Justice Fellowship highlights lived‑experience leaders; MacArthur grant funds program through 2027

Multnomah County commissioners heard personal testimony and program detail Wednesday about a Justice Fellowship that trains people with lived experience of the criminal legal system to serve as paid advisors, civic leaders and policy contributors.

Enrique Rivera, the county’s project coordinator for the fellowship, told the board he arrived in Multnomah County after nearly six years in custody and later built a county career starting as a library page. “I get to do now for others what was once done for me,” Rivera said, describing how the fellowship recruits, trains and pays participants to bring firsthand knowledge to county policy discussions.

Sarah Mullen, executive director of the Local Public Safety Coordinating Council, said the fellowship was launched with support from the MacArthur Foundation’s Safety and Justice Challenge. She told commissioners the MacArthur funds cover Rivera’s position and ongoing stipends for fellows through fiscal year 2027; beyond that date, “we don’t have ongoing funds” committed, she said.

Faculty and partner staff described the curriculum and goals. Amara Perez of the Office of Community Involvement summarized a training session that taught fellows how to testify at public hearings and meet with elected officials; the workshops emphasized practice, peer feedback and role play. “This model acknowledges justice fellows as community educators who are teaching people in their own communities,” Perez said.

Policy staff who helped recruit applicants said the fellowship intentionally uses low‑barrier outreach. Salome, policy director for Commissioner Singleton, said the program advertised through social media and local justice‑involved organizations and aimed to link fellows to paid work projects as well as training.

Fellows described concrete impacts. Lionel Irving, an inaugural fellow, said the fellowship expanded his credibility and professional opportunities and allowed him to see emergency responders and regional partners up close: “I was blown away by the efforts” of 9‑1‑1 staff, he said after a site visit. Lisa Gersh, who was in the program’s first cohort, told the board the fellowship treated lived experience as expertise and placed alumni on advisory boards, policy coalitions and violence prevention teams.

Commissioners praised the program’s practical emphasis and asked about sustainability. Commissioner Vince Jones Dixon asked for the annual MacArthur allocation and whether the fellowship has been integrated into county strategic planning; Mullen reiterated that MacArthur support runs through 2027 and that the council has budgeted roughly $30,000 for ongoing stipends in that grant period, but no recurring county funding has been secured beyond the grant.

Rivera described recruitment and assignment practices: the program received 87 applicants for its first cohort and selected 10; fellows can opt into projects that match their interests and skills, and the program maintains contact lists, alumni gatherings and direct outreach. That approach, presenters said, helped eliminate attrition: the original cohort completed the curriculum and most continue to do project work.

What happens next: commissioners asked staff to provide more detailed budget figures and to describe how fellows’ roles will be sustained once the MacArthur grant ends. The board did not take any formal action on funding during the briefing; the presentation concluded with the chair thanking fellows and staff and moving on to the county’s budget work session.

Sources: Program staff and fellows who spoke at the Multnomah County Board of Commissioners briefing and who identified themselves on the record, and county budget and program slides presented at the hearing.