly 20 years in prison. Prior to ZSR, I worked at One Economy Corporation providing strategies to rural communities on broadband adoption. I began my career in philanthropy at the Winston-Salem Foundation serving in various roles, including launching the Black Philanthropy Initiative aimed at increasing the voices of African Americans in the field. I graduated from Yale College with a B.A. in political science and am now pursuing an M.P.A. at UNC Charlotte.

In my personal life, I am a doting father to my kids Dial Jean and Ellington, avid and unrequited fan of the Cleveland Browns and Cleveland Guardians, sometimes golfer and homebrewer, and aspiring cook. I am honored to be a part of the Just Trust team to focus more deeply and intently on critical criminal justice reform issues.

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Jenna LeDoux

Vice President of Brand & Communications

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Jenna LeDoux

Sometimes you find the work, and sometimes the work finds you. In my case, the latter is true. My career thus far has been a tour of systems change, working in the agricultural sector, sustainable and ethical production, immigration reform, housing affordability, and criminal justice reform. Each experience guided me to the next, and taught me not only about the deep intersectionality of our most pressing issues, but also about the critical role that story and narrative can/must play in shifting both policy and practice.

Prior to joining The Just Trust, I led communications for the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative’s Justice & Opportunity portfolio, covering numerous issue areas in addition to criminal justice reform. I’m proud to have led strategic communications for the organization’s 501(c)3 and 501(c)4 investments — from major ballot measure campaigns to state-based legislative efforts. I also helped launch one of CZI’s first news media grants portfolio.

After graduating from the University of California, Berkeley, with a degree in international peace and conflict studies, I spent time working with public relations and communications firms before eventually joining the Oakland-based nonprofit Fair Trade USA. In addition to managing internal and external communications, I worked on numerous national brand campaigns — with integrated grassroots efforts — to increase consumer awareness of and demand for responsibly made goods. I had the honor of collaborating with leaders like Patagonia, Athleta, Whole Foods Market, Kroger, PepsiCo, Ben & Jerry’s, and many other brands to launch and promote ethical products, and to center the voices of those closest to the issues — the farmers, workers, and fishermen themselves.

Now, the gravitational pull I feel toward criminal justice reform comes from a hard truth I’ve come to understand deeply — that when people fall through the cracks of our other systems, the criminal justice system is always there to catch them. I hope that my experience leading brand and communications work across social justice fields, including movement building and policy efforts, can help to change this.

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Jolene Forman

Chief Program Officer

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Jolene Forman

Through my early career experiences, I learned firsthand about the inequities, harms, and failures of our criminal justice system. As the founding director of a reentry program in Santa Cruz County—while simultaneously working in a leadership role at a local syringe exchange program—I saw people cycle through the syringe exchange right into the jails, without the opportunity to access housing, healthcare, treatment, or other services.

I witnessed the justice system further harm individuals, their families, and their communities by treating public health and poverty-related issues as crimes.
These experiences compelled me to pursue a career reforming our criminal laws.

Prior to joining The Just Trust, I was the criminal justice policy director at the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. I’ve also held roles at the Drug Policy Alliance (DPA) and the ACLU. At the DPA, I directed the organization’s national marijuana policy work; played a key role in the Prop 64 campaign to legalize marijuana and reduce criminal penalties; authored several pieces of legislation across multiple states; and drafted numerous amicus briefs challenging the application of draconian criminal laws. While at the ACLU, I managed then Lt. Governor Gavin Newsom’s Blue Ribbon Commission on Marijuana Policy in California, and worked extensively on the Prop 47 campaign to reduce several drug and property-related felonies to misdemeanors.

I earned my J.D. from UC Berkeley School of Law and M.Sc. in criminal justice policy from the London School of Economics and Political Science. I’ve authored several reports on the criminal legal system, and co-authored two law review articles. Much of this work has been cited in media outlets like The New York Times, The Economist, The Atlantic, The Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, CNN, USA Today, and Reuters. In my free time, I’ve spent nearly a decade as a restorative justice practitioner inside San Quentin State Prison, and I currently sit on the board of Esq. Apprentice.

