A lively conversation between two of the brightest minds on the frontlines of democracy focused on the challenges and opportunities of the contemporary moment — including voting rights, reproductive freedom, government transparency, federalism, civil liberties, and more — with an emphasis on what’s at stake in NJ and the nation ahead of November 5th. Panelists will delve into the role of state constitutions and hope as a policy priority and outcome.

Reception in Schultz Dining Room to follow.

Taifa Butler, President - Dēmos

After four years as a member of Demos’ Board of Trustees, Taifa Smith Butler began her tenure as Demos president in July 2021.

Butler came to Demos after nearly a decade at the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute, where, from 2015 to 2021, she led and inspired the GBPI team as its president and CEO. She is an established leader known as a problem solver and tireless champion for equity.

Taifa brings more than 20 years of experience in strategic communications, public policy research and data analysis in the public, nonprofit, and private sectors. Prior to joining the GBPI team as deputy director in 2011, she served as the policy and communications director for Georgia Family Connection Partnership where she co-managed the Georgia KIDS COUNT project and monitored public policy and its impact on children, families, and communities.

Named one of Atlanta’s 500 most powerful leaders in 2020 and 2021 by Atlanta Magazine, Taifa has served on various local, state and national committees and boards. Butler is a Class of 2017 Rockwood Leadership Institute “Leading from the Inside Out” Fellow, a member of the Leadership Georgia Class of 2016 and was a New Executive Fund fellow with the Open Society Foundation in 2015.

A first-generation college graduate, Taifa graduated from Mount Holyoke College and holds a master’s in public management and policy with a concentration in economic development and financial management from the Heinz School of Public Policy and Management at Carnegie Mellon University.

Amol Sinha, Executive Director - ACLU of NJ

Amol Sinha is a nationally recognized civil rights leader who has dedicated his career to advancing racial justice, holding institutions accountable, and promoting and defending rights and liberties.

As Executive Director of the ACLU of New Jersey (ACLU-NJ), Amol leads a team of dedicated professionals and guides the organization's innovative integrated advocacy work, utilizing litigation, policy, public education, and strategic communications to build a more equitable society.

Under his leadership, the ACLU-NJ has experienced tremendous growth, resulting in transformational change to New Jersey's civil rights landscape. During Amol's tenure, the ACLU-NJ has appeared before the New Jersey Supreme Court more times than any non-governmental party, deepened community partnerships across the state, and centered the experiences of directly impacted communities. Highlights include developing litigation and legislation that led to the early release of over 9,000 people from our state's prisons and jails, leading the successful fight to legalize cannabis through a racial justice lens, and passing legislation to ensure driver's licenses for all, regardless of immigration status.

Before joining the ACLU-NJ in 2017, Amol was an advocate at the Innocence Project, where he worked to address wrongful convictions and reform the criminal legal system across the country. From 2010-2015, Amol was the director of the Suffolk County Chapter of the New York Civil Liberties Union, where he focused primarily on criminal justice and immigrants' rights.

Amol is actively involved in the South Asian American community, including having served as the president of the South Asian Bar Association of New York.

Amol holds a BA from New York University and a JD from Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law. He is a frequent speaker across the country on leadership and issues including but not limited to civil rights and social justice. And he frequently appears in regional, national, and international news outlets as a commentator across many topics, including civil rights and liberties, racial justice, public interest law, and issues facing Asian American and South Asian communities.
 

Sponsorship of an event does not constitute institutional endorsement of external speakers or views presented.