Aspen Institute Socrates Program Social Justice Seminar Participant Biographies

Linda Baird Linda Baird is the associate director of Youth Justice Programs at the Center for Court Innovation in New York City. Ms. Baird oversees many of the Center’s youth leadership and civic engagement programs, including the Youth Justice Board program, Police-Youth Dialogue initiatives, and Neighborhood Youth Justice Councils. Ms. Baird has written and published curriculum and tool kits, and provides technical assistance related to youth program development. Ms. Baird earned a B.A. from Sarah Lawrence College and a M.Ed. from Lesley University.

Kevin Bethel Kevin J. Bethel is a retired Deputy Police Commissioner in the Philadelphia Police Department, the 4th largest police department in the nation with over 6,600 sworn personnel. Prior to his retirement in January 2016, Bethel commanded Patrol Operation’s for the entire city. This appointment included oversight of the 21 Patrol Districts, Neighborhood Services Unit, Philadelphia School District Police and Community Relations Unit. Previous assignments throughout his 29 years of service with the Philadelphia Police Department include, positions within the Special Investigative Bureau, Narcotics Strike Force, Narcotics Field Unit, Narcotics Intelligence Investigative Unit and the Internal Affairs Division as well as Commanding Officer of the 17th Police District.

Shawn Burnett Though Shawn has only been in the nonprofit/social sector for a short time, he has made strides in becoming a go to in many areas of interest within Baltimore City. Born and raised in Baltimore, he experimented with cartoons, fashion design, dance and culinary arts. With various art engagement experiences as a major aspect of his childhood life, Shawn began his endeavor to become a change agent by founding Walks of Art. Knowing how art allowed free expression and individualism, Shawn set the premise of his organization to be one of having a positive impact on the cognitive development, emotional health and social lives of aspiring youth in Baltimore City.

Not wanting to be seen in a singular light, Shawn began further advancing in the realm of social engagement by joining the staff, at Center For Urban Families, as a Father Specialist. Now serving as BMe Community Manager in Baltimore, where he was named a 2013 BMe Leader, he is an avid proponent of progress in his city. With a degree in Nonprofit Leadership from Coppin State University, Shawn not only has the formal background needed to promote positive change, he is a young visionary who brings fresh ideas and passion to the table. Shawn has worked extensively with youth and families across the city and simultaneously serves in many capacities. Amongst others, Shawn is a member of the MBK Taskforce for Baltimore, a Mentoring Action Committee Member for Baltimore’s Promise and is an Advisory Board member for Baltimore Corps. Accolades include being voted Baltimore’s Top 30 Under 30, Top 10 under 30, an “I Have A Dream,’ award recipient, a 2014 Open Society Institute- Baltimore Fellow, and a 2015 Salzburg Global Forum Young Cultural Innovative Fellow.

Sarah Comeau Sarah graduated from American University’s Washington College of Law (WCL) cum laude in 2011. Prior to co-founding the School Justice Project, Sarah was an associate at a District of Columbia law firm that specialized in advocacy, representing students and families of students involved in both the juvenile justice and abuse and neglect systems. After graduating from law school, Sarah was awarded a JD Distinguished Fellowship at the Juvenile Services Program at the Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia.

Sarah focused her law school career on indigent representation and the protection of civil and human rights. She was a student defense practitioner at WCL's Clinic, a law clerk at a Maryland law firm that specialized in post-conviction representation, and an advocate for international human rights. Sarah received her bachelor’s degree in Integrated Marketing Communications from Ithaca College’s Roy H. Park School of Communications.

Sarah is an attorney admitted to practice in the District of Columbia and an inactive member of the New York Bar. Sarah is a member of the District of Columbia Superior Court Special Education Attorney Panel.