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Kyle Cornforth

Managing Director

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Kyle Cornforth

I operate with the foundational belief that everyone deserves to be treated with dignity, have agency over their lives, and be seen, heard, and valued, no matter what. This is a huge part of why I have dedicated my professional life to systems change in education, the food system, and inside organizations. After two decades in the social change sector, I’ve realized that my gifts in facilitation, organizational development, and coaching emerging leaders are critical to helping align internal work with an external vision for the world. I am a trained anti-racism facilitator and trainer, and I bring the belief that systems and structures can either help us move more effectively towards our shared goals or actively work against us. 

Prior to joining The Just Trust I was the Executive Director of Maker Ed, an organization committed to transforming education with project-based, culturally competent pedagogy. Before that I was Managing Director of the Edible School Project for almost two decades, where I supported Alice Waters and oversaw major partnerships, curriculum development, and strategic growth. I advised on USDA policy for school food, and built a globally renowned professional development for educators integrating food and environmental justice into the math, science, and history curriculum.   

In my personal capacity I serve on the boards of The Field Semester and Acta Non Verba. I live in Oakland with my wife, two children, our dog and 10 chickens. My family has been personally impacted by a criminal legal system that does not actively deliver on justice, and I hope that my contributions to the internal systems and structures at The Just Trust can help our team meet our ambitious goals. We are cooking, playing, building community and doing our best to live with joy and justice at the forefront of each day.

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Matt Boitano

Investment Partnerships Manager

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Matt Boitano

Growing up in East Oakland, I experienced firsthand the genius, beauty and strength of a diverse community—as well as the consequences of underinvestment and systemic inequity which prevented my community from truly thriving. My father, a newspaper reporter and editor, instilled in me a duty to educate myself on current events and politics, and my mother, a nurse practitioner, taught me the importance of individual health and showed how that affects the health of a community.

Such an upbringing shaped my understanding of our world as simultaneously full of injustice and full of opportunity. In 2017, that understanding was confirmed as I got the opportunity to visit San Quentin state prison in the Bay Area. That experience changed my life, as I saw our current criminal justice system up close, from the horror of the gas chamber previously used for executions, to the cramped and degrading conditions for the men incarcerated there. Beyond touring the facility, our team was able to sit in a small circle and speak openly and honestly with several of the men. After just a few minutes, all of my preconceived notions disappeared as I witnessed their brilliance, humility, and humanity as we got to know each other, and my resolve deepened to fix our broken justice system.

Professionally, I have instinctively gravitated towards opportunities to enact systems change which create justice and opportunity for the most vulnerable in our community. Before arriving at The Just Trust, my journey has taken me to Code For America, Hack The Hood, Mindful Life Project and Dream Corps, where I have had the privilege to work with some truly transformational philanthropic partners including the Knight Foundation, Omidyar Network, the Ford Foundation, Google.org, and the Bezos Earth Fund.

I graduated Magna Cum Laude from University of California, Santa Cruz with a degree in Politics (Highest Honors In The Major). I currently live in Sacramento, California with my incredible wife Sarah and two troublemaking kids Lincoln and Vera, and enjoy soccer, hiking, podcasts, salmiakki, and chess.

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Neha Raval

Program Officer

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Neha Raval

As a daughter of immigrants, my passion for public health equity and violence prevention is rooted in my experience of seeing firsthand how health disparities are linked to access to social systems such as education, employment, and housing. Early in my career, while working with South Asian domestic violence survivors and developing anti-trafficking programs in Eastern Europe, I first recognized violence as a public health issue. I also learned that lasting change on the ground is not possible without the leadership of movement builders and advocates, a belief I still hold today.

Prior to The Just Trust, I worked in policy research and analysis and philanthropy. At Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health, where I designed research and policy analysis in partnership with communities around the globe, I managed a project that looked at the increase in violence against women and girls during the COVID-19 pandemic and created tools for advocates. I also advanced research initiatives focused on reproductive justice, maternal and child health, and Title X, using a racial and gender justice lens.

