Jacqueline F. Shepherd

Jacqueline F. Shepherd is a lifelong Alaskan and lifelong supporter of the ACLU.  She is a 2004 graduate of Antioch College with double majors in Literature and Education (and she was two credits shy of minoring in ceramics).  After graduating, she returned to Alaska to raise children, work in politics and open and run a small business.  In 2013 she packed up her five kids and moved to southern California to attend UC Irvine School of Law.  After graduating from law school, she primarily worked for the Alaska Court System, honing her research skills and learning the ins and outs of the criminal justice system from the court's perspective.  She was excited to bring her knowledge and experience to the ACLU's Prison Project, as she sees prison reform as the most important issue facing America today.  She believes our criminal justice system and prison system are a shameful reflection of a country founded on racism and socio-economic oppression and sees prison as one of the largest enemies of the American child and family.  When she is not being the downer at parties that rattles off prison statistics, she is dipnetting, eating with her now-grown children, or traveling to see friends.