Equal Justice Initiative

Bryan Stevenson, Executive Director of EJI, has won national acclaim for his work challenging bias against the poor and people of color in the criminal justice system. Since graduating from Harvard Law School and the Harvard School of Government, he has assisted in securing relief for dozens of condemned prisoners, advocated for poor people and developed community-based reform litigation aimed at improving the administration of criminal justice. He also is on the law faculty at New York University School of Law.

Eva Ansley, Operations Director, has coordinated and developed legal services for poor people and death row prisoners in Alabama for almost 20 years. She has been instrumental in developing institutional assistance to indigent defendants at the Alabama Capital Representation Resource Center and the Equal Justice Initiative since the inception of both organizations.

Randy Susskind, Deputy Director, has been with EJI since graduating from Georgetown University Law Center in 1994. He also serves as adjunct faculty in the Equal Justice and Capital Defender Clinic at the New York University School of Law. He previously worked as a staff attorney at the Alabama Capital Representation Resource Center.

Jacqueline Jones-Peace, Senior Attorney, was on the faculty at New York University School of Law as Co-Associate Director of the Lawyering Program. Prior to that, she was a Litigation Associate at Cleary Gottlieb in New York for several years after clerking for U.S. District Judge John S. Martin in the Southern District of New York. She is a 1995 graduate of New York University School of Law.

Angie Setzer, Senior Attorney, interned with EJI in the fall of 1998 and joined the staff after graduating from the University of Michigan Law School in 1999. She currently manages some of EJI's training programs and has challenged capital convictions and death sentences across Alabama.

Aaryn Urell, Senior Attorney, has been with EJI since she graduated from New York University School of Law in 2001. She has a Masters Degree in International Relations from American University and has worked on human rights and conflict resolution in Ghana and South Africa.

Cathleen Price, Cooperating Senior Attorney, is a 1996 graduate of Harvard Law School and a former law clerk of Justice Fred Banks on the Mississippi Supreme Court. She is a 1999 National Association for Public Interest Law (NAPIL) Equal Justice Fellow and has coordinated complex litigation at EJI for several years.

Sophia Bernhardt, Staff Attorney, is a Root-Tilden-Kern public interest scholar and 2008 graduate of New York University School of Law. She has a B.A. degree from the University of Chicago and has worked as a community organizer on behalf of tenants in the Bronx and as an investigator for the New York City Civilian Complaint Review Board.

Brandon Buskey, Staff Attorney, is a 2006 graduate of New York University School of Law. Prior to joining EJI, he clerked for Judge Janet C. Hall in the U.S. District Court of Connecticut. He received a B.A. degree from North Carolina State University in 2002.

Benjamin Maxymuk, Staff Attorney, is a 2006 graduate of Harvard Law School, where he co-founded a student organization to promote awareness of needed reforms in the criminal justice system. He clerked for U.S. District Judge Louis H. Pollak in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and for Judge Richard A. Paez on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit prior to joining EJI. He earned a B.A. in English from Duke University in 1995.

Kristen Nelson, Staff Attorney, is a 2004 graduate of Harvard Law School. She clerked for U.S. District Judge Myron H. Thompson and was a staff attorney for the Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia prior to joining EJI. She has a M. Phil degree in Criminology from Cambridge University and a B.A. degree from Wellesley College in English with a minor in Religion.

Sia Sanneh, Cooperating Staff Attorney, received a J.D. from Yale Law School in 2007. She has a Master’s degree in teaching of social studies from Columbia University Teachers College and earned a B.A. in history from Columbia University in 2001. After graduating law school, she was a Liman Public Interest Fellow at Legal Action Center in New York, where she studied the collateral consequences of school-based arrests.

Malcolm Grimes, Operations Manager, is a retired Lieutenant Colonel in the U.S. Air Force who brings years of diverse experience in operational management and implementation to EJI. He taught at Grambling University and a local high school before joining EJI. He earned his undergraduate degree in Mathematics from the Virginia Military Institute and a Masters in Teleprocessing Science from the University of Southern Mississippi.