My philanthropy experience is rooted in grassroots social change and a desire to understand how organizations are resourced. While at The Global Fund for Children, I worked with brilliant leaders in Washington, DC, who led literacy initiatives for incarcerated youth and helped decrease recidivism rates. I also partnered with indigenous leaders in New Mexico who brought traditional healing practices to systems-impacted youth. At The New York Women’s Foundation, I led the Initiative Against Sex Trafficking of Minors and built strategy to advance the power and voices of survivors of trafficking and sexual exploitation, especially those that encountered the criminal justice system. And at Frontline Solutions, I supported The Baltimore Children & Youth Fund, a public fund centered in racial equity, intergenerational leadership, community ownership, and collective decision-making. I have an M.A. in international peace and conflict resolution from American University and B.A. in sociology and gender studies from Rutgers University.

Through these experiences, I have learned that when we invest in our neighborhoods, and when systems-impacted individuals and families have the option to heal and grow, our communities are safer and healthier. It is an honor and privilege to build relationships with movement leaders and advocates and those most affected by our unjust systems. I look forward to standing alongside The Just Trust’s partners as we work for justice reform.

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Nicole Boucher

Chief Strategy Officer

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Nicole Boucher

My heart, spirit, and mindset are that of an organizer. It shows up in every facet of my life—from gathering my community for some family style lomi salmon, palusami, and my Grandpa’s sapasui (that’s Samoan chop suey if you don’t know!), to organizing bike camping adventures with fellow cyclists, to partnering with donors and philanthropic institutions to bring resources to scale for power builders—inspiring and aligning others to come together, break bread, and make change is one of my greatest joys.

I have a ferocious belief in the power of organizing and movement building—I saw early on in my career that the most brilliant problem solvers were the organizers, coalition leaders, storytellers, and practitioners closest to the challenges, but unfortunately, they almost always lacked the resources and capacity to scale their programs, run their organizations, and have the impact that I and they knew was possible. That’s why I have committed my career to strengthening movements by organizing resources amongst a broad constellation of committed philanthropic funding partners, supporting the development of movement leaders, and cultivating high-impact teams.

As the former vice president of Way to Win, I worked on the larger landscape of partnerships to strengthen and create the infrastructure needed to advance transformative policy and build lasting power in the pro-democracy sector. This work resulted in over $150 million to state and national organizations in the 2020 election cycle. Prior to Way to Win, I was the co-executive director of the California Donor Table, where I worked with a broad base of funders, political donors, labor leaders, practitioners, and state and local community leaders to invest in and support the civic engagement and electoral priorities of California’s new majority communities. Before entering the philanthropic sector, I contributed to the growth and sustainability of a number of organizations focused on racial, social, and economic equity, from Rockwood Leadership Institute to PolicyLink.

I have an ardent commitment to building more just systems in America, and I have seen firsthand the injustices of the criminal legal system and the disproportionate impacts on my community. That’s what brings me to The Just Trust, and why, in my personal capacity, I serve on the boards of Color of Change PAC and Tides Advocacy Fund, and serve as a brain trust member of the Democracy Frontlines Fund, housed at The Libra Foundation. I am thrilled to lead the strategy and operations and contribute to the growth and trajectory of The Just Trust—a place where I can continue to bring the best of my organizer heart, spirit, and mindset.

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Rebecca Greenberg

Program Officer

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Rebecca Greenberg

I grew up in a family committed to service and giving back to our community, but it wasn’t until I landed at The Bronx Defenders as a new attorney that I saw and experienced first-hand the structural inequity and dehumanization of the Criminal Justice System. Until then, my work had focused primarily on housing, public benefits, and other social safety net challenges for New York City’s poor and low-income communities. I understood intellectually how systems of oppression are created and perpetuated, but my time in the Bronx completely transformed me and my understanding of justice in this country.

