
Presita May
Host: First Defense Legal Aid
Emmy works to enforce and improve Georgia’s occupational licensure laws, expand access to licensed employment, and reduce the collateral impacts of mass incarceration by representing clients with criminal records, advocating for licensing policy change, and educating licensed workers about their rights.
By virtue of having a criminal record, more than one-third of Georgia residents face serious barriers to government-licensed professions, despite a recent state law requiring otherwise. In Georgia, roughly 40% of common low-income professions are licensed, and 14% of workers overall need a license to work. Access to stable employment is key to economic empowerment, successful reentry, and reducing the collateral consequences of a criminal record. The barriers of a criminal record to gainful employment are most harshly felt by over-policed Black and brown communities in Georgia, as well as low-income Georgians.
As a Southerner, Emmy feels strongly about opposing injustice in her home region, especially the consequences of the racially oppressive and unjust criminal legal system. She is thankful to Georgia Justice Project for sharing these values and is thrilled to work with Georgians with criminal records to expand access to employment and economic stability for all Georgians.
During the first year of the Fellowship, Emmy has:
In the next year, Emmy plans to:
Criminal justice reform efforts in Georgia Legislature collide with back-the-blue mood
As I serve clients at Georgia Justice Project who face irrational, unjust barriers to employment, stability, and reentry, I hope to amplify their voices and stories as examples of those fighting for change and justice in Georgia and across the South.
Emmy Williams /
2020 Equal Justice Works Fellow
Host: First Defense Legal Aid
Host: Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota
Sponsor: 3M Company, Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath
Current Fellow
Host: Central Minnesota Legal Services
Sponsor: Anonymous, Faegre Drinker, Target Corporation
Current Fellow
Host: New York Lawyers for the Public Interest
Sponsor: Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP