About Us

FAMM’s mission is to create a more fair and effective justice system that respects our American values of individual accountability and dignity while keeping our communities safe.

Fighting Unjust Sentencing and Prison Policies Since 1991

In 1990, Julie Stewart was public affairs director at the Cato Institute when she learned of mandatory minimum sentencing laws. Her brother had been arrested for growing marijuana in Washington State, pled guilty, and — though this was his first offense — was sentenced to five years in federal prison without parole. The judge criticized the punishment as too harsh, but the mandatory minimum law left him no choice.

Motivated by her family’s experience, Julie founded FAMM in 1991. The organization is committed to nonpartisanship and embraces the value of racial, cultural, and political diversity in its advocacy. FAMM’s greatest asset has always been the stories of its members. By sharing the impact of unjust sentencing and prison policies on incarcerated individuals, their families, and their communities, FAMM has helped create urgency around the issue and made the problem feel real to policymakers who have to be moved to make meaningful change. To learn more, please watch this video celebrating our 30th anniversary and the history lying between past and present.

Our founder, Julie Stewart, speaking about how mandatory minimum sentencing laws impacted her family.
Our founder, Julie Stewart, speaking about how mandatory minimum sentencing laws impacted her family.
Because of FAMM's work, more than

500,000

Americans have received shorter, fairer prison sentences.

Key Accomplishments

  • Enactment of federal legislation to reform sentencing and prison policies, including the 1994 drug sentencing safety valve, the Fair Sentencing Act, and the First Step Act of 2018;
  • Repeal or reform of drug mandatory minimum sentences in multiple states, including Michigan, Massachusetts, Florida, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Missouri, Tennessee, Georgia, and Iowa;
  • Numerous improvements to the federal sentencing guidelines, including several to reduce the severity of punishments for low-level drug offenses that were made retroactive, such as changes to the crack guidelines in 2009 and the all-drugs-minus-two reform of 2014;
  • Serving as a founding member of Clemency Project 2014, one of the biggest pro bono mobilizations in history; which resulted in more than 1,700 people receiving sentence commutations from President Barack Obama;
  • Successful advocacy at the US Supreme Court in major cases, including Booker v. United States, which returned significant sentencing authority to judges; and
  • Recruitment and training of hundreds of impacted family members to be advocates for justice reform in their communities.

FAMM and Its Partners Have...

Reduced the nation's prison population by

200,000

people

Decreased racial disparities and cut the Black prison population to its lowest level since

1989

Saved taxpayers

Billions

of dollars

Our Team

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All
  • All
  • Board of Directors
  • Communications & Media Relations
  • Development
  • Family Engagement and Mobilization
  • Office of the General Counsel
  • Operations
  • Policy

Emily Bloomenthal

Director of Research

Matthew Charles

Senior Policy Advisor

Maria Goellner

Director of State Policy

Celeste Trusty

Deputy Director of State Policy

Bryan Widenhouse

Senior Policy Associate

Shanna Rifkin

Deputy General Counsel

Sonora Bostian-Posner

Director of Digital Communications and Fundraising

Travis Edwards

Videographer/Editor

Our Partners

FAMM is honored to partner with several organizations to forward our mission. They include:
 

  • Arnold Ventures  
  • Coalition For Public Safety   
  • Galaxy Gives    
  • HRH Foundation  
  • Justice Action Network  
  • Kaphan Foundation  
  • The Ginkgo Fund  
  • The Joseph P. And Colleen M. Brandon Family Foundation  
  • The Just Trust  
  • The Norma Green Foundation  
  • Vital Projects Fund  
  • Zarrow Family Foundation 
  • Zoom Foundation 

Employment Opportunities

Employees of FAMM are deeply motivated to help fight the injustice and burden of mandatory minimum sentencing. The work is meaningful and the impact is profound. Whether you work as a paid full-time staff member or volunteer at one of our events, your contributions will help us to achieve our mission.

Employment at FAMM is based upon qualifications and competency. FAMM does not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, sex, age, national origin or ancestry, color, sexual/gender orientation, marital status, parental status, veteran’s status, union activity, political affiliation, physical or mental disability unrelated to an individual’s ability to perform the job or any other basis prohibited by law.

Media & News

Media Inquiries

Have a question, or need to reach out to one of FAMM’s expert staff members? Our media relations team is happy to help!

If you have media questions, please contact us at media@famm.org.

If you have a general question for FAMM and are not a member of the media, please use the Contact form below.

Contact Us