Uploaded June 2020 | Updated September 2026, 5 hours ago
“I hate when people say, ‘I can’t wait to go back to normal.’ If you’re a black person, a brown person, a woman, or any person that’s in the margins, you know that ‘normal’ has never been your friend. We can’t afford to go back to that.”
Communities from coast to coast are feeling the effects of COVID-19 in countless ways. At Tom Tom, we believe that there’s a more pressing need for connection and conversation among peer community leaders than ever before. What specific struggles are they facing? Which of their turn-on-a-dime efforts have been fruitful? And how do nonprofits, who rely heavily on fundraising to cover operating costs, survive with asks for support coming from all sectors?
Last week, our justice roundtable brought together a dozen advocates, organizers, and experts who are working tirelessly to reform the system and to help incarcerated individuals as well as those who have been released. See an excerpt from the discussion below.
If you’d like to join us for our next justice roundtable, or a roundtable focusing on another theme related to innovation in America’s cities (economic development, education, justice, etc.), please reach out to programming@tomtomfoundation.org.
Meet the Justice Roundtable Participants:
Sue Ellen Allen, Founder, Reinventing Reentry (Phoenix, AZ)
Dawn Blagrove, Executive Director, EmancipateNC (Durham, NC)
Nora Demleitner, Professor of Law, Washington & Lee University (Lexington, VA)
Chris Fitz, Director of Strategic Initiatives, Advoz: Mediation & Restorative Justice (Lancaster, PA)
Harold Folley, Community Organizer, Legal Aid Justice Center (Charlottesville, VA)
Jasmine Heiss, Campaign Director – In Our Backyards, Vera Institute of Justice (Philadelphia, PA)
Chas Moore, Executive Director, Austin Justice Coalition (Austin, TX)
Stephanie Morales, Commonwealth’s Attorney, City of Portsmouth, VA (Portsmouth, VA)
Joanne Page, President & Chief Executive Officer, The Fortune Society (New York, NY)
Melba Pearson, Candidate, Miami-Dade State Attorney, and Former Deputy Director, ACLU of Florida (Miami, FL)
Josh Spickler, Executive Director, Just City – Memphis (Memphis, TN)
Erika Viccellio, Executive Director, The Fountain Fund (Charlottesville, VA)
Sheba Williams, Executive Director, Nolef Turns, Inc. (Richmond, VA)
Tom Tom:
Rachel Baker, Summit Director, Tom Tom Foundation (Charlottesville, VA)
(Facilitator) Ben Wilkes, Program Manager, Tom Tom Foundation (Charlottesville, VA)
“I hate when people say, ‘I can’t wait to go back to normal.’ If you’re a black person, a brown person, a woman, or any person that’s in the margins, you know that ‘normal’ has never been your friend. We can’t afford to go back to that.”
Communities from coast to coast are feeling the effects of COVID-19 in countless ways. At Tom Tom, we believe that there’s a more pressing need for connection and conversation among peer community leaders than ever before. What specific struggles are they facing? Which of their turn-on-a-dime efforts have been fruitful? And how do nonprofits, who rely heavily on fundraising to cover operating costs, survive with asks for support coming from all sectors?
Last week, our justice roundtable brought together a dozen advocates, organizers, and experts who are working tirelessly to reform the system and to help incarcerated individuals as well as those who have been released. See an excerpt from the discussion below.
If you’d like to join us for our next justice roundtable, or a roundtable focusing on another theme related to innovation in America’s cities (economic development, education, justice, etc.), please reach out to programming@tomtomfoundation.org.
Meet the Justice Roundtable Participants:
Sue Ellen Allen, Founder, Reinventing Reentry (Phoenix, AZ)
Dawn Blagrove, Executive Director, EmancipateNC (Durham, NC)
Nora Demleitner, Professor of Law, Washington & Lee University (Lexington, VA)
Chris Fitz, Director of Strategic Initiatives, Advoz: Mediation & Restorative Justice (Lancaster, PA)
Harold Folley, Community Organizer, Legal Aid Justice Center (Charlottesville, VA)
Jasmine Heiss, Campaign Director – In Our Backyards, Vera Institute of Justice (Philadelphia, PA)
Chas Moore, Executive Director, Austin Justice Coalition (Austin, TX)
Stephanie Morales, Commonwealth’s Attorney, City of Portsmouth, VA (Portsmouth, VA)
Joanne Page, President & Chief Executive Officer, The Fortune Society (New York, NY)
Melba Pearson, Candidate, Miami-Dade State Attorney, and Former Deputy Director, ACLU of Florida (Miami, FL)
Josh Spickler, Executive Director, Just City – Memphis (Memphis, TN)
Erika Viccellio, Executive Director, The Fountain Fund (Charlottesville, VA)
Sheba Williams, Executive Director, Nolef Turns, Inc. (Richmond, VA)
Tom Tom:
Rachel Baker, Summit Director, Tom Tom Foundation (Charlottesville, VA)
(Facilitator) Ben Wilkes, Program Manager, Tom Tom Foundation (Charlottesville, VA)
