Our Team
britany j gatewood, ph.d.
executive director and board president
Dr. Britany Gatewood is the founder of the Liberation and Justice Project Foundation. Dr. Gatewood earned her Ph.D. in Sociology from the Department of Sociology and Criminology at Howard University. She identifies as a Black queer woman scholar activist. Her research interests include social inequality, criminology, social movements, and scholar activism. Her research focuses on social movements within carceral institutions as well as the political practice and tradition of resistance of Black women and their children.
“How will you use this knowledge to help your community?” This question has deeply influenced her scholarship and community work. As a self describes scholar-activist, she tries to bring the classroom and the community together. Dr. Gatewood was invited to speak to her work in scholar activism at several conferences, including a Presidential Panel and the American Sociological Association Annual Meeting in 2019.
Dr. Gatewood is from Farmington Hills, Michigan and grew up in a majority white suburb. Due to her experiences as a child in this area, she began to question “why do people treat people differently based on how they look?” This lifelong researcher question influenced her decision to attend University of Michigan-Ann Arbor and receive her BA in Sociology, focusing on social inequality. She went on to obtain her MA in Liberal Arts at the University of Detroit Mercy, where her thesis focused on the role of Black women in the family throughout history.
meredith booker, esq.
board vice president
Meredith M. Booker is a dedicated social justice advocate and attorney. Currently, Meredith works in the U.S. Senate as a Policy Advisor for Senator Jeff Merkley covering appropriations, natural resources, and Tribes. She has previous experience as a disability rights attorney, advocating for the health and safety of incarcerated individuals, and working toward progressive legislative change in the areas of civil rights, immigration, criminal justice, retirement, labor, and housing. She approaches her work from a movement or community lawyering lens with the goal of building power and legal understanding through direct community support.
Meredith graduated Cum Laude from Wayne State University in Detroit, MI with a B.S. in Criminal Justice and a B.A. in Sociology with University Honors and then earned a Master of Public Policy with a concentration in Law, Crime, and Policy from Oregon State University. Meredith later attended law school at Loyola University New Orleans College of Law as an Ignatian Law Scholar. She graduated Magna Cum Laude and was awarded the 2022 Skills Award and 2022 Spirit of Ignatius Award for outstanding service to the community. Meredith is licensed to practice law in Maryland, with DC Bar admission pending.
lauren díaz quintana, m.a.
board secretary
Lauren Díaz Quintana is the Secretary of Liberation Justice Project Foundation and a Clinical Psychology doctoral student at The Chicago School of Professional Psychology campus in Washington, D.C. During their Sociology master's level program at The George Washington University, they honed their skills as an evaluation and qualitative researcher focused on asylum-seeking, refugee, mixed status, and undocumented Latine populations. Díaz hopes to continue learning and honing their skills to one day open a community healing center that will offer psychological services for the DMV area.
jessica holmes, esq.
board treasurer
Jessica Holmes is a lawyer licensed and practice in Michigan. She worked for 5 years in Wayne County Prosecutor Office as an Assistant Prosecuting Attorney. Wayne County services about 34 cities, and has population of 1.75 million. During her tenure, she handled a variety of criminal felony and misdemeanor cases, primarily focused on sex crimes of both children and adults, and felony nonsupport.
Currently, she works as solo practitioner and is focused on Probate matters, guardianship conservatorship estate planning, and mental health.
shannell thomas, ph.d.
board programming chair
Shannell Thomas, PhD is an Assistant Professor in the Criminal Justice Department at Bowie State University. She earned her PhD in Sociology (with concentrations in Criminology and Social Inequality) from Howard University and holds an M.Ed. in Curriculum & Instruction from the University of South Florida and an M.A. in Humanities & Social Thought from New York University.
Dr. Thomas’ research interests are centered around the language of the criminal justice system (specifically during the prosecution and sentencing phases) and on the political impacts of criminal (in)justice. She employs both qualitative and quantitative analysis in her multidisciplinary research which primarily aims to identify and mitigate racial disparities in criminal justice.
Dr. Thomas is currently an active member of multiple professional organizations, including Alpha Kappa Delta (AKD), the International Sociology Honor Society; the American Society of Criminology; and the National Conference of Black Political Scientists.