Roberta “Toni” Meyers Douglas, MS

Roberta “Toni” Meyers Douglas, MS has over 30 years of experience participating in and working to build and advance just transformational movements that disrupt interdependent systems of discrimination, disadvantage, oppression, and genocide. She is an advocate, strategist, communicator, trainer, and convener poised to challenge racial, social, and economic inequity and injustice. She has dedicated her career to building stepping stones that take Black, Latiné, Indigenous, and other marginalized groups closer to achieving their full potential by breaking down barriers used to deny their dignity. Her career has been directed by the words of Dr. Martin Luther King.

 “Make a career of humanity. Commit yourself to the noble struggle of civil rights. You will make a greater person of yourself, a greater nation of your country, and a finer world to live in.” ~ Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

 Toni is a respected thought leader whose expertise includes legislative and public policy analysis; organizational development; nonprofit management; program/project management; grant writing; fundraising; community organizing; coalition building, and public speaking. Toni currently serves as the Vice President of State Strategy & Reentry at the Legal Action Center (LAC) and as the director of the National H.I.R.E. Network, a project of the Legal Action Center that works to improve employment and other opportunities for people with criminal records. She has decades of experience bridging research to practice gaps in reentry policy; training workforce development and other reentry practitioners, and corrections staff on employment strategies that best serve job seekers with criminal histories; developing and promoting legislative campaigns; authored dozens of guidebooks and policy briefs on criminal record policies that impact employment, housing, and education opportunities; and testified before and served as an advisor to Congress, government agencies, and state legislators about effective reentry policies and practices that reduce recidivism. She is also the Principal Consultant for JUST-TMD Consulting, LLC.

 In 2019, Toni was inducted into the Women in Human Services Hall of Fame in New York State by the Strong Nonprofits for a Better New York and in 2020 she was honored with the Excellence in Advocacy Award from the Women in Government Relations. However, her greatest achievements have been serving as a mentor to formerly incarcerated women and providing technical support to Black-led community-based organizations in their quest to build their organizational capacity and infrastructure, lead successful campaigns, and develop and lead strong networks and coalitions.

 Toni has a Bachelor of Science degree in Business, Management, and Economics from the State University of New York/Empire State College and a Master of Science degree in Public Safety with a specialization in Criminal Justice and Public Administration from Capella University. She resides in Georgia.