Angela Davis Angela J. Davis is a Professor of Law at the American University Washington College of Law where she teaches Criminal Law, Criminal Procedure, and Criminal Defense: Theory and Practice. Professor Davis has been a Visiting Professor at George Washington University Law School and Georgetown University Law Center. She has served on the adjunct faculty at George Washington, Georgetown, and Harvard Law Schools. Professor Davis is the author of Arbitrary Justice: The Power of the American Prosecutor (Oxford University Press, 2007), the editor of Policing the Black Man: Arrest, Prosecution and (Penguin Random House, 2017)(Forthcoming), co-editor of Trial Stories (with Professor Michael E. Tigar) (Foundation Press, 2007), and a co-author of Criminal Law (with Professor Katheryn Russell-Brown) (Sage Publications, 2015) and the 6th edition of Basic Criminal Procedure (with Professors Stephen Saltzburg and Daniel Capra) (Thomson West, 2012). Professor Davis’ other publications include articles and book chapters on prosecutorial discretion and racism in the criminal justice system. She received the Washington College of Law’s Pauline Ruyle Moore award for scholarly contribution in the area of public law in 2000 and 2009, the American University Faculty Award for Outstanding Teaching in a Full-Time Appointment in 2002, the American University Faculty Award for Outstanding Scholarship in 2009, and the American University Scholar/Teacher of the Year Award in 2015. Professor Davis’ book Arbitrary Justice won the Association of American Publishers 2007 Professional and Scholarly Publishing Division Award for Excellence in the Law and Legal Studies Division. She was awarded a Soros Senior Justice Fellowship in 2004 and serves on the Board of Trustees of the Sentencing Project and the Southern Center for Human Rights. Professor Davis served as the Executive Director of the National Rainbow Coalition from 1994 - 1995. From 1991 - 1994, she was the Director of the Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia (“PDS”). She also served as the Deputy Director from 1988 – 1991 and as a staff attorney at PDS from 1982 – 1988. Professor Davis is a former law clerk of the Honorable Theodore R. Newman of the District of Columbia Court of Appeals. She is a graduate of Howard University and Harvard Law School.

Lenora Dawson Lenora A. Dawson is the Aide to the Sheriff of Baltimore City. She acts as the envoy and is the Inter-Governmental Liaison and Legislative Affairs Officer. She develops, facilitates, and evaluates educational seminars and support programs, advises and trains management on issues of EEOC, reasonable accommodation and community relations. She is a certified mediator, coordinates the activities and functions of the Sheriff’s Office with internal and external constituents and serves as director of community affairs. Lenora is also the owner and CEO of Mind Evolution, LLC; a life coaching and motivational speaking entity which inspires individuals to discover their genius through her keynote speeches, private coaching and seminars in the areas of relationship building, leadership development, and trauma recovery.

Rosemary DeMenno Rosemary DeMenno joined the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) in January 2009. In her tenure she has provided leadership and management to a multitude of projects including the rehabilitation and reintegration of foreign fighters in Bosnia-Herzogovnia, the Volunteers in Police Service project, Citation in Lieu of Arrest, Building Trust in Communities of Color, and several IACP Presidential Initiatives. She is the staff liaison for the Community Policing Committee, and is a guest editor of Police Chief magazine.

Prior to her work at the IACP, Ms. DeMenno worked as Director of Print and Electronic Communications at the National Prevention Council (NCPC), symbolized by McGruff The Crime Dog® and his signature “Take A Bite Out Of Crime®” slogan. She worked there for 13 years. She is a graduate of Moravian College with a B.A. in Journalism and Political Science, the FBI Citizen’s Police Academy, and the Center for Creative Leadership in Greensboro, North Carolina.

Ciji Dodds Cji Dodds, Esq., is a civil rights and business law attorney and a passionate advocate for social entrepreneurship, gender equality, and educational equity. Ciji is a graduate of the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, where she earned a B.A. in Journalism and Mass Communication. She then obtained her J.D., from Howard University School of Law, cum laude. She went on to work as corporate and real estate associate for two top ranked international law firms. Currently, Ciji is the Principal of The Dodds Firm, a full service legal and consulting firm based out of Washington D.C. She is also a member of the University of the District of Columbia’s David A. Clarke School of Law faculty.

Cecilia Dos Santos Cecilia Dos Santos is the Executive Coordinator & Program Manager at the Latin American Youth Center (LAYC) in Washington, DC. The LAYC’s mission is to empower a diverse population of youth to achieve a successful transition to adulthood, through multicultural, comprehensive, and innovative programs that address youth’s social, academic, and career needs. Cecilia brings over ten years of experience as a community based-advocate, legal advocate, and program coordinator for survivors of domestic and sexual violence, low-income families, and immigration women and children. For the past three years, she has focused her skills at the intersection of survivor advocacy and positive youth development, specifically serving as the coordinator of the Healthy Relationships Program at LAYC. The program served as a model for integrating anti-sexual and dating violence best practices into youth development work. It offered young survivors an array of culturally and linguistically relevant support services, including youth-led educational and support groups. She has previously served as the Pro Bono Coordinator for the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty in Washington, DC, and as the Legal Advocacy Coordinator for Harbor Communities Overcoming Violence, in Chelsea, MA. Cecilia’s bilingual and bicultural background drives her passion for social justice work at the intersection of gender-based violence and its impact on immigrant families. Cecilia earned a B.A. from Tufts University in Massachusetts.

