Open Society Foundations Announce 2024 Soros Justice Fellows

NEW YORK—The Open Society Foundations are proud to announce the 2024 cohort of Soros Justice Fellows, featuring a diverse group of emerging and established leaders in criminal justice reform. The group includes artists, lawyers, activists, nonprofit innovators, journalists, and filmmakers from across the United States. 

“Having worked with the Soros Justice Fellowships for more than a decade, I've seen countless fellows make a lasting impact, both locally and nationally,” said Christina Voight, senior program manager at Open Society–U.S. “This program is a powerful force for justice in the U.S., rooted in the belief that genuine transformation often begins within communities themselves.”

“In the face of the significant challenges our nation is currently facing, we are excited to hear the perspectives and plans of the 2024 Soros Justice Fellows, who are committed to building a justice system that is both efficient and equitable,” said Adam Culbreath, senior team manager at Open Society-U.S. “We are excited to welcome such a skilled group at this crucial time in history.”

Each fellow will receive stipends ranging from $100,000 to $140,000 for projects spanning 12 to 18 months, focused on ensuring accountability within the U.S. criminal justice system.  

Working across the country, the fellows will explore innovative solutions to issues like mass incarceration, the criminalization of immigrants, racial inequalities, and police brutality.  

The 2024 fellows join over 400 other individuals who, since 1997, have received support through the Soros Justice Fellowships as part of a broader effort to curb mass incarceration and ensure a fair and equitable system of justice in the United States. 

2024 Soros Justice Fellows

Catherine Besteman and Brandon Brown will educate, coordinate, and interrupt the flow of people into prisons through building a robust, reparative, healing alternative to incarceration in the wake of harm.  

Claudia Muñoz-Castellano will educate and create a Texas statewide legal empowerment program to combat the alarming rise in criminalizing policies and practices that target immigrants.

Deborah Small will study the impact of local efforts to “reimagine public safety,” focusing on the effectiveness of the initiatives, enhancing trust between law enforcement and the community, and addressing systemic issues. 

Elizabeth Kennedy will research deportees to El Salvador and Honduras, focusing on youth, Indigenous and Garifuna communities, the LGBTQI+ population, and survivors of sexual and gender-based violence. 

George Morton will establish an initiative that elevates the vast expanse of Black narratives and fosters the transformation of Black people as artists and art subjects. 

Gina Jackson and Lea Wetzel will build a national model of peer support and best practices for missing and murdered Indigenous Womxn (MMIW/G).

Kelly Davis will research the needs and experiences of pregnant people who have been incarcerated to inform and advance a broader policy agenda based on gender-based violence, reproductive justice, and criminal justice reform.  

Lauren Faraino will engage in legal and storytelling advocacy to investigate, and expose, and halt the unlawful practice of harvesting organs of people who die while incarcerated without family permission. 

Laverne Thompson will craft a dynamic community archive of the groundbreaking efforts of Louisiana’s advocates and visionaries who paved the way for criminal justice reform in Louisiana. 

Nia Lee will spearhead a national series for justice-impacted Black and Brown queer women, femmes, trans, and gender-expansive individuals to create a platform for dialogue, community building, and transformative justice spaces. 

Temi Mwale will examine how technology produces state violence and harm through the criminalization of Black communities, with a unique focus on the parallels between the U.S., the United Kingdom, and Brazil.

Tijanna Eaton will support authors who have served time in U.S. prisons, jails, and immigration detention centers, with wraparound coaching and services to develop books sharing their vital stories.