Lisa María Castellanos, Program Officer for the Justice with Dignity Program

As Program Officer for the Justice with Dignity Program, Lisa works with organizations and networks that seek to reduce U.S. society’s dependence on incarceration. In this role, Lisa works closely with Pat Clark to manage all aspects of the grantmaking process, including evaluating proposals; making funding recommendations to the Board of Directors, maintaining relationships with grantees; and supporting grantee capacity building.

Lisa joined the Fund for Nonviolence in 2007 as a program assistant. In 2008, she became a Program Officer for the Justice with Dignity Program. Prior to joining the Fund, she worked as the statewide campaign director for a youth-led statewide organization that fights for racial justice and equity in low-income California schools.  Her previous experiences include multi-level policy advocacy and campaign development, direct action community organizing, immigrant rights, welfare reform and economic justice issues.  Lisa earned her B.A. in Feminist Studies from University of California Santa Cruz, considers herself an Alta Californiana and lives with her two sons, Daniel and Abel.