R. Shanti Bright Brien

I am foremost a storyteller. For over ten years I represented people convicted of murder, rape and other “criminals” as their advocate and attorney, sharing their stories with judges and other legal leaders. I wrote a memoir about our shared stories of navigating and surviving the tragic and messy criminal justice system, and about being a woman, mom and partner through all of it. I emerged from the criminal justice system–the epicenter of racial inequity– focused on our shared experience of human fallibility and the need for profound change. I co-founded and lead Fogbreak Justice, a national organization that collaborates with and educates criminal justice professionals, civic leaders and business change-makers who are serious about fairness and equity. 

As a professor, teacher, and expert on experiential learning for adults, I have taught thousands of people complex skills like reducing bias, managing really hard conversations, becoming anti-racist, and writing for personal and social change. 

Through my talks, my workshops and my writing, I hope to inspire radical empathy for others, especially the silenced, the “bad,” the marginalized and the oppressed, and lead others to become better advocates for change, better storytellers, better community members and better humans.