Call it serendipity or fate, the series of events and opportunities that brought together a passionate team of talented people. Whatever it was, we are grateful to serve and take action on racially-biased policing and criminal justice disparities in Iowa. We are people who seek justice, truth, and equity for Black and Brown people.

DSC08443cwHarvey Harrison

Harvey is a 1969 graduate of the University of Iowa Law School. He had a general civil law practice on the East side of Des Moines until his retirement in 2011. He is now engaged in school mediation projects and racial justice advocacy with many collaborations with corporations around the Des Moines area. As a part of this work, Harvey has been involved in the collection and evaluation of data on “Stops” and arrests by the Des Moines Police Department. With that information, he founded the nonprofit organization JustVoices to continue the fight against racial injustices in Des Moines, Iowa.

DSC08496cwLori Young

Lori is a graduate of Des Moines Tech High and Grand View University. Her professional experience lies in corporate internal and marketing communications. She’s a writer, artist, and community/social activist fighting on issues such as racial, climate, and economic justice for nearly 15 years. With her experience, she has joined the fight with Just Voices by leading web content writing, developing collateral materials, public speaking, and general project management.

 

 

 

 

DSC02993Brian O’Donnell

Brian is a long time Iowa resident, a graduate of Des Moines North High, earned a BS from the University of Iowa and a MS/PhD in Applied Mathematics from Iowa State University. He was a tenured Associate Professor of Mathematics and Statistics at Grand View University and is now a semi-retired Senior Data Scientist for General Dynamics Information Technology.  For the last two years he has been a volunteer statistician working with Just Voices where racial disparities in traffic stops and arrests have been analyzed and quantified by examining data received from the Iowa DOT and the Polk County Sheriff’s Office.