Catherine Coleman-Flowers, Rural Development Manager, is a native of Lowndes County, Alabama. She taught high school in Detroit, Michigan, and Washington, D.C. before returning home to advocate for poor people in Alabama's Black Belt. She is the founder and director of the Alabama Center for Rural Enterprise and joined EJI in summer 2008 as part of EJI's Race and Poverty initiative.

Maria Morrison, Social Worker, has worked with children, adults, and families in the social services field for over ten years, most recently at a residential treatment program for emotionally troubled children. She has an M.S.W. from the University of Alabama, an M.F.A. in creative writing from Goddard College, and a B.A. in English from the University of Montana.

Luanne Muller, Deputy Project Manager, worked as a public defender at the Legal Aid Society in Brooklyn, New York, defending indigent people accused of crime, after graduating from New York University School of Law in 2005. She previously was a communications manager for professional basketball teams after graduating from Arizona State in 1998.

Heather Barrow, Paralegal, joined EJI in 2008 after working for several years as a mitigation specialist on Alabama capital cases. She has a B.A. in history and criminal justice from Alabama State University and previously interned at EJI.

Alesha Judkins, Paralegal, joined EJI's staff in 2008 after teaching French at Jefferson Davis High School in Montgomery, Alabama. She graduated from Hollins University, where she earned a B.A. in international studies and French.

Evan Milligan, Paralegal, joined the EJI staff in 2008. He worked as a community organizer in Montgomery, Alabama, for FOCAL, the Federation of Child Care Centers of America, prior to joining EJI. He has a B.A. degree in religion from Birmingham-Southern College and is working towards a Masters of Education from Alabama State University.

Lynda Black, Staff Assistant, came to EJI in 2008. She previously worked for over 20 years at the University of Pittsburgh in the Academic Resource Center. She was responsible for Center operations and research and performed a wide range of administrative tasks.

Michael Cone, IT and Facilities Manager, brings years of experience in information technology and facilities management. Prior to joining EJI, he provided IT development and support services to the largest emergency call center in Saskatchewan, Canada. He holds a Criminal Justice Diploma from Lethbridge Community College and a Network and Internet Support Specialist Diploma from CDI College.

Lee Eaton, Staff Assistant, has 20 years experience providing administrative and executive support in both for-profit and non-profit settings. She has worked with the American Red Cross in New York and with the Hibernia Bank in California. She graduated from Wells College and has been on the staff at EJI since 2001.

Jerline Thompson, Staff Assistant, has been with EJI since 2001. She has a B.A. in Business Management from Troy University, and has years of support experience, primarily in medical and financial settings, with a concentration in communications and customer relations.

Ramona Thornton, Staff Assistant, graduated from Huntingdon College in 1991, with a B.A. in Art. She brings a wealth of administrative and operations assistance experience to EJI.

Catherine Williams, Staff Assistant, is a 2005 graduate of Auburn University-Montgomery, where she received an M.A. in Judicial Administration and an ABA-approved paralegal certificate. She received a B.A. in English from Spelman College in 1999.

Samson Asiyanbi, Fellow, received a J.D. degree from the University of California, Berkeley School of Law in 2008, where he participated in the death penalty clinic. He has a B.A. degree in economics and government from the University of Texas at Austin. He has interned with the Rhode Island public defender's office and taught high school in Austin, Texas.

Stephen Chu, Fellow, is a 2008 graduate of New York University School of Law, where he co-chaired a committee of the Asian-Pacific American Law Student Association and advocated on behalf of children in delinquency cases. He has a B.A. in Biochemistry and Philosophy-Neuroscience-Psychology. He spent a year clerking for Minnesota Supreme Court Justice Alan C. Page before joining EJI.

Carla Crowder, Fellow, received a J.D. from the University of Alabama School of Law in 2009. She has a B.A. in English and History from Huntingdon College. Prior to joining EJI, she was an award-winning journalist who most recently covered Alabama prison and parole systems, juvenile justice, and capital punishment for The Birmingham News.

Alexander Goldenberg, Cooperating Attorney, received his J.D. degree in 2007 from New York University School of Law, where he participated in the clinical program at EJI. After graduating law school, he clerked for U.S. District Court Judge Jan E. Dubois in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and for Chief Judge Dennis G. Jacobs on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. He has a B.S. from Cornell.