As an active member of the criminal and housing justice movements in New York City from 2008-2018, I worked with diverse stakeholders across aisles and party lines including judges, organizers, attorneys, volunteers, and policy-makers. First as a supervising attorney at The Bronx Defenders, and later as Deputy Director at Brooklyn Legal Services’ Tenant Rights Coalition, I worked in partnership with local organizations and elected officials, and supported system-impacted communities to cultivate local leadership, engage in collaborative campaigns to reimagine public safety, and identify opportunities for coalition building with unlikely partners.

For the last four years, I worked with the Solidago Foundation as a Senior Program Officer, leading the foundation’s work to strengthen and support the local, state, and national infrastructure needed to build thriving, equitable, and just communities. Mobilizing resources of Solidago’s affiliated foundations, I created complementary and aligned strategies towards building independent political power rooted in Black, Latinx, Indigenous, AAPI, and other communities of color and low-income communities.

I graduated from the City University of New York School of Law and McGill University. Before law school, and in a former life, I worked for a local non-profit in the Yucatan, Mexico, leading bird-watching expeditions, and other community-based education programs. I currently live in Western Massachusetts with my husband and two daughters

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Silas Horst

Program Manager

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Silas Horst

I came to this work entirely by accident—I was lucky enough to be exposed to the desperate need for justice reform in the US in my first job after graduating, and now it’s the only thing I can see myself working on. I graduated from Ashland University in Ohio, and immediately moved to Washington D.C. looking to make a difference.

I’ve been incredibly lucky to experience, and influence in particular, the growing understanding among the American business community that more has to be done to rectify our broken systems of justice. I served as Public Policy Director at Koch Industries, as well as working on state-based campaigns at the Responsible Business Initiative for Justice.

I’m also humbled to serve on the Board of the 6th Amendment Center, where I’ve garnered a deep understanding of all the ways our justice systems fail to uphold constitutional due process rights. I live and work in Boston, my adopted home, with my family.

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Photo of The Just Trust's board membersBoard of Directors, The Just Trust for Education
Priscilla Chan

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Priscilla Chan

Priscilla is the Co-Founder and Co-CEO of the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI), a philanthropic organization she started with her husband, Mark Zuckerberg, in December 2015.

CZI is a new kind of philanthropy that’s leveraging technology to help solve some of the world’s toughest challenges—from eradicating disease, to improving education, to reforming the criminal justice system. As a pediatrician and former teacher, Priscilla’s work with patients and students in communities across the Bay Area has informed her desire to make learning more personalized, find new paths to manage and cure disease, and expand opportunity for more people. She is also the founder of The Primary School, which integrates health and education and serves children and families in East Palo Alto and the Belle Haven neighborhood in Menlo Park, California. Priscilla earned her BA in Biology at Harvard University and her MD at University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). She completed her pediatrics training in the UCSF/PLUS Pediatrics Residency.

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Brian Hooks

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Brian Hooks

Brian is chairman and CEO of Stand Together, a philanthropic community that works with more than 700 business leaders and philanthropists to empower people to realize their unique potential and help every person rise.

Stand Together’s comprehensive approach to addressing the country’s biggest challenges includes support for more than 1,000 professors at over 300 universities, tens of thousands of K-12 teachers, more than 200 community-based organizations addressing persistent poverty, and millions of grassroots activists working to improve public policy, including in the area of criminal justice. Brian is also president of the Charles Koch Foundation and the Charles Koch Institute. Previously, he served as executive director and COO of the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, where he led strategy and operations for a growing research, education, and public policy center. He is co-author with Charles Koch of the book, Believe in People: Bottom-Up Solutions for a Top-Down World, a national bestseller published in November 2020 by St. Martin’s Press. Brian was also named to the 2021 TIME100 Next list, featuring leaders who are shaping the future of their fields. Brian serves on the boards of the Mercatus Center, Institute for Humane Studies, and Reason Foundation.

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Candice C. Jones

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Candice C. Jones

Candice is the President and CEO of the Public Welfare Foundation, a private national foundation. Under Jones’ leadership, the Foundation invests in criminal justice and juvenile justice solutions.

