Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Media Contact: teamfamm@mrss.com

WASHINGTON, D.C. – FAMM (formerly Families Against Mandatory Minimums) is honored to announce Dr. Shaneva D. McReynolds as its first Vice President of Strategic Initiatives and Organizational Development. McReynolds has worked with FAMM since 2021 as its Illinois Policy Consultant and will now join FAMM as a full-time employee.

McReynolds first connected with FAMM in 2013 during her fight to free her husband, who was serving a 235-month sentence handed down in 2005 and was finally released in 2015. Both of them have worked with FAMM as advocates since. Their work has included advocacy at both the state level at home in Illinois, where they’ve organized awareness events with Common and Chance the Rapper, and at the national level, where they’ve joined FAMM lobby days to meet members of Congress in Washington, D.C., about justice reform legislation. Mr. McReynolds also testified before the United States Sentencing Commission in 2023 about changes made by the Commission that helped him return home early.

“I’m so excited to work with the FAMM team more closely on issues that are so close to my own heart,” said McReynolds. “It means so much to me to have the opportunity to be surrounded by people who share my passion for this cause and are similarly committed to creating fair, rational, and humane sentencing practices that allow incarcerated people to prepare to rejoin their families and communities.”

“Shaneva brings a wealth of experience to this position,” said FAMM President Moses Cook. “Her expertise will be invaluable as we build an even stronger, more efficient FAMM. Her own experience as the family member of someone in prison combined with her professional experience is invaluable to our mission. We’re thrilled to have her on board and look forward to the positive impact she will make.”

Before joining FAMM full-time, McReynolds had a distinguished 20-year career working for government contractors in the Department of Defense industry, most recently serving as the Vice President of Contracts Management. As part of her responsibilities, Shaneva will lead FAMM’s efforts to enhance their operational infrastructure.

Since FAMM’s founding in 1991, it has helped more than 500,000 Americans receive shorter, fairer prison sentences. FAMM and its advocates have also helped reduce the nation’s prison population by approximately 200,000 people and reduce racial disparities in sentencing, bringing the nation’s Black prison population to its lowest level since 1989.