Ambassador Board

Al Brooks
he/him/his

Al Brooks is originally from Palo Alto, CA where he organized students to eliminate the racial achievement gap. He is a graduate of Swarthmore College and NYU Law. He interned with the Promise of Justice Initiative after his first year in law school. He also interned at the Bronx Defenders, the Legal Aid Society of New York, the NAACP LDF, and the Phillips Black Project. Al has also taught legal empowerment courses in New York state prisons and Rikers and organizes with Unlock the Bar and the Black Freedom Project of New York.

Ben Cohen
he/him/his

Ben Cohen helped create the Capital Appeals Project and the Promise of Justice Initiative. He has won two landmark cases at the United States Supreme Court (Ramos v. Louisiana and Kennedy v. Louisiana), represented over two dozen people on death row. Five of these people are now released from prison, two were fully exonerated. He has written or co-written over a dozen law review articles, one of which was cited by Justices Breyer and Ginsburg in their dissent in Gossip v. Gross. Ben played a leadership role in the Yes on Two Unanimous Jury Ballot Initiative, and a strategic part in generating the progressive prosecution movement, and served as the Chief of Appeals for Orleans Parish District Attorney Jason R. Williams from February of 2021 to August of 2022. He currently teaches and writes about criminal justice reform.

Sade Dumas

As a community activist and organizational leader, Sade Dumas has worked closely with community members and stakeholders to improve conditions of confinement in the New Orleans jail, advocate for evidence-based methods to reduce incarceration, and promote alternatives to arrests. She has led numerous decarceration initiatives, resulting in over a 50% decline in the New Orleans jail population. Sade now works as the Spark Justice Fund Director at Borealis Philanthropy to holistically support organizations working to address drivers of incarceration.

Sade’s lived experience with incarcerated loved ones guides my efforts. She has the honor to serve as PAC for Justice Co-chair, the City of New Orleans' Crisis Intervention Strategy Task Force Co-chair, a New Orleans Safety and Justice Community Advisory Group Member, and a Tulane University Embracing Change Taskforce Member. She is also a proud alumna of the She Leads Community Activist Fellowship with Power Coalition for Equity and Justice.

Sade has been featured in the Washington Post, The New Yorker, The Appeal, The New Orleans Advocate, The Times-Picayune, The Lens, WDSU, WWL-TV, and other media outlets.

Britain Forsyth
they/he

“I support PJI because I believe in investing in New Orleanians rather than relying on incarceration.”

Britain Forsyth grew up in Lafayette, LA and moved to New Orleans at 16. They started their career in politics in 2017. Britain has worked in government, electoral politics, and is currently the Organizing Manager for the People’s DA Coalition. They are a proud advocate for LGBTQ+ liberation and sex work decriminalization. In their spare time, Britain enjoys good homemade Cajun food and spending time with their dogs, Pearl and Cucullu.

Rev. J.L. Franklin

Reverend J. L. Franklin is a native of Alexandria, Louisiana and is married to Lisa. They have one daughter, and are the proud grandparents of two wonderful grandchildren.

Rev. Franklin graduated from Bishop College in Dallas, Texas majoring in Religion with a minor in Christian Education. He holds a Master of Arts Degree with an emphasis in Pastoral Ministry from Louisiana College, Caskey School of Divinity. Rev. Franklin has over 27 Years of Pastoral Experience and has pastored in three different States which includes Oklahoma, Louisiana & Mississippi.

Will Harrell

“I am eager to support PJI because they are excellent partners and always put progress before personality! They’ve proven to be incredibly effective in this arena.”

Will has worked in criminal Justice reform for over 25 years in all Gulf South states, Ohio, New York and three Latin American countries. He has worked for several NGO’s, and has also served as the Chief Independent Ombudsman for the Texas juvenile Justice system and as Lead Federal Monitor and Special Master for a conditions case in Ohio. He evaluated all Guatemalan jails and prisons for the United Nations. Currently he is Senior Policy Counsel at VOTE.

Haller Jackson
he/him/his

Haller Jackson served five-years' time in Louisiana prisons, much of it at Angola as an inmate counsel substitute. Now a Michigan resident, he continues to advocate for people who are incarcerated in Louisiana and elsewhere as an informal advisor to a variety of groups. Prior to prison, Haller clerked for four federal judges, practiced at two prominent law firms, and earned other degrees in math, psychology, the humanities, and public health, along with authoring or co-authoring a number of scholarly papers.

Maureen Kelley
she/her/hers

“I support PJI because of the important work they do for persons dealing with the criminal justice system and all the needs it creates for defendants, victims and their families. Justice is the ultimate goal, which can only be obtained through application of the law with truth, understanding and mercy for all.”

I am a 1979 graduate of Loyola University Law School and practiced law in Florida before coming to retire in New Orleans in 2017. Looking for more ways to "give back" and be involved, I was placed with Promise Of Justice Initiative through the Ignatian Volunteer Corps. I most recently have been working on Death Penalty repeal in Louisiana.

Max Rose

“I support PJI because they combine litigation, organizing and a deep respect for place.”

Max Rose is the executive director of Sheriffs for Trusting Communities, which works alongside grassroots organizers across the country to end mass incarceration and stop deportations while building progressive political power. Prior, Max worked at MDC and helped to build Made in Durham, a partnership aimed at shifting systems to ensure that young people of color connect to his hometown’s increasing wealth. Max lives in Durham and is on the board of directors at Walltown Children’s Theatre. His writing, in the American Prospect, Washington Monthly, and academic publications, has focused on racism, place and justice.

Jordan Shannon

Jordan Shannon is a civil rights attorney at the Law Offices of Dean Malone in Dallas, TX, specializing in jail litigation for in-custody deaths and denial of medical care. She is also a former staff attorney at PJI's Unanimous Jury Project. Jordan holds an M.A. in Latin American Studies from Tulane University and J.D. from Loyola University in New Orleans with a specialization in Social Justice. Jordan spends most of her free time missing her 6th Ward home and beloved community. She supports PJI because she still loves her clients, even though they aren't her clients anymore.

Zain Tewalthomas
she/her/hers

Zain Tewalthomas (she/her/hers), formerly Director of Operations and Development at PJI from 2013-2022, is currently the Director of Development and Communications at OneJustice, a San Francisco-based nonprofit that brings life-changing legal help to those in need. Zain holds Bachelor's degrees in Anthropology and Women's Studies from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a Master of Public Administration from the University of New Orleans. Zain grew up internationally in Bolivia, Pakistan, Venezuela, and Ukraine. Her volunteer hours are dedicated to supporting the Ukrainian resistance, fighting for LGBTQIA+ and reproductive justice rights, and working with community initiatives to heal help Louisiana from the pain of mass incarceration. A 12 year resident of New Orleans, she spends as much time as she can engaging in the culture of the city, working on her Mardi Gras costume, and traveling.

Angela Tucker
she/her/hers

Angela Tucker is a writer, director and Emmy nominated producer. Her most recent projects are "The Trees Remember", a fiction series in collaboration with REI Co-op Studios and “I can’t change 400 years in four” (co-directed with Kristi Jacobson), a short documentary currently streaming on Mother Jones and PBS' Independent Lens.

Her past directorial work includes “All Skinfolk, Ain’t Kinfolk”, a documentary short which aired on PBS’ Reel South. All Styles, a dance narrative feature available on Showtime. “Black Folk Don’t”, a documentary web series featured in Time Magazine’s “10 Ideas That Are Changing Your Life”, and “(A)sexual”, a feature length documentary about people who experience no sexual attraction that streamed on Netflix and Hulu. She was the Producer of "Belly of the Beast" (dir. Erika Cohn) which broadcast on PBS' Independent Lens and was a NY Times Critics’ Pick.

As Founder of TuckerGurl Inc, she is passionate about stories that highlight underrepresented communities in unconventional ways. Tucker was a Sundance Institute Women Filmmakers Initiative Fellow and a recipient of the inaugural William Greaves Fund from Firelight Media. She received her MFA in Film from Columbia University.

Danielle Washington

“I support PJI because PJI helped my family regain his freedom after being sentenced to 49 ½ years.”

My name is Danielle N. Washington I was born and raised right here in the city of New Orleans. I have a bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice and a Master’s degree in Criminal Justice. I believe in fighting to correct the justice system for those it has been unfair too.

Ashley White
she/her/hers

“I support PJI because it is an organization dedicated to not only litigation and policy support but also direct action in protecting vulnerable communities.“

Ashley is a Louisiana native, born in New Orleans and raised in Baton Rouge. She prides herself in being an eclectic but fierce advocate for the liberation of exploited people world-wide. She is an undergraduate of Howard University in Washington, DC and a first-year Ignatian Law Scholar at Loyola University New Orleans College of Law. Prior to law school, Ashley was a Strategy & Operations Consultant for Deloitte Consulting in DC, a Senior Analyst at AECOM in Los Angeles, and a Bail Disruptor at The Bail Project in Baton Rouge.

Jeremy Young

Jeremy Young is a journalist with Fault Lines, a documentary program on Al Jazeera English. He has extensive experience filming in jails and prisons across the country. In 2021 he produced “The Jim Crow Convictions” which was nominated for an Emmy award for Outstanding Crime and Justice Coverage. He lives in Kensington, Maryland.