Building the Mission

Advancing Survivor-Centered Work
Into Lasting Impact.

The team turning vision into practice — driving advocacy, building partnerships, delivering legal services, and ensuring that every person Life After Justice serves has the support they need to truly heal and rebuild.

Staff Team
Joi Thomas
Executive Director
Joi Thomas
Entertainment attorney turned nonprofit leader, bringing legal expertise and visionary leadership to LAJ.
William Jones
Director
William Jones
Seasoned nonprofit leader with a track record strengthening fundraising, strategy, and institutional outcomes.
Megan D. Baca
Legal Director
Megan D. Baca
Founding Director of California Innocence Advocates — has helped free ten innocent clients serving life sentences for crimes they did not commit.
Dr. Vanessa Bouché
Director of Research
Dr. Vanessa Bouché
Award-winning scholar leading LAJ's National Amplification Campaign — the first survivor-led national survey of its kind.
Dr. Darlene Perry
Program Manager, Mental Health
Dr. Darlene Perry
Clinical and forensic psychologist with decades of experience in trauma-informed care for marginalized communities.
Parise King
Empowerment Resource Coach
Parise King
Recreational therapist and mental health counselor with 20 years of experience in nonprofit communities.
Tyra Patterson
Empowerment Fellow in Development
Tyra Patterson
Exoneree, advocate, and dynamic speaker. Served 23 years wrongfully incarcerated before walking free on Christmas Day 2017.
Core Research Team — National Survey
Ricky Kidd
Core Research Team — National Survey
Ricky Kidd
Nationally recognized speaker, author, and advocate. Spent over 23 years wrongfully incarcerated.
Sean Ellis
Core Research Team — National Survey
Sean Ellis
Exoneree and advocate. Spent nearly 22 years wrongfully incarcerated. Subject of the Netflix series Trial 4.
Obie Anthony
Core Research Team — National Survey
Obie Anthony
Exoneree and founder of Exonerated Nation. Spent 17 years wrongfully incarcerated in California.
Internship Program
Summer 2026 Legal Interns.

Training the next generation of advocates — each summer, law students from across the country join Life After Justice to work alongside our attorneys on active cases, investigations, and research. This summer’s cohort is contributing to:

Presentations for the Conviction Review Unit Drafting petitions for writ of habeas corpus Comprehensive case review Post-conviction investigation & witness interviews Post-exoneration compensation Incentivized witness research Meetings with incarcerated clients Combating immigration consequences of wrongful conviction Motions to unseal law enforcement personnel files Evidentiary hearing preparation
Faridat Animashaun
Summer 2026 Legal Intern
Faridat Animashaun
Harvard Law School
Focused on the systemic failures that lead to wrongful convictions — and what it takes to rebuild after release.
Haley Hockin
Summer 2026 Legal Intern
Haley Hockin
NYU Law
Boston College Innocence Program alum, presenting new scientific consensus on eyewitness testimony for her incarcerated client.
Julia Lima
Summer 2026 Legal Intern
Julia Lima
Yale Law School
Working on a case at the intersection of immigration and criminal law.
Jalise Martinez Lopez
Summer 2026 Legal Intern
Jalise Martinez Lopez
Washington University School of Law
Working to secure post-exoneration compensation for a recently exonerated client.
Kate O'Connell
Summer 2026 Legal Intern
Kate O'Connell
Penn Carey Law
Taking the lead on the case of a client who has maintained his innocence for 30 years.
Maddie Yoo
Summer 2026 Legal Intern
Maddie Yoo
UVA Law
Interviewing her incarcerated client, witnesses, and experts — and drafting a motion to unseal police misconduct records.