Press Release

Rabiah Burks Named FAMM Vice President of Communications


For Media Inquiries:
Tripp Laino, 202-999-4273
tlaino@famm.org

Rabiah Burks Named FAMM Vice President of Communications

WASHINGTON – FAMM President Kevin Ring today announced that Rabiah Burks has been promoted to FAMM’s Vice President of Communications. Burks most recently served as FAMM’s Director of Communications.

“Rabiah is a leader in our organization, and her new position better reflects the leadership role she’s come to play since joining us three years ago,” said Ring. “Rabiah has elevated our communications and marketing to new heights, and yet she continuously looks for new ways to make us even stronger. Most importantly for our mission, Rabiah makes sure that the voices of families directly impacted by our broken justice system are heard in the national conversation about reform.”

Burks said, “I’m grateful to work for an organization that allows me to combine all of my loves strategic communications, management and criminal justice reform. I care deeply about the changing the narrative told about people in prison and FAMM has provided the resources and staff to make that happen. Our system is broken, and if we do not change the narrative told about people in prison and the harm it causes society we’ll never see change. In this new role I look forward to further advancing the cause.”

Burks is a media relations, communications and marketing strategist who has dedicated her career to educating the public about criminal justice reform issues through traditional and non-traditional methods. Aside from strategically growing and developing a dynamic communications team, Burks has emerged as a core member of our executive leadership team. For example, during COVID-19, Burks’s helped the organization quickly pivot and adapt to the new environment. Burks is a problem solver, even in times of crisis, and works tirelessly to ensure that FAMM’s communications are timely, up-to-date and flawlessly executed – no matter the circumstances.

Prior to joining FAMM, Burks served as the senior public relations specialist for the American Bar Association Criminal Justice Section. Burks is also a member of several media-based associations, including the National Press Club, and the National Association of Black Journalists. She holds a bachelor’s degree in both history and African American studies from the University of California, Berkeley, and a master’s degree in journalism from the University of Maryland, College Park.

For nearly three decades, FAMM has united the voices of affected families, the formerly incarcerated, and a range of stakeholders and advocates to fight for a more fair and effective justice system. FAMM’s focus on ending a one-size-fits-all punishment structure has led to reforms to sentencing and prison policies at the state and federal level and is paving the way to programs that support rehabilitation for the 94% of all prisoners who will return to our neighborhoods one day.

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FAMM is a national nonpartisan advocacy organization that promotes fair and effective criminal justice policies that safeguard taxpayer dollars and keep our communities safe. Founded in 1991, FAMM is helping transform America’s criminal justice system by uniting the voices of impacted families and individuals and elevating the issues all across the country.