Ronald E. Hampton Ronald E. Hampton retired from the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department after twenty-three years of service as a Community Relations Officer. He is reputed for his outstanding work with the citizens of the Third Police District in Washington, D.C. in crime prevention and community participation and relations. His extensive experience and knowledge in community relations and policing has resulted in education and training opportunities for Mr. Hampton locally, nationally, and internationally.

Mr. Hampton is the immediate past Executive Director of the National Black Police Association, Inc. and presently the Washington, D.C. Representative for Blacks in Law Enforcement of America. Additionally, he serves as a Law Enforcement Fellow at the University of the District of Columbia’s Institute for Public Safety and Justice. He was involved in designing and delivering community policing and problem solving training for residents in public housing as well as overseeing a project dealing with intervention and crime prevention through alternative community sentencing. Over the years, he has assisted the Department of Justice’s Community Relations Services with community relations and crime prevention projects. He has also worked with the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty and has lectured at the American University’s Washington Semester School Criminal Justice Program. In addition, along with other educators/trainers, he developed an anti- racism and organizational change program for Amnesty International USA.

Kristin Henning Kris Henning is the Agnes N. Williams Research Professor of Law and Director of the Juvenile Justice Clinic and Initiative at Georgetown Law. Prior to joining Georgetown’s faculty, Professor Henning was an attorney at the Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia where she helped organize and lead a Juvenile Unit designed to meet the multi- disciplinary needs of children in the juvenile justice system. Professor Henning has been active in local, regional and national juvenile justice reform, serving as Director of the Mid-Atlantic Juvenile Defender Center (MAJDC) and President of the Board of Directors for the Center for Children’s Law and Policy. She has also served as an expert consultant to a number of state and federal agencies, including the US Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division, and has been an investigator in several state assessments of the access to counsel and quality of representation for accused youth. Professor Henning has organized numerous trainings for juvenile defense attorneys across the country and is frequently invited to facilitate workshops for other stakeholders on the impact of implicit racial bias in the juvenile and criminal justice systems.

Professor Henning has published a number of law review articles and book chapters on topics such as race and the juvenile justice system, children and the Fourth Amendment, and the role of policing in the legal socialization of African American boys. Her scholarship has appeared in journals such as the Cornell Law Review, California Law Review, and NYU Law Review and in books such as in Popular Culture (NYU Press, 2015; edited by Charles J. Ogletree, Jr. and Austin Sarat). Her article “Loyalty Paternalism and Rights” (Notre Dame Law Review, 2005) was cited by the Supreme Court in Graham v. Florida in 2010.

In 2005, Kris Henning was selected as a Fellow in the Emerging Leaders Program of the Duke University Terry Sanford Institute of Public Policy and the Graduate School of Business at the University of Cape Town. In 2013, Henning was awarded the Robert E. Shepherd, Jr. Award for Excellence in Juvenile Defense by NJDC, and in 2105, was elected to American Law Institute (ALI) and invited to serve as an Adviser to ALI’s Restatement on Children and the Law project. Henning has been a visiting professor at Yale and NYU Law Schools and holds a B.A. from Duke University, a J.D. from Yale University, and an LL.M. from Georgetown Law.

Damon Hewitt Damon Hewitt is Executive Director of the Executives' Alliance for Boys and Men of Color – a philanthropic network of over three dozen national, local, and community foundation presidents committed to systemic change and shifting the false narratives about our nation’s sons, brothers and fathers. Through Damon’s leadership, the Alliance is redefining the possibilities for progressive and responsive philanthropy, in collaboration with a nationwide network of foundation grantees and community partners.

