Waleisah Wilson

Waleisah Wilson is a dedicated criminal justice reform activist and organizer. She staunchly supports efforts that address disability justice, ending solitary confinement and mass incarceration, voter disenfranchisement, ending the stigmas associated with having a criminal record and eliminating the unjust barriers to reentry. Her passion stems from her personal struggles with reentry and is the reason why she founded NewLife Second Chance Outreach, Inc., a nonprofit organization that addresses the lack of direct employment services specifically for those with criminal convictions and offers workshops on subjects that will help them move into self-sufficiency which include job readiness, budgeting, credit education, banking and entrepreneurship. Through her advocacy work and her active community involvement, she is known as a fearless community leader and reentry expert and is often sought to speak on issues that impact justice involved people, particularly, the challenges of reentry, the barriers to unemployment, reintegration challenges for those with sex offenses, the faith community’s role in reentry and justice equity for the disabled and LGBTQIA+ communities.

She is a member of The National Council for Incarcerated and Formerly Incarcerated Women and Girls (NCIFIWG), the National Incarceration Association, All of Us or None, JustLeadershipUSA, The National Network for Justice (NJJ), the Justice Reform Partnership, the End Mass Incarceration (EMI) Georgia Network, GA ADAPT, Metro Atlanta Reentry Coalition, the Formerly Incarcerated College Graduates Network, Family Equality Council’s National Network of LGBTQ Families Group serves as a board director with her organization, Restore Georgia, Georgia Coalition for Higher Education in Prison (GACHEP) and the Multifaith Initiative to End Mass Incarceration (EMI). She is a 2020 Soros Justice Fellow, a 2017 JustLeadershipUSA Leading with Conviction Fellow, holds two Master’s degrees, is the owner of two businesses and serves as the Client Services Advocate at the Southern Center for Human Rights.