Bay Area Criminal Justice Reformer Wins MacArthur ‘Genius Award’

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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