Jody Kent is the Director & National Coordinator of the Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth. She works with advocates around the country to end the practice of sentencing youth to life without the possibility of parole, using a multi-pronged strategy that includes public education, legislative advocacy, and litigation.

Prior to joining the Campaign for Fair Sentencing of Youth in February 2009, Jody served as the Public Policy Coordinator for the ACLU National Prison Project (NPP) for two and a half years, where she spearheaded a campaign to amend the Prison Litigation Reform Act. Before joining the ACLU’s National Prison Project, she worked for three years at the ACLU of Southern California (ACLU-SC) in Los Angeles as the Jails Project Coordinator. In her role at the ACLU-SC, Jody was responsible for monitoring the L.A. county jails to ensure that certain legal requirements were met and basic services were provided to people incarcerated there. In June 2006, Jody was appointed to a panel of experts that reported to a federal district judge to negotiate and develop plans to reduce overcrowding at the nation’s largest jail.

Currently, Jody serves on the board of the Justice Policy Institute, a national research and advocacy organization, and Our Place DC, which provides services to women returning from prison in Washington, DC. Jody holds a BA from Boston College and a Master in Public Management from the University of Maryland’s Public Policy School.

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