Dr. Miller, author of Halfway Home: Race, Punishment, and the Afterlife of Mass Incarceration, is an associate professor at the University of Chicago’s Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy and Practice; a research professor at the American Bar Foundation; and a MacArthur “Genius Grant” Fellow (2022). As a chaplain at the Cook County Jail in Chicago, and as a sociologist studying mass incarceration, he has spent years alongside prisoners, formerly incarcerated people, and their families and friends, to understand the lifelong burden that arrests can entail. His work reveals a simple truth: life after incarceration can be its own form of prison.

Tara Moss oversees PDA programs that include LEAD and CoLEAD. Under her co-leadership, LEAD and CoLEAD grew from a pilot program to multi-agency initiatives with countywide impact and a commitment to harm reduction, trauma-informed care, racial equality, power sharing, and accountable relationships.

Judge McBurney has served on the Superior Court of Fulton County since April 2012. He handles a split docket of civil and criminal cases. He is also one of Fulton County’s Accountability Court judges, which means he has the opportunity to work with individuals who are serious about achieving a sustainable recovery from addiction. Judge McBurney chairs the Mental Health Task Force, a joint city-county collaboration of criminal justice and public service agencies from Atlanta and greater Fulton County. Before joining the bench, Judge McBurney worked as an Assistant United States Attorney in Atlanta. As a federal prosecutor, he focused on cases involving public corruption, international terrorism, and child exploitation. Judge McBurney received his B.A. from Harvard College and his J.D. from Harvard Law School. Prior to his years of public service, he worked as a management consultant for McKinsey & Company. Judge McBurney lives in Atlanta with his wife Courtney, an executive training officer at McDonald’s (yes, the burger place), two wonderful (and exhausting) boys, and two fuzzy dogs.

Robyn Hasan-Simpson is the executive director of Women on the Rise GA, a grass-roots, membership-based organization led by Black, formerly incarcerated women and others who have been impacted by the criminal legal system. She served 10 years in the Georgia prison system and, while there, created a newsletter to help uplift and organize women inside. She co-founded a statewide coalition to educate formerly incarcerated people to vote, called Helping Others Achieve Power and Equity, and also launched Women on the Rise Inside, whose members are women currently serving time in Georgia state prisons. She has completed fellowships with Just Leadership USA, Women Transcending Collective Leadership, and Women Organizing for Justice & Opportunity. She currently serves on the Board of the Illinois Alliance for Reentry & Justice, the Client Council Board for the National Legal Aid and Defender Association, and is Chair of the Vision Committee for Fulton County’s Diversion Center Justice Policy Board.

Cathryn Vassell has dedicated her career to working with individuals experiencing homelessness and individuals living in marginalized communities for over 25 years. She currently serves as the Chief Executive Officer of Partners for HOME, where she creates and executes the strategy and vision for ending homelessness in the City of Atlanta. Prior to joining Partners for HOME, Cathryn served concurrently as the Legal, Policy and Compliance Officer for St. Joseph’s Health System, and the Behavioral Health Coordinator for Mercy Care, Inc. There, she was instrumental in the development and management of a holistically integrated medical and behavioral health care program across 13 clinic sites. Cathryn has also served as the Program Director for City of Refuge, a shelter for women and children experiencing homelessness. Cathryn was admitted to the Georgia Bar in 2012 and is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) as well as an Advisory Board member for HouseATL and the Justice Policy Board.