Prior to leading the Executives’ Alliance, Damon was a Senior Advisor at the Open Society Foundations where he coordinated efforts to support organizers in Ferguson, Missouri after the killing of Michael Brown. Before entering philanthropy he worked for over a decade as an attorney at the NAACP Legal Defense Fund (LDF). He founded LDF’s Dismantling the School to Pipeline initiative and worked on assignment in his hometown of New Orleans to coordinate post- Hurricane Katrina litigation and advocacy on education, housing and voting rights issues. Damon also worked as Executive Director of the New York Police-on-Police Shootings Task Force, created to address police practices affecting communities of color after the deaths of off-duty African-American and Latino police officers who were shot by fellow officers after being mistaken for criminal suspects.

Damon is co‐author of a book, The School‐to‐Prison Pipeline: Structuring Legal Reform, and has published numerous articles on racial justice, school discipline policy and progressive education reform. He holds a B.A. in Political Science from Louisiana State University and a J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania Law School.

Chioma Iwuoha Chioma Iwuoha, a native Washingtonian, is no rookie when it comes to community organizing. At the astonishingly young age of fifteen, Chioma launched her community organizing career by joining Determined Teens Take a Stand, a youth led group heavily devoted to discussing major issues affecting Black and youth in the community. As Chioma matured, so did her commitment to social justice. Not only did Chioma find herself studying as an undergraduate at Lafayette College, in Easton Pennsylvania, double majoring in Africana studies and Anthropology, but also involved on campus as one of Lafayette’s mail young leaders. Chioma continued her commitment for justice by being elected as the Vice Chair of NIA, a multicultural woman support group and the Cultural Co-Chair for the Association of Black Collegians. Shortly after obtaining her bachelors, Chioma assisted with developing Empower DC’s Youth Organizing Campaign.

Now, Chioma works as a Development Officer at Legal Aid Justice Center, raising money for low income individuals who are offered legal assistance pro bono and continues to be a community activist, being an active member of various grassroots organizations in DC including the DMV chapter of Black Lives Matter.

Krystal Leaphart Krystal Leaphart exemplifies what dedication to community justice look like. She stands at the unique intersections of organizing, advocacy and facilitation. As a leader and servant, Krystal uses her skills and networks to meet the needs of her community. During the day, she works for IMPACT, a nonprofit that fosters Civic Engagement, Political Involvement and Economic Empowerment for young professionals of color. As a longtime leader of her NAACP units, she has lead protest against the execution of Troy Davis, vigils on behalf of Trayvon Martin and led successful campaigns to register thousands of her peers at Howard University to vote for the 2012 Presidential election. Through mentoring young women and girls with the YWCA, she has been able to create and facilitate racial justice and diversity sessions for the last four years. In addition to her hands on work, Krystal has spoken at events around the city on numerous topics. Some examples include the National Black United Front #JusticeOrElse next steps event, the African American Policy Forum Breaking the Silence: A Hearing on Girls of Color in DC, and Young and Power Emerging Leaders Power to the People event at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation Annual Legislative Conference.

Tamar Meekins Tamar Meekins is the Deputy Attorney General for Public Safety in Washington DC.

Ms. Meekins has served as a tenured Associate Professor, Clinical Law Center Director, and Supervising Attorney in the Criminal Justice Clinic at Howard Law School since 2002, where she has won awards for teaching and service to the university. She has also served as a member of the faculty at the Harvard Law School Trial Advocacy Workshop and as a Visiting Professor at the American University Washington College of Law and the Seattle University School of Law.

In addition, she has previously served as an attorney in the District’s Public Defender Service and in private practice at Dewey, Ballantine, Bushby, Palmer and Wood.

Ms. Meekins has served as a foster parent for the District of Columbia Child and Family Services Agency, has been a tutor at the Greater Washington Urban League Kids’ Learning Center, and is a founding member of the Greater Washington Urban League Urban Roundtable. Ms. Meekins earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania and her J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law.

Decker Ngongang Decker Ngongang is a Senior Fellow with Frontline Solutions, a public sector consulting firm that provides consulting services to the nonprofit, philanthropic and government sectors; invests in the pipeline of social change leaders; and engages in field-building in its three areas of expertise: education, social entrepreneurship, and race & gender.

Prior to Frontline Decker Ngongang launched and managed the Black Male Achievement Social Entrepreneur Fellowship Program at Echoing Green, a social entrepreneurship foundation that invested in next generation talent launching social enterprises to improve the life outcomes of black men and boys in the United States. Decker’s career began at Bank of America where he was a Global Markets and Investment Banking Compliance Risk Manager for the bank’s Corporate Investments Group. Decker has written and spoken extensively on millennial civic engagement, education and social justice issues.