Previously, she served as Senior Advisor at Chicago CRED, an organization that focuses on gun violence in Chicago, and also served as Director of the Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice, a cabinet-level state agency where she supervised operations, programming, budget matters, and communications. During her tenure there, she pushed significant reforms that reduced the number of youth in state custody. Candice has also served as a White House Fellow within the U.S. Department of Education where she guided a plan to reinstate federal Pell grants for youth and adults in custody. And prior, Candice served as a program officer with the MacArthur Foundation, where she managed a grant portfolio focused on decreasing racial and ethnic disparities in the juvenile justice system and on improving the quality of defense for indigent youth. She currently serves on the board of Cabrini Green Legal Aid, a Chicago-based civil legal service organization.

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Board of Directors, The Just Trust for Action
Jenny Kim

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Jenny Kim

Jenny is a Partner at The Gober Group.

With expert knowledge in lobbying laws, government ethics and conflict of interest laws, campaign finance laws, and tax-exempt laws at the U.S. federal, state, and local levels of government, at The Gober Group, Jenny advises corporations, non-profit organizations, political organizations, and business associations in their efforts to impact public policy and the political process. For over two decades, she has developed a reputation for successfully collaborating with institutional and individual clients to develop and implement legal strategies that achieve public policy and political objectives while mitigating and managing risk.

Prior to joining The Gober Group, Jenny served as vice president of operations and general counsel at the Philanthropy Roundtable. Previously, Jenny served as the deputy general counsel, political law and vice president of public policy at Koch Industries, one of the largest private companies in America.  At Koch Industries, she led and oversaw political law compliance for United States, Canada, and the European Union, and led the criminal justice reform portfolio, resulting in passage of the First Step Act. As a part of leading the criminal justice reform portfolio at Koch Industries, she also collaborated with businesses, policymakers, non-profits, and academics to reduce overcriminalization, build effective and holistic reentry programs, and increase second chance hiring. She believes in criminal justice reform because everyone has a dream and potential.

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Kevin Madden

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Kevin Madden

Kevin Madden is Senior Partner at Penta, helping lead the firm’s integration of strategic advisory, advocacy, communications, and issue management capabilities for clients around the globe.

Prior to Penta, Kevin was Executive Vice President at Arnold Ventures, where he helped build and implement advocacy teams and strategies for one of the country’s leading philanthropies, achieving major policy reforms at the federal, state, and local levels.

Kevin also previously served as a partner at Hamilton Place Strategies, leading the firm’s design and management of comprehensive public affairs campaigns while working with CEOs and their executive teams. Kevin served as the firm’s lead strategist for several national policy reform coalitions and major corporate M&A campaigns and worked with leading philanthropic and non-profit organizations to develop and implement their advocacy capabilities.

Kevin served as a senior strategist and spokesman on three presidential campaigns, most notably the Romney for President campaign in 2012. In addition to his national campaign experience, Kevin was a top congressional leadership staffer in the U.S. House of Representatives, serving as spokesman and communications strategist in the Office of the House Majority Leader. Kevin also served as Deputy Director of Public Affairs and national spokesman for the Department of Justice.

Kevin’s experience as a frequent guest on national and international news outlets has earned him a reputation as a sought-after media strategist and crisis communications manager. He also served as an on-air contributor to CNN from 2013 to 2019.

Kevin is a native of New York and earned a degree from the State University of New York at Cortland. He has been a frequent guest lecturer on advocacy and communications strategy at Georgetown University, American University, and the National War College.

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David Plouffe

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David Plouffe

David has been a successful leader across sectors as a top executive in politics, government, technology, and philanthropy.

After running President Obama’s two presidential campaigns, Plouffe largely became known for revolutionizing how presidential campaigns are run. And won. As Senior Advisor to President Obama in the White House, he was at the center of the debate on the key issues now facing our country, from tax and entitlement reform to health care and immigration reform to foreign policy challenges. In recent years, Plouffe served as a top executive at Uber, negotiating ride-sharing laws with dozens of countries, and was an early strategic advisor to the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. He is the author of two New York Times best-selling books and currently hosts as a political analyst for NBC news.

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