A strategist with extensive public policy and organizing experience grounded in authentic coalition building, Shakyra Diaz is the Alliance for Safety and Justice’s Chief of Federal Advocacy where she advocates for federal investments in safety solutions supported by communities most impacted by harm. In this capacity, she has advocated for expanded funding for expungements for people with past convictions and greater access to trauma recovery for victims of crime. She previously served as the Chief of Staff, Ohio State Director, Managing Director of Crime Survivors for Safety and Justice, and Managing Director of Partnerships.
During her time at ASJ, Diaz Diaz has provided leadership for several advocacy campaigns, resulting in criminal justice reforms, ending long-standing barriers to services for people with past convictions, and the establishment of trauma recovery centers to help underserved crime survivors heal across the country.
Prior to joining ASJ, Diaz worked as an educator and led policy reform campaigns, enhancing educational outcomes for students and led successful policy, legislative, and judicial rules campaigns to improve justice systems. Her efforts have led to the elimination of unfair drug law policies, enhanced protections for sexual assault victims during interviews, expanded access to counsel, supported voting rights access for currently and formerly incarcerated people, and ended routine juvenile shackling in courts. Diaz worked to establish a policy that would allow nursing mothers to pump their milk when they were held in immigrant detention centers. She has been involved in many efforts including campaigns for fairer policing in Puerto Rico and equal rights for Haitians and Dominicans of Haitian descent. Drawing on her personal experience with sexual and community violence and her understanding of various systems, Diaz helped shape systemic recommendations for reform efforts, including the Cleveland Division of Police’s consent decree.
Diaz was born in the Dominican Republic and was raised in Cleveland. She is a graduate of Case Western Reserve University & East High School, and lives in Northeast Ohio with her family.
