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SPEAKER INFORMATION
DR. ALEKSANDRA CHAUHAN
In the fall of 2019 Dr. Aleksandra Chauhan obtained an OJJDP grant to start a Juvenile Defender Advocate position at the South Carolina Commission on Indigent Defense. In this position Dr. Chauhan focuses on South Carolina juvenile justice data collection and training and support of juvenile defense attorneys in the state. Prior to that, Dr. Chauhan was an assistant public defender in Richland County, SC. In 2015-2016, she obtained two federal grants to open a Youth Reentry Program at the Public Defender’s Office. The Youth Reentry team that she supervised consisted of a social worker, youth advocates and a civil attorney. It focused on holistic representation of the youth. Dr. Chauhan received her Ph.D. from the Department of Political Science at the University of South Carolina. During her doctoral studies she focused on researching the Convention on the Rights of the Child. After obtaining her Ph.D., she studied law and in 2013 received her J.D. at the USC School of Law. In addition to representing youth, Dr. Chauhan is on the Board of Directors of the Lawyers’ Committee for Children’s Rights and is on the Advisory Committee of the Southern Juvenile Defense Center. Dr. Chauhan has presented keynotes and workshops on issues of reentry and trauma at local, national and international conferences. She is actively involved in creating systemic change in her community and raising awareness about needs and challenges youth face in their communities. Dr. Chauhan was recognized as a 2017 Juvenile Public Defender of the Year and is a 2020 recipient of the Ambassador for Racial Justice scholarship.
Vivian Anderson
Vivian Anderson is a healer-activist dedicated to building a world where all Black girls thrive. Since 1996, Vivian’s work has been rooted in youth, teen, family and community health/wellbeing, racial and social justice. Vivian began her career as a teacher in 1996 at Timbuktu Academy of Science and Technology, then moved to NYC in 2000 where she would run programs and become Senior Program Director at the YMCA of Greater New York from 2000-2013. In 2012-2013, she served as the Interim Executive Director at Momentum Teens. From 2014-2015 she worked as a consultant with Girls for Gender Equity working on issues of school push out impacting girls of color.
In 2015, Vivian traded in the rich networks of her home in New York City, for many unknowns in Columbia, SC. Her courage was inspired by that of two young Black girls, introduced to the world when a school resource officer brutally assaulted one, for refusing to hand over a cell phone, and arrested her and the other girl, who stood up for her classmate when nobody else did. Thus #EveryBlackGirl was born. Since then, the #EveryBlackGirl campaign has become EveryBlackGirl, Inc, a 501c3 focused on creating the radical and systemic change that is needed to have a world worthy of the genius and heart of Every Black Girl.
Currently Vivian lives in Columbia, SC with her husband Lloyd Patterson. She serves on the board of the Cypress Fund and Children of Combahee. She has a membership/affiliation with Southern Partners Fund, In Our Names and Campaign for Youth Justice.
Claudiare Motley
Claudiare Motley is a Professional, a Brother, a Husband, and a Father of three children. On June 15, 2014, he was shot in the face in an attempted carjacking. The allure of gun violence caused a 15-year-old boy to pull the trigger and changed Claudiare’s life forever. Despite the traumatic event of being shot, Claudiare graduated from law school in December 2014. He has worked with his wife at Motley Legal Services. Initially centralized in Afghanistan, they have worked in International Law with a focus on human rights. Most recently they are representing more domestic issues dealing with clients on immigration and families of BIPOC men killed by the police. He is a hopeful bar candidate for the 2021 North Carolina Bar. Claudiare is not only looking forward to expanding the capacity of the law firm, but to have an increasing presence and influence for his community. His passion is to support and fight for the civil rights of individuals in his community and society. Claudiare’s goal is to uplift those that are on the front lines of justice and effectuate policy to give them the support they need.
