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Bay Area Criminal Justice Reformer Wins MacArthur ‘Genius Award’

By Peter Fimrite, San Francisco Chronicle | October 4, 2018

Stoneleigh Fellow Raj Jayadev has received a MacArthur Genius Grant for creating a model of grassroots collective action called participatory defense.

A Bay Area community organizer who started a Silicon Valley nonprofit that helps low-income families defend loved ones against criminal charges and navigate the justice system has been awarded a MacArthur Foundation “genius” grant.

Raj Jayadev, the 43-year-old co-founder of De-Bug, was among 25 people chosen Thursday as 2018 MacArthur Fellows, an annual award given to people who have shown extraordinary creativity and are deemed likely to continue to make important contributions to society.

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The Stoneleigh Foundation was founded in 2006 by John and Chara Haas to improve the life outcomes of our community's youth. We meet our mission by awarding Fellowships to exceptional leaders who advance change in the systems that serve these young people.

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We award two types of Fellowships to exceptional individuals who work within and alongside youth-serving systems to catalyze change. Our Fellows undertake projects that enhance how systems work together, improve practice, and generate new knowledge through action-oriented research.