Women’s History Month: Spotlighting Women Who Lead on Legal System Reform Efforts
Today is International Women’s Day, an annual moment to deeply reflect on women's contributions to shaping our lives, communities, and country.
On a personal level, I think about the women who have supported and lifted me up through my life’s journey: my mom, my sister, my daughter, my friends, and my mentors, to name a few. On a larger scale, I think about women I’ve met throughout my career who have impacted countless lives by doing good work that makes a difference — particularly those in the fight to reform America’s legal system.
There is no limit to the number of women who have contributed to reforming our nation’s legal system, but there are a handful that I’ve met along the way who bring the razzle and the dazzle to their work — and have made waves in the world of second chances, redemption, and breaking barriers for justice-involved women. I encourage you to learn more about each of the women highlighted below and to find a way to uplift the women in your own life or line of work who deserve some flowers, too.
Dr. Topeka K. Sam
Dr. Topeka K. Sam founded The Ladies of Hope Ministries (LOHM), an organization that offers resources and support to end the poverty crisis and the incarceration of women and girls.
In addition to her work at The LOHM, Dr. Sam is the Founder and President of several other start-ups and serves on the board of directors for The Marshall Project, Operation Restoration, Pure Legace, and United Justice Coalition. She is also a strategic advisor for the Responsible Business Justice Initiative and The Health and Reentry Project. She is also system-impacted.
Since Dr. Sam’s involvement with the legal system, she has dedicated her life to the fight for the dignity, decriminalization, and decarceration of women and girls. She also places an intentional emphasis on creating spaces where women can use their own voices and power to make a difference in their lives, their families, and their communities.
“I don’t look at myself as a voice for the voiceless, I create these platforms so all women can use their voice. When you give a woman a voice, and when you give a woman a chance, you’re changing the world.” — Dr. Topeka K. Sam
Susan Burton
Susan Burton founded A New Way of Life (ANWOL) Reentry Project, a nonprofit that provides resources such as housing, case management, employment, legal services, leadership development, community organizing, and more.
Ms. Burton is a leader and an outspoken voice in the movement to end mass incarceration and reform the legal system — and after nearly 20 years spent in and out of prisons, she knows first-hand the importance of that work. Now, she dedicates her life to breaking the cycle of incarceration and fighting to ensure that others have access to the resources they need to remain out of prison — resources that weren’t available to Ms. Burton when she needed them.
Ms. Burton believes in the power of storytelling to change hearts and minds and talked about how stories can make a difference in her memoir, Becoming Ms. Burton.
“Research suggests that people rarely change their minds or form a new worldview based on facts or data alone; it is through stories (and the values systems embedded within them) that we come to reinterpret the world and develop empathy and compassion for others.” — Susan Burton
Celia Ouellette
Ms. Ouellette founded the Responsible Business Initiative for Justice (RBIJ), an organization that works within the business sector to champion solutions that promote public safety, deliver justice, and strengthen communities.
Ms. Ouellette has a long history of fighting for people involved with the legal system. Early in her career, she was a staff attorney at a UK Human rights charity, Reprieve, and in 2015, she founded The Powell Project, an organization designed to empower and equip trial teams in death penalty cases. Her experience as a death penalty defense lawyer and her dedication to representing and fighting for those most disadvantaged by our legal system are driving forces behind RBIJ’s success in bringing the business world into the fight for legal system reform.
“I spent the majority of my career working on death penalty cases, and while fighting these, I realized that we needed to do more than just save people one by one — we had to fix the system.” — Celia Ouellette
Amanda Renteria
Amanda Renteria is the CEO of Code for America (CfA), a nonprofit organization that helped launch the civic tech ecosystem. CfA works with community organizations and the government to build digital tools and services, change policies, and improve programs, and they’ve been a partner in the Clean Slate work since the start.
Before CfA, Ms. Renteria was the Chief of Operations for one of the largest Justice Departments in the country, the National Political Director during the 2016 United States Presidential Campaign for Secretary Clinton, and a Chief of Staff in the United States Senate, where she worked for nearly a decade, becoming the first Latina Chief of Staff in the history of the U.S. Senate.
Ms. Renteria’s work at the helm of CfA has been a driving force for Clean Slate’s success nationwide.
“We need to get back to a place where people believe government can do things.” — Amanda Renteria
Nan Gibson
Nan Gibson is the Executive Director for Second Chance, Economic Security Net, and Careers & Skills at the JPMorgan Chase PolicyCenter. In this role, she works to develop and advance evidence-based policy solutions, including Clean Slate.