Garland Nixon Garland Nixon retired from the Maryland Natural Resources Police in 2008 holding the rank of Major. During his career he held a variety of positions including commander of Investigations, aviation, training, communications, and homeland security divisions. From 2009 until 2012 he taught criminal justice at Anne Arundel Community College.

Garland hosted radio shows in Baltimore and Annapolis from 1999 until 2006. He moved his radio career to 89.3 WPFW in Washington DC in 2007 and currently host the weekly progressive radio show “News Views” each Friday evening from 6-7pm.

He has made regular appearances as a Democratic Strategist on The Fox News Channel and The Fox Business News Channel from 2010 until present. Garland currently serves on the local Board for the Maryland ACLU and as the Maryland representative on the National Board.

R. Daniel Okonkwo R. Daniel Okonkwo is the Executive Director of DC Lawyers for Youth and oversees DCLY’s Youth Justice Project. He also is a mayoral appointee to the Washington, D.C. Juvenile Justice Advisory Group and the Safer Stronger DC Advisory Committee. Daniel is a founding member and the former Board Chair of DCLY.

Prior to serving as Executive Director, Daniel was a Senior Analyst in the Regulatory Practice Group at the EOP Group, Inc., a Washington, D.C. business and political consulting firm. Upon graduation from law school, Daniel was employed at the Office of the Public Defender in Miami, FL where he represented clients in the County Court Division and Felony Drug Court. Daniel received his J.D. from the Georgetown University Law Center.

Daniel has had extensive experience with youth in Washington D.C. While at Georgetown University Law Center, he was a student attorney in the Juvenile Justice Clinic and the head basketball coach, and tutor at the Maya Angelou Public Charter School. Daniel's experience with the law and youth dates back to his undergraduate days at Yale University, where he graduated with a B.A in African-American Studies. At Yale, he was the head of the Black Undergraduate Law Association and was heavily involved as a tutor at the Connecticut Youth Center in New Haven.

Melech Thomas Melech E. M. Thomas is a minister, community activist, and organizational consultant with a heart for creating innovative ministry and developing leadership skills amongst millennials. Melech is a 2011 graduate of Howard University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication and Culture and a Minor in Community and Economic Development. As a student-leader at Howard, Melech served as the coordinator of the HU "Do You Care?" Anti-Gun Violence Campaign, where as many as 500 students participated in anti-gun violence events on campus and in the surrounding community. Through the campaign's efforts, over 3,000 students signed a petition calling for a White House National Summit on Gun Violence and a permanent reinstatement of the Federal Assault Weapons Ban. Recently, Melech finished all requirements towards the Master of Divinity degree and is scheduled to graduate May 2016 from the Samuel DeWitt Proctor School of Theology at Virginia Union University in Richmond, VA. He has also completed studies at both Chicago Theological Seminary and Princeton Theological Seminary, respectively.

In 2010, he was selected by the Hilltop as the most influential Howard University student on campus in its annual “Hilltop 24” listing of influential students and he was selected as “Who’s Who Among American College Students”. Recently, his courageous leadership and service during the Freddie Gray protests in Baltimore were featured on the front page of the New York Times website as the “Young Leader in Baltimore.” His prophetic voice and his insightful commentary have been sought after by local, national, and international media outlets such as CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360, CNN International w/ Don Lemon, ABC News’ “This Week”, CBS’ “The Early Show”, The Word Network, PBS’ “The Rock Newman Show”, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Belgium’s public broadcasting network VTR and print publications like The Washington Post, The Baltimore Sun, The Boston Herald, Buzzfeed, Black College Wire, BET.com, and The Final Call. A portion of his preaching and teaching has been used by the General Board of Discipleship of the United Methodist Church. On October 10, 2015, Melech was asked to give the opening Christian prayer at the “Justice Or Else” 20th Anniversary of the Million Man March, making him the youngest speaker on the day’s program.

