rima Chaudry (She/Her), Senior Director of Programs
rima brings 25 years experience in community organizing and leading systems change through power-building, justice reform, and policy change. Her journey began as a young organizer opposing a California crime bill that funneled youth of color into adult prisons - a formative experience that sparked her lifelong commitment to dismantling the school-to-prison pipeline, addressing institutional racism, and creating paradigm shifts for accountability rooted in healing and transformation.
As a national leader in restorative justice, rima launched one of the country’s first pre-charge restorative justice diversion models for youth facing felony convictions. She designed an innovative suite of training, learning, and technical assistance that became a blueprint for shifting legal systems toward community-led responses to harm.
rima has led initiatives at several organizations at the forefront of safety solutions. At Impact Justice, she led the national expansion of restorative justice programs, bringing together community members, prosecutors, and elected officials to reimagine accountability beyond incarceration. At the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, she supported a landmark campaign that led to the closure of California’s most notoriously abusive youth prisons, reforms to solitary confinement, and justice reinvestment efforts. At the Alliance for Safety and Justice, she led program operations and strategies to expand their membership to over 400,000 system-impacted community members nationwide.
These experiences honed her ability to develop successful program strategies that maintain a profound respect for community wisdom and human connection. Whether building cross-sector partnerships, facilitating restorative justice processes, or speaking to national audiences about justice and healing, her work integrates structure with heart and centers those most impacted by harm.
rima holds a master’s degree in Public Policy with a concentration on Assets, Inequality, and Poverty from Brandeis University, where she led campus-wide reforms to address racial disparities in recruitment and retention. Outside of work and community organizing, rima is a devoted student and practitioner of Ayurveda, a healing tradition passed down from her ancestors. A lover of art, she nurtures her creativity through poetry, embroidery, sculpting, and other practices that guide her spirit and inform her leadership.