HANNA LIEBMAN DERSHOWITZ
BIO AND TESTIMONIALS
Hanna Liebman Dershowitz is a writer and editor, as well as an attorney who has specialized in criminal justice and drug policy reform for 25 years. As a journalist, she held staff writer or editor positions at World Screen News, Brooklyn Bridge, CD-ROM World, Adweek, Mediaweek, NewsInc., and 7 Days. Additionally, Dershowitz's work has appeared in publications as diverse as the Los Angeles Times, Houston Chronicle, City Limits, Downtown, Architectural Record, Marketing Computers, and Disney Adventures, and on the web.
Hanna recently served as Director of Policy and Legal Affairs for the Center for Justice and Human Dignity, where she directed the Rewriting the Sentence II Summit on alternatives to incarceration. Before that, she was Director of Policy and Advocacy for New Yorkers United for Justice. In this role, she led NYUJ’s legislative advocacy and served as a fulcrum for NYUJ’s member organizations, maximizing the coalition’s impact on state-level criminal legal reform. Prior to returning to her hometown of New York City, Dershowitz was the Criminal Justice and Drug Policy Reform Advocate at the ACLU of Southern California, where she led advocacy efforts to reduce incarceration and support reentry, and lobbied for legislative reduction of drug possession penalties. In 2010, Dershowitz co-chaired the Legal Subcommittee of the Proposition 19 campaign to tax and regulate marijuana in California.
Dershowitz earlier served as General Counsel and Senior Policy Advisor to Texas State Senator Rodney Ellis, spearheading a landmark indigent defense reform bill, a ban on execution of persons with mental retardation, post-conviction DNA testing legislation, and more. She then led the legal efforts of Texas Appleseed to scrutinize implementation of these reforms and promote additional system improvements.
Dershowitz has taught legislation and statutory interpretation at the University of Houston Law Center, and has been a frequent speaker on indigent defense reform, drug policy, and other criminal law issues. She also has worked for the Innocence Project, helping the New York-based pioneering organization initiate innocence-related reforms in Texas.
Dershowitz serves as a leader in various community activities. Currently, she is a member of the Steering Committee of Moms United to End the War on Drugs.
Dershowitz received her J.D. with honors from Brooklyn Law School, where she served as notes and comments editor of the Brooklyn Journal of International Law. She also holds a bachelor’s degree from Oberlin College. After lengthy stints in Houston, TX and Culver City (Los Angeles), CA, Dershowitz finally made it back east to New York, where she is mostly based.
TESTIMONIALS
“As co-chairs of the Policy Committee, Hanna and I became fast friends and furious problem solvers, tag teaming on each new challenge and seamlessly sharing the work. Hanna's natural brilliance, sharp legal mind, voracious capacity to do all things, and friendly disposition will be deeply missed.”
Lynne Lyman, California Director, Drug Policy Alliance
“Hanna’s work has set a very high standard for the rest of us. Always informed, helpful, tactful, and strategic: a joy to be around, and a source of major strength within our shared justice movement.”
Rev. Peter Laarman, Justice Not Jails
“Hanna gifted the team with the ability to look at situations from all sides and tackle issues. Her work has been a major reason we have been able to make progress in many policy areas.”
Peggy Edwards, Executive Director, Los Angeles Regional Reentry Partnership
"Hanna has that rare combination of talent, passion, and ability to deliver that enriches any project. I was familiar with her work, so I reached out to her to advise the Presidential Advisory Commission to President Obama, on which I served. She jumped in and was critical to crafting a meaningful and persuasive slate of reforms, contributing ideas and a keen eye for substantive and stylistic detail. Hanna is a valuable addition to any team, personally and professionally."