The Bronx Defenders Celebrates Transition of Still She Rises Tulsa to Independent Nonprofit


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

July 1, 2019

TULSA – Still She Rises, Tulsa announced today their official transition from its parent organization, the Bronx Defenders, to its new status as an independent nonprofit.

Justine Olderman, Executive Director of the Bronx Defenders, and Aisha McWeay, Executive Director of Still She Rises, Tulsa, released the following joint statement: 

“Two years ago, Still She Rises was launched as a project of the Bronx Defenders, with the goal of using our holistic defense model to build something completely new: the nation’s first public defender office dedicated exclusively to representing mothers targeted by the criminal legal system. What better place to launch a project focused on this crisis than in the state of Oklahoma, which continues to incarcerate women at a higher rate than any other state in the country.

The results have been exemplary. Since 2017, the Still She Rises Tulsa team of criminal, civil and family attorneys, working in conjunction with a social worker, civil legal advocate, and community reception coordinator, have represented and fiercely advocated on behalf of nearly 1000 women in Tulsa. We’re beyond proud that Still She Rises Tulsa  is ready to embark on its next chapter as an independent nonprofit that continues to transform legal advocacy in the North Tulsa community. 

The success of Still She Rises is a testament to the fact that with dedicated team members and robust initiatives, the model of client-centered holistic defense can work anywhere. The Bronx Defenders and Still She Rises will continue to collaborate moving forward as we work together towards a shared goal of ending the incarceration crisis among women and transforming the criminal legal system in the Bronx, in Tulsa and all over the United States.”

For more information, click here: 

https://www.stillsherises.org/