SLC Steering Committee

Doug Smith

Doug Smith is the Senior Policy Analyst with the Texas Criminal Justice Coalition (TCJC), working to end mass incarceration and expand opportunity for people upon release from jail and prison. He is the founding member of the Statewide Leadership Council; whose membership includes leaders from across the state who have been impacted by the criminal legal system. Doug is an Assistant Adjunct Professor of Social Welfare Policy at the University of Texas at Austin School of Social Work, and he trains advocates nationally on effective legislative strategy. He serves on the Board of the Austin Sobering Center. He graduated magna cum laude from St. Edward’s University in 1994 and earned his MSSW from the University of Texas at Austin in 2000.

Maggie Luna

Maggie Luna is a graduate of Anthony Graves Smart Justice Speakers Bureau at Thurgood Marshall School of Law at Texas Southern University. During Texas’ 2019 legislative session she participated as part of the Women’s Legislative Team, which successfully passed legislation defending the dignity of incarcerated women. Her work led her to become the current Hogg Foundation Peer Policy Fellow at the Texas Criminal Justice Coalition (TCJC), where she coordinates the Statewide Leadership Council and advances local and state policies to transform the justice system. Maggie was first arrested in 1996 as a juvenile and began to cycle in and out of the system; her last arrest was in 2017, and she now uses her 20 years of justice system involvement to assist in addressing the needs of system-involved women and their families. She serves as a member in multiple organizations and coalitions working to transform youth and adult justice systems to promote safer communities. She believes in elevating the importance of justice for women, as well as speaking with policymakers, judges, and CASA workers about improving safety for children when Child Protective Services in involved. She is also interested in expanding the use of certified peers to connect people with recovery-based supports following release from jail or prison.

Savannah Eldrige

Savannah Eldrige is the founder of Be Frank, Inc., which supports practices that improve indigent defense in appointed counsel systems, advocates for sentence reform, and promotes the legal empowerment of litigants and families. Be Frank, Inc., was formed in veneration of Savannah’s brother Frank. In her effort to aid him through his own appeal process, Savannah recognized that barriers such as lack of procedural knowledge and limited access to legal reference materials can inhibit a defendant’s ability to meet procedural requirements. Since then, she has been committed to lobbying for transparency in judicial practices and creating clearer pathways for post-conviction relief. Savannah is an active member of the Texas Prisons Air Conditioning Advocates, National Council of Incarcerated and Formerly Incarcerated Women and Girls, Families Against Mandatory Minimums, and the Women’s Legislative Team, which was formed during Texas’ 2019 legislative session to champion the dignity and rights of incarcerated women. She is a mother of three, has enjoyed a professional career as a nurse for 20 years, and resides in Corpus Christi, Texas.

Lori Mellinger

Lori Mellinger is a former newspaper writer and editor from East Texas. In the midst of a longtime addiction to pills and alcohol, she violated her probation in Smith County, Texas, and went on to serve two years of a six-year sentence in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. While in prison, Lori decided to make drastic changes in her life. She paroled to a faith-based women’s transitional housing ministry in Abilene, a city she had no ties to. It was at New Beginnings-Big Country (NBBC) that she found her calling: to help women in similar circumstances walk a path to freedom. After nine months at NBBC, Lori took over a large portion of the organization’s paperwork, letter-writing ministry, and newsletters. She attended a 13-week career development training program, FaithWorks of Abilene, which put her in an unpaid internship with United Way of Abilene. From there, Lori worked with Americorps VISTA for United Way of Abilene for a year, learning everything she could about the nonprofit sector. She created structure and systems for sustainability for NBBC and took it to a different funding level, winning the organization’s first-ever grants. With NBBC recently earning a place as a partner agency with United Way of Abilene, Lori will become the organization’s first paid staff member. She wrote a grant application for and was awarded $5,000 for a social enterprise project through Community Foundation of Abilene, as well as an $80,000 match to buy one of the homes that NBBC currently rents. Lori believes that relationships are key to successful funding and that passion drives change.

Kirsten Ricketts

Kirsten Ricketts is the Founder/Director of Women’s Services at Restorer Of City Streets, a 501(c)3 organization in Livingston, Texas, that is dedicated to transforming the lives of previously incarcerated women through a Christ-centered alternative to secular housing and rehabilitation. Kirsten was not only previously incarcerated herself but met and married Jeremy Ricketts, who is currently serving a 50-year sentence at the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. This union opened doors to advocate on a very personal level for those currently and previously incarcerated. In 2018, Kirsten participated in the inaugural class of the Anthony Graves Smart Justice Speakers Bureau at Thurgood Marshall School of Law at Texas Southern University. During Texas’ 2019 legislative session, she joined the Women’s Legislative Team to fight for a bill that would consider a parent’s status as a primary caretaker of a child during sentencing – the brainchild of Lauren Johnson (ACLU of Texas). She also helped advocate for change through the Women’s Dignity Act with Lindsey Linder (Texas Criminal Justice Coalition). Furthermore, Kirsten worked on the Independent Oversight & Earned Time Credit initiative with the Texas Inmate Families Association. Kirsten completed her Bachelor of Science in Biblical Counseling from The College of Biblical Studies. She is due to graduate from Regent University in 2021 with a Master’s degree in Human Services.

Jennifer Toon

Jennifer Toon is a formerly incarcerated activist with a passion for criminal justice reform. Toon was originally adjudicated under Texas determinate sentencing laws as a teenager. She has 25 years of criminal justice involvement as both a juvenile and an adult. For the past 10 years, Jennifer has served as a columnist for The Echo, the Texas prison system’s newspaper. She is well known for her regular column, “A Women’s Perspective,” and her writings have been a source of hope to many people while incarcerated. Most recently, Jennifer has been published in The Texas Observer, The Marshall Project, and The Guardian. She currently lives in East Texas and continues to inspire others through her YouTube channel. Jennifer is committed to bringing about change for women left behind. She believes there is still much to be done for reform and progress, and she supports the healing of incarcerated women.