Lisa Thurau In 2010, Lisa Thurau founded Strategies for Youth, a national policy and training organization dedicated to improving police/youth interactions and reducing disproportionate minority contact. Since 2004 Lisa has been training patrol and school resource officers and recruits, with Dr. Jeff Bostic, Director of School Psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital, across the country. The SFY training, known as Policing the Teen Brain, provides officers with an understanding of adolescent brain changes and teaches them how to incorporate youth development practices when interacting with youth. Prior to trainings, SFY reviews police department standards, conducts law enforcement agency assessments, and helps departments increase use of referrals to youth-serving community based organizations in lieu of arrest. Lisa also created the Juvenile Justice Jeopardy game, an interactive educational tool that teaches youth how to navigate interactions with police and peers, as well as be aware of the short and long term consequences of arrest and court involvement. This game has also been customized to teach youth school codes of conduct. On behalf of SFY, Lisa presents at national police and youth advocacy conferences, including the U.S. Department of Education and U.S. Department of Justice, International Association of Chiefs of Police, the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives, the National Juvenile Defender Center, and Interagency Summits of the Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative. In addition, Lisa writes frequently for police and youth- advocacy publications

Lateefah Williams

Matan Zeimer Matan, a Baltimore Corps Fellow, works as the Special Assistant to the Director of Health Policy at Cure Violence. Cure Violence works to stop the spread of violence in communities by using methods and strategies associated with disease control - detecting and interrupting conflicts, identifying and assisting individuals at highest risk, and changing social norms. This innovative approach has resulted in a decrease in shootings and killings in neighborhoods where the model is being used by up to 73%. Matan received his BA in Sociology from Oberlin College, where he also studied Peace and Conflict Studies and worked as a mediator for a conflict resolution group. At Cure Violence, Matan’s work focuses on inequities, trauma, and assisting with the development of a system-wide health approach to violence.

Moderators

Richard Gray Richard Gray serves as director of AISR’s Community Organizing & Engagement team. His work includes providing strategic support on community organizing and engagement to community and school reform organizations in cities across the country. He also directs AISR’s Center for Education Organizing, which helps expand the power of education organizing through building strategic alliances among organizations and with strategic partners such as teachers' unions, reform support organizations, civil rights organizations, and research and policy institutes. Previously, he was director of national technical assistance with the Community Involvement Program at New York University’s Institute for Education and Social Policy (IESP), where he assisted community groups in New York City and across the country in developing strategies to improve local schools and shape more effective and equitable education policies. He was also co-executive director of the National Coalition of Advocates for Students (NCAS), a nationwide network of child advocacy organizations that work to improve the access of quality public education to student populations who have traditionally been underserved by public schools. Richard received a BA in History from Brown University and a JD from Boalt Hall School of Law at the University of California at Berkeley.

Susan P. Sturm Susan Sturm is the George M. Jaffin Professor of Law and Social Responsibility and the founding director of the Center for Institutional and Social Change at Columbia Law School. Her work focuses on advancing full participation and collective impact, higher education transformation, education and reentry, legal education, and institutional change. She collaborates with a wide variety of higher education and community based organizations and networks involved in initiatives aimed at increasing full participation, She is the co- principal investigator for a Ford Foundation grant, in collaboration with Hostos Community College, on Building Corridors to College in the South Bronx, a Principal Investigator on a Ford Foundation grant on Building Learning Communities at the Intersection of Education and Criminal Justice, an Aspen Ascend Grant to develop a multi-generational approach to education for communities affected by criminal justice involvement, and is on the steering committee of C3--a Mellon-funded initiative to diversify the faculty as part of advancing full participation in liberal arts colleges. She has facilitated dialogues about full participation, race, and identity for Imagining America and as part of the Aspen Institute Socrates Program. She has co-chaired a working group on Transformative Leadership, as part of a Ford Foundation funded project on Building Knowledge for Social Justice. In 2007, she received the Presidential Teaching Award for Outstanding Teaching at Columbia.

