Michaela Pommells has been named executive director of the Youth First Justice Collaborative (formerly Youth First). The collaborative seeks to end youth incarceration across the nation by dismantling the youth prison model and investing in community supports.
Pommells has more than a decade of experience in grassroots organizing and youth leadership and previously led the Care, Not Control Campaign to close youth prisons in Pennsylvania.
“Michaela has a deep commitment to and experience in supporting young people who have been impacted by youth incarceration to become leaders in the movement to abolish youth prisons. She also has a proven track record of successfully organizing and building power in frontline communities to promote youth decarceration and investment in community alternatives. Michaela is a rising star in the youth justice field, and I couldn’t be more thrilled that shewill be leading the Youth First Justice Collaborative in its next chapter,” Mishi Faruqee, director of the Andrus Family Fund and former executive director of Youth First, said in a written statement.
