ABOUT SANDRA

For over 30 years, Sandra Kay Barnhill, an attorney, has been an activist and national advocate for prisoners, their children and family members, and a champion for reentry services that provide comprehensive support to prisoners so that they can successfully reunite with their families and reintegrate back into the community.

Sandra is the founder and CEO of Foreverfamily, Inc., formerly Aid to Children of Imprisoned Mothers, Inc. (AIM), a national nonprofit headquartered in Atlanta that provides direct service programming for children and families affected by parental incarceration. In its three decades, Foreverfamily has provided services to over 35,000 children with a parent in prison.

Sandra’s policy level work in this area has included serving as a speaker and national expert for the 2009 White House Roundtable and Community Forum on Responsible Fatherhood and Strong Communities. She addressed the challenges of reentry for incarcerated fathers and their families and made policy recommendations to the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships and the Office of Justice Programs in the Bureau of Justice Assistance.

Sandra also served on the Advisory Board of the Council of State Governments Justice Center giving input to their “Children of Incarcerated Parents: An Action Plan for Federal Policymakers” report. She has also served as a consultant for the National Institute of Corrections and the Bureau of Prisons, concentrating in the area of gender responsive programming.

Sandra’s pioneering work was recognized by the Ford Foundation when she was selected as one of 18 recipients of their Leadership for a Changing World Award for tackling one of the nation’s most entrenched social problems, getting results and changing lives. She received her J.D. degree from the University of Texas at Austin School of Law and her B.A. from Georgia State University.