Professor Sturm’s recent publications and reports include: Breaking the Cycle of Mass Incarceration: A Strategy for Investing in Individuals, Families and Communities (2016); Full Participation on the Yale Law Journal, (Yale Law Journal 2015); Home Grown Social Capital: How Higher Education for Formerly Incarcerated Women Facilitates Family and Community Transformation, (Aspen Institute 2015); Bronx Corridors to College: Mapping Needs, Capacities, and Drivers (2015); Leadership, Citizenship, and Civic Capacity: The Imperative of Racial Diversity For Realizing Education’s Public Mission, in Affirmative Action and Racial Equity: Considering the Fisher Case to Forge the Path Ahead (Uma Jayakumar and Liliana Garces, eds 2015). Reframing the Civil Rights Narrative: From Compliance to Collective Impact (2014); Equality and Inequality in the Law (2014); Law Schools, Leadership, and Change (2013); Full Participation: Building the Architecture for Diversity and Public Engagement in Higher Education (with Tim Eatman, John Saltmarsh, and Adam Bush, 2011); Building Pathways of Possibility from Criminal Justice to College: College Initiative as a Catalyst Linking Individual and Systemic Change (2010); The Law School Matrix: Reforming Legal Education in a Culture of Competition and Conformity (with Lani Guinier, 2007); The Architecture of Inclusion: Advancing Workplace Equity in Higher Education (2006), and Who’s Qualified? (with Lani Guinier, 2001).

Staff Biographies Melissa Ingber Melissa Ingber is Vice President and Director of the Aspen Institute's Socrates Program, Stevens Initiative and International Partners. Prior to joining the Aspen Institute, Melissa worked at the World Bank specializing in private sector development and finance for Africa. She has also worked in emerging markets with Deutsche Bank, and the Soros Foundation's Open Society Institute, and has lived in Washington, DC, New York, London, Prague and Moscow. She has held government positions as a senior adviser at the Department of State and at the U.S. Institute of Peace. A New Orleans native, Melissa is a graduate of Washington University in St. Louis, and has graduate degrees in international affairs from Columbia University and Central European University. She lives in Washington, DC with her husband and three children.

Jennifer Serfass Jennifer Serfass is the Deputy Director of the Socrates program at the Aspen Institute, based in Washington, DC. Previously, Jennifer served as the Team Leader for the Yemen, Europe and Eurasia, and Asia Team at USAID’s Office of Transition Initiatives (OTI). She has more than fourteen years of experience in foreign affairs and program management, leading teams and managing large, dynamic, multi-stakeholder programs in complex, political environments, most recently in countries such as Burma / Myanmar, Thailand, Ukraine, and Yemen. Prior to her work at USAID, Jennifer worked for USAID contracting firms, served as Director of the USAID-funded Competitiveness, Markets, Investment and Trade (COMMIT) project in Jamaica, taught English in Japan with the Japanese Exchange and Teaching Program (JET), and worked with the International Committee for the Red Cross (ICRC) in Dakar, Senegal.

Jennifer holds a MS in International Development Studies from the University of London’s School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) and a Bachelors degree from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service in International Politics and African Studies, has lived in six different countries, and has traveled or worked in more than fifty additional countries across six continents. Jennifer is married to Patrick Serfass and they live with their two young children on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC.

Dana Hall Dana Hall is the Program Coordinator for the Socrates Program at the Aspen Institute. Prior to joining the Aspen Institute, she served as the External Program Operations Associate at the Children’s Defense Fund, where she primarily managed an annual training of 2,000 college students on Alex Haley’s farm in Tennessee. She brings legislative experience as she interned in the offices of Senator Kennedy, Senator Kirk and Congressman Johnson. She also interned at the American Federation of Government Employees and the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools during her tenure as a student at Howard University.

Dana is deeply committed to her community in Washington DC and coordinates many service events and programs. Currently, she serves as the co-director of the Eternal Life Project, program coordinator of Manpower DC, mentor for The Society for Girls, and regularly volunteers at DC General Homeless Shelter Freedom Schools program. Dana also serves as a board member of Field of Dreams, a non-profit organization that encourages children in Southeast, Washington DC to reach their academic goals and introduces and/or promotes baseball. Alongside elected officials and community leaders, she managed the logistics for back to school drives, the DC Cares for Relisha Campaign, and voter registration drives. Following the racially and political charged events in Ferguson, Missouri, she coordinated, a virtual forum by which participants had an in depth conversation about race and politics in America with over 100 participants nationwide. Dana currently serves as the Legislative and Research Director of the Trayon White for Ward 8 City Council campaign.

In 2015, Dana also founded Aya, a non-profit organization that seeks to uplift and inspire young minority women to pursue their professional goals and propel forward in their careers by providing the support of mentors and engaging in workshops that enhance entrepreneurship skills, professional development, and leadership training. Through Aya, Dana works with undergraduate and high school girls across Washington DC to combat the lack of workforce development initiatives and college preparation.