She previously served as Chief of Staff and Executive Director for the President’s Council of Economic Advisers during the Obama Administration and as Executive Director of the Joint Economic Committee of the U.S. Congress. Prior to public service, Ms. Gibson was a senior leader and communications strategist at the Economic Policy Institute, a leading think tank that researches American living standards.
Ms. Gibson has been a key relationship-builder between Clean Slate and the business community, garnering support for second chances across America. She also champions second-chance hiring in the corporate sector: she developed the strategic framework and co-leads the recruitment and programmatic work of the Second Chance Business Coalition, a group of more than 40 large companies committed to implementing second-chance employment practices and advancement strategies.
“JPMorgan Chase believes that if you have paid your debt to society, you should be allowed to work in order to create a better future for yourself. Instead, justice-involved individuals often face barriers to employment and economic opportunity, costing the U.S. economy about $80 billion annually.” — Nan Gibson
Lenore Anderson
Lenore Anderson is the co-founder and President of Alliance for Safety and Justice (ASJ) and founder of Californians for Safety and Justice. She is an attorney with extensive experience working to reform our legal and public safety systems.
Ms. Anderson was the campaign chair and co-author of Proposition 47, a 2014 California ballot initiative to reduce incarceration and reallocate prison spending to mental health, drug treatment, K-12 programs, and victim services. The initiative represents the first time in the nation that voters have elected to reclassify multiple sections of the penal code to reduce incarceration and reallocate state money from prisons to communities.
Previously, Lenore served as Chief of Policy and Chief of the Alternative Programs Division at the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office, where she spearheaded innovative initiatives to expand alternatives to incarceration and build community partnerships.
Melanie L. Campbell
Melanie Campbell is president and CEO of the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation (NCBCP) and convener of the Black Women’s Roundtable.
Ms. Campbell is recognized as one of the hardest working servant leaders in today’s civil rights, women’s rights, and social justice movement. She has served as an advisor to U. S. presidents, congressional members, corporate, labor, nonprofit executives, philanthropists, faith leaders, and others---on critical issues impacting Black America, including legal system reform.
She is a veteran coalition builder and is highly successful in leading and organizing multi-million dollar civic engagement, voter empowerment, and issue-based campaigns.
“My mission in life is to do my part, but also to lift others along the way, make sure Black women are not invisible” — Melanie L. Campbell
Hillary Blout
Hillary Blout is the founder and executive director of For The People, a national nonprofit working with prosecutors to review past sentences and safely bring people home from prison.
In 2018, Ms. Blout drafted and secured the passage of AB 2942 — the first prosecutor-initiated resentencing law in the country — and is now spearheading its implementation.
Ms. Blout was previously a prosecutor for the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office and served time working for Californians for Safety and Justice, where she advocated for second chances for thousands of people previously convicted of lower-level felonies statewide.
“There are thousands of people in prison across California that don't deserve to be there. By that, I mean they've done the crime, paid the time & they do not pose a public safety risk.” — Hilary Blout
Holly Harris
Holly Harris founded Justice Action Network (JAN), an advocacy organization that brings policymakers, stakeholders, and advocates together from across the political spectrum to advance bipartisan legal system reform efforts. She also founded and is President of the Network, where she connects lawmakers to policy experts, fosters bipartisan cooperation on evidence-based solutions, and works with top philanthropists and advocates to create platforms that lift up bold leaders working together on big ideas.
Ms. Harris is a fierce and committed advocate for reforming the legal system in America, and she’s a strong supporter and ally of second chances, too. She gave testimony in support of the Fair Chance Act, which she helped pass in 2019, and she has frequently supported Clean Slate at the state and federal levels.
During her time at JAN, Holly led multi-million dollar campaigns and built broad coalitions to pass groundbreaking prison and sentencing reform legislation at the federal level and in states across the country, impacting hundreds of thousands of lives.
“It is incredible to me that people are so shocked that what is “legal” is not the same as what is “just.” To change (and SAVE) lives, you must change laws.” — Holly Harris
MacKenzie Scott
MacKenzie Scott, a renowned philanthropist and author, has been a generous supporter of The Clean Slate Initiative since 2022. Through her financial support, Ms. Scott has helped CSI build on our efforts to bring Clean Slate to all 50 states.
Her support goes beyond just finances, too. The trust she has placed in our CEO, Sheena Meade — a person who has been directly impacted by the system — also sends a strong signal to the philanthropy community that everyone can help transform a legal system that continues to create unnecessary barriers to employment, education, and housing.
“The leadership of people directly experiencing inequities is essential, both because it is informed by insights no one else can contribute, and because it seeds power and opportunity within the community itself.” — MacKenzie Scott