In February we welcomed three Leading Edge Fellows to Mesa. Taina Vargas, Raha Jorjani and Tamisha Walker are ceaselessly dedicated to advocacy around immigration and mass incarceration, and we were honored to provide them space for this crucial work.
Taina co-founded Initiate Justice and Initiate Justice Action to activate the political power of people directly impacted by mass incarceration. Initiate Justice has co-sponsored legislation aimed at ending mass incarceration and recruited over 45,000 currently incarcerated people to help lead the efforts. She has personally supported a loved one who was incarcerated for 7 years.
Raha champions immigrant rights as the director of California's first public defender deportation defense unit, a model she spearheaded that is now replicated nationwide. Raha previously worked as a clinical professor and taught the first "Crimmigration" course offered at UC Berkeley Law. She has provided pro bono aid to countless immigrants, most of them detained.
Tamisha is a founding member and executive director of the Safe Return Project, a campaign to secure the freedom and liberation of formerly incarcerated individuals. Since her release from incarceration in 2009, she has been a community organizer and well-respected advocate. Tamisha organizes campaigns at the local, state and federal levels.
Taina Angeli Vargas Tamisha Torres-Walker #leadingedgefellows
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