Laura (she/her) has led our national campaign with the 8th Amendment Project since 2018, providing technical assistance and strategic support across all aspects of the work. Prior to that she spent nearly a decade as Director of Campaigns and Strategy at Equal Justice USA (EJUSA), where she served as a chief strategist in the successful repeal campaigns in Connecticut, Maryland, and Nebraska, and advised policy advocates nationwide.

Laura specializes in building broad coalitions—bringing together victims, law enforcement, and conservative voices—and she led the creation of the groundbreaking national initiative Conservatives Concerned About the Death Penalty. She also served as the lead advisor to the Responsible Business Initiative for Justice, helping to engage trade and business leaders in criminal justice reform advocacy.

Before transitioning to campaign work, Laura spent 12 years as a public defender in New York and worked as a legal analyst on television.

Stefanie (she/her) began her advocacy against the death penalty in 1999. She has worked for the 8th Amendment Project since 2014, serving first as Communications Director and later as Deputy Director. She also served as the Communications Director for the Fair Punishment Project. In 2016, Stefanie acted as the Communications Director for California’s No on Prop 66 campaign. Prior to this, she worked for the national political organization MoveOn.org, where she served as Communications Manager and as a Manager of Campaign Support. Between 2002 and 2011, Stefanie worked at Death Penalty Focus, where she held the position of Associate Director and worked to lay the groundwork for Prop 34, which sought to repeal the death penalty in California. In 2008, she was awarded the Abolitionist of the Year Award by the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty. Stefanie is a graduate of U.C. Berkeley and is based in Oakland, CA with her husband and daughter.

Furonda Brasfield (she/her) is a licensed attorney, residing in Little Rock, Arkansas. Furonda received a Bachelor of Arts in Public Administration from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, and her Juris Doctor from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock’s William H. Bowen Law School. She formerly served as the Executive Director of the Arkansas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty (ACADP) during the 2017 #8in10 killing spree where Arkansas officials hatched a plan to execute eight men in ten days. Aside from her work in the death penalty movement, Furonda is active with a number of grassroots organizations, including:  the DecARcerate campaign to end mass incarceration in Arkansas, the Racial Disparities in the Criminal Justice System Steering Committee, the NAACP, and The Arkansas Poor People’s Campaign. Furonda enjoys connecting people and ideas; and ushering new energy into old spaces.

Jon has been at the forefront of media efforts for national and state campaigns to end the death penalty for more than a decade.

Prior to becoming USCEDP Media Director, Jon operated a public relations firm that played a central role in the successful repeal campaigns of Connecticut, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Colorado, and Virginia.

Before his public relations career, Jon was an Emmy Award winning television news reporter and anchor.

Sophia Har (she/her) brings over a decade of experience in nonprofit communications, digital strategy, and content production. She provides coaching and technical assistance to more than 20 partner organizations and supports their development and implementation of digital and content strategies. Leveraging the power of digital tools, Sophia works to share narratives that humanize people who are directly impacted by the criminal legal system, motivate political action, and contribute to greater inclusivity in our social movements. Prior to joining USCEDP, she managed digital ad and SMS campaigns at Color Of Change and directed internal and external communications for ActionAid USA and Jubilee USA. Currently she resides in the DC metro area and enjoys building community through soccer and grassroots organizing.