Zach Norris Biography

Zach Norris is the Executive Director of the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, the author of Defund Fear: Safety Without Policing, Prisons, and Punishment, and the co-founder of Restore Oakland, a community advocacy and training center dedicated to empowering Bay Area residents to transform local economic and justice systems and create a safe and secure future for themselves and their families. Zach is also a co-founder of Justice for Families, a nationwide coalition of family-focused groups dedicated to ending the country's youth imprisonment crisis. Zach was instrumental in the creation of California's first statewide network for families of incarcerated youth, which led to the closure of five youth prisons in the state, the passage of legislation allowing families to communicate with their loved ones, and the defeat of Proposition 6, a divisive and ineffective criminal justice ballot measure. Forbes, the San Francisco Chronicle, the Boston Globe, and Kirkus Reviews have all commended Defund Fear, which was launched in 2020 (formerly named We Keep Us Safe). Zach is a graduate of the Labor Community Strategy Center's National School for Strategic Organizing in Los Angeles, California, in addition to being a Harvard graduate and NYU-educated attorney. He served on the boards of Witness for Peace, Just Cause Oakland, and Justice for Families in the past. In 2015, Zach received the American Constitution Society's David Carliner Public Interest Award, and he is a member of the Levi Strauss Foundation's Pioneers of Justice class of 2016. Zach is a devoted father and loving husband to two beautiful girls that he is raising in Oakland, California.

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