Aparna Polavarapu
Aparna Polavarapu is the executive director and founder of the South Carolina Restorative Justice Initiative, the goals of which are to educate and promote dialogue about the concepts of restorative and transformative justice, to facilitate the development of community-based restorative justice mechanisms, and to develop publicly available educational material about these topics. Professor Polavarapu is also an Associate Professor at the University of South Carolina School of Law. She has over a decade of experience working in human rights and rule of law, both domestically and abroad. She has significant legal expertise in the field of legal pluralism, with a particular research focus on informal, community-driven justice systems and how they work together with formal, state-centered systems. Her research has covered a wide range of topics, including legal innovations used by courts to expand access to constitutional justice, the use of restorative justice mechanisms to combat domestic violence in Uganda, and how customary and statutory law interact to govern land rights in sub-Saharan Africa. Much of her scholarship draws from her direct experience working with women’s rights groups in sub-Saharan Africa and in the United States. In addition, Professor Polavarapu continues to work with practitioners on domestic and global women’s rights and justice matters. She has instructed practitioners on international rule of law topics, including African customary law, legal pluralism, and strategies for promoting human rights in legally pluralist systems. She has authored or contributed to expert human rights reports for organizations such as the UN Foundation and the Center for Reproductive Rights. Locally, she has testified before the South Carolina Senate on legislation affecting women and has conducted trainings on restorative justice. Professor Polavarapu teaches courses in Comparative Law, Rule of Law, Transnational Law, International Human Rights Law, and Restorative and Transformative Justice. Prior to coming to South Carolina, Professor Polavarapu was a Teaching Fellow with Georgetown's International Women's Human Rights Clinic. Prior to that, she practiced law at Edwards Angell Palmer & Dodge LLP in Boston. She received an LLM and JD from Georgetown University Law Center, a BS from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and an MA in international affairs from The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University.
Lester Young, Jr.
Lester Young, Jr is a native of Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. At the age of 19, Lester was given a life sentence (with the possibility of parole after serving 20 years). During his time in prison, Lester struggled with finding redemption and often wondered what his purpose was. While journaling he asked himself this question, “What is the footprint you want to leave in this world?” It was then that he realized his purpose was to be “that” voice to help at risk youth. With approval from the warden, Lester along with the prison chaplain began meeting to create outlines, programs, and classes to instruct and mentor fellow inmates. This is where the idea of him establishing his non-profit organization “Path2Redemption” got its start. On May 15, 2015 (22 years and 5 months later), Lester was released on parole. Even after his release, the outlines of his programs are still being taught in prison. Mr. Young is setting a new standard for “living a life of redemption”. His commitment to advocating for criminal reform is changing the way society has been proportioned to deal with incarcerated individuals transitioning back into society upon release from prison. As the 11 “Statewide Organizer for South Carolina at JustLeadershipUSA, he specializes in developing and managing innovative campaigns in multiple cities. Lester is widely known for his work with the Mayor of Columbia, SC; in having the first statewide ordinance passed for JustLeadershipUSA’s current campaign entitled “#Banthebox”. This campaign gives incarcerated individuals the chance to complete applications, job and/or housing, without being discriminated against for past convictions A few of his acknowledgements, certifications and recognitions include: Champion-Influence Certified Life Coach; Certified DISC Assessment Facilitator; Alternatives to Violent/Nonviolent Conflict Resolution Certification; Author of “The Five Stages of Incarceration”/Co-Author of “The Trigger” written by Daniel Patinkin; Certified Facilitator (The Council For Boys and Young Men), Advocate for Pell Grant Reinstatement for Incarcerated Men/Women in SC; The Talent Tenth (Sponsored by Steven Benjamin (Mayor of Columbia, SC); 20/20 Bipartisan Member; NRRC Coach Training (National Reentry Resource Center) Member; The Brotherhood Organization; Instructor for “The Male Achievement Conference”; CEO “Young’s Integrity Pressure Washing Services LLC; Broad Member for the Commission of Minority Affairs; and Broad Member For Affordable Housing Task Force.
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