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RESTORING JUSTICE THROUGH ADVOCACY

Elected to the Wisconsin State Assembly in 2018, Rep. Shelia Stubbs serves the state’s 77th district. She is the first African American to represent Dane County in the Wisconsin State Legislature. Though she serves on several assembly committees, she is a most prominent advocate for criminal justice and reentry policies and programs. Her passion for activism began when she was young. Growing up, she watched her mother advocate for others by contacting sheriffs and calling mayors to bring direct attention to some of the community’s greatest needs. “This work is in my blood. I’ve lived in neighborhoods that had a lot of drugs in them, so I’ve seen the need for change.” Her first volunteer experience was through the NAACP, where she began to realize many imprisonment cases involved innocent people. “I knew people were being treated terribly.” In 1995, she became a parole agent and worked in that role for eight years. “I saw that people were being imprisoned too quickly, mainly Black and brown people, so I knew I wanted to be a voice on the outside that allowed people to get the justice they need on the inside.” She is also a pastor and believes her heart for caring expands into ministry. She strives to be a trusted voice who demonstrates active work in solving community problems.

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