The juvenile legal system charges young people millions of dollars in fines, fees, and taxes every year. For a family struggling to make ends meet, that can mean choosing between paying off their debt or putting food on the table. Come hear from advocates who are fighting for the abolition of these juvenile fines and fees — and winning. Learn how you too can get involved in the campaign for #DebtFreeJustice across the country. Register here!
Date: Tuesday, July 26
Time: 6-7 pm Central
Link: Register here!
Panelists include:
Ernest Johnson, Ubuntu Village NOLA
Ernest Johnson (he/him) is the co-founder and executive director of Ubuntu Village, a New Orleans-based community organization building the power of families with youth in the legal system. He has a passion and energy for advocacy and volunteerism that spans a period of over 10 years. He has traveled around the country speaking on navigating the criminal justice system, family engagement, and leadership building. He is a recipient of the National Juvenile Justice Beth Arnovists Gutsy Advocate for Youth award.
Delaney Green, UC Berkeley Policy Advocacy Clinic
Delaney Green (she/her) is a policy analyst specializing in issues of economic and racial justice in the criminal legal system. She moved from Louisiana to pursue her Master of Public Policy at UC Berkeley, where she specialized in public budgeting and fiscal policy in the criminal and juvenile systems. As a Clinical Supervisor at the UC Berkeley School of Law, she is one of California’s leading experts on restitution, and instructs clinical JD and MPP students on juvenile fine and fee abolition efforts. Prior to joining the Policy Advocacy Clinic’s nationwide effort for debt free justice, she worked as a policy consultant for the California State Assembly Committee on Budget, and the San Francisco Financial Justice Project at the Office of the Treasurer and Tax Collector.
Miranda Sheffield, National Center for Youth Law
Miranda Sheffield (she/her) is dedicated to social justice advocacy, resistance, and collective movement. She is currently the Debt Free Justice Campaign Coordinator at the National Center for Youth Law, where she co-leads a national campaign to abolish all fees and fines for young people involved in the juvenile system. Over a decade, Miranda has served youth experiencing foster care; by leading interactive trainings on reproductive and sexual health, to connecting pregnant and parenting youth directly to quality information about health care.
Miranda’s passion is addressing economic justice in service of cultivating thriving Black and brown communities. She believes in utilizing alternative anti-capitalist models deeply rooted in Economic Solidarity.
As an international scholar, Miranda earned her master’s degree in Human Rights Law from SOAS University of London. While learning abroad, Miranda actively organized with other students to address racial educational disparities and the nationwide UK pension cut strikes on behalf of teachers. Her research focuses on law, race and colonialism, exploring the rich history of resistance by Maroons and fugitive slaves throughout the African diaspora. When not working Miranda loves spending time with her daughter and taking care of her plants.