A Conversation with Co-CEO Maha Jweied
This month, we sat down with new Co-CEO Maha Jweied to talk about her approach to justice reform, her career before RBIJ, and where to eat in Washington, D.C.
Welcome to RBIJ!
Thank you! I’m excited to be a member of this extraordinary team! Having the opportunity to work with RBIJ at different moments since 2019 and most recently as its Chief Strategy Officer meant that I knew that RBIJ was my home, and I’m honored to be stepping into this new leadership role.
Why were you interested in joining [RBIJ’s Founder] Celia Ouellette as Co-CEO?
I’ve long admired Celia and her vision for engaging the private sector to advance justice in the United States and across the globe. In a short period of time, RBIJ has become a critical player in the justice reform movement and an advocate for more inclusive hiring – activity that I strongly believe is important and necessary for the business community to explore.
My work in recent years with organizations that partner with the business community – like the National Legal Aid & Defender Association (NLADA), Kids in Need of Defense (KIND), the NLADA Mutual Insurance Company, and Pathfinders for Peaceful, Just and Inclusive Societies – has meant that I have witnessed the impact of the private sector in advancing justice policy and practice in the United States and across the globe using a variety of strategies around a number of issues. So, when this opportunity arose to work with Celia, my friend and thought partner, to co-lead this amazing organization that I so greatly admire, it was an easy choice for me. And I am so grateful and honored that Celia has decided to share the role with me!
What inspired you to get involved in the fight for fair and equal justice systems?
Fairness and equality have long been values that I have been drawn to and motivated by – a testament to my family and the community in which I was raised. This has meant that I have returned to these concepts throughout my life, ultimately leading me to law school and a career largely rooted in the public interest. Indeed, even when I was in private practice at the start of my career representing a client facing the juvenile death penalty pro bono, I understood how much the luck of birth impacted outcomes in the U.S. legal system. Since that time, I have sought opportunities to impact those realities. That has largely meant a career in government – working to improve federal policy on civil rights and access to justice – but it has also meant working with several national and international justice nonprofits like RBIJ that work to advance fairness and equality in justice systems around the globe.
What is the role of businesses in delivering meaningful change?
The 2023 Edelman Trust Barometer Global Report found that business is “the only institution seen as competent and ethical.” Simply put, that means that meaningful change in our society cannot be achieved without the business community. Whether it is around climate change; diversity, equity, and inclusion; or criminal justice reform, businesses have an important role to play – and one that is increasingly expected by their stakeholders.
In the justice space, there are many ways that businesses can help deliver change. This includes providing resources (both charitable contributions and in-kind), using their standing in society to lend their voice in support of policy and legal reforms with decision makers at all levels of government, and looking inward to determine how their operations can positively impact the justice outcomes of their employees, customers, suppliers, shareholders, and the communities in which they work.
Indeed, the stakeholder capitalism movement, the rise of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) activity around social justice issues, and the global justice for all movement shaped by UN Sustainable Development Goal 16 (with its focus on equal access to justice) mean that opportunities for businesses to deliver meaningful change on justice are increasingly at hand.
You’ve spent your career working to advance justice policy and practice around the globe — what lessons have you learned from doing that work?
That no one sector can do it alone. To truly advance justice, we need governments, non-profits, the public – especially people impacted by the justice system – and the private sector to create effective and lasting change.
Having spent most of my career in the federal government, I am a strong believer in the role of government to close the justice gap and improve justice outcomes for all. But that experience has also confirmed for me that governments cannot do it alone. We need nonprofits like RBIJ to share their expertise with decision makers and push for change, we need individuals with lived experience to feel empowered to help lead the change they know we need, and we need the private sector to call for that change and help create it when it is within their power.
Perhaps the best evidence of this multistakeholder approach comes from the development of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the global goals to end extreme poverty while taking on climate change and inequality. From the start, these goals were developed by governments in partnership with civil society, the public, and the business community in recognition that the ambition behind the agenda requires collaboration across society. Indeed, the global Task Force on Justice, a partnership of UN member states, international organizations, civil society, and the private sector that worked together to accelerate delivery of the SDGs targets for peace, justice, and inclusion, reiterated the need for all sectors to work together to advance justice and in its seminal report specifically called on the private sector to “support the movement for justice for all in partnership with governments and civil society.”
That’s why RBIJ’s approach of working with the private sector to advance justice is so exciting to me. Its strategy of working across sectors and breaking down silos is exactly what is needed to advance justice for all.
What advice would you give businesses looking to start working on justice reform?
Join us! There are many ways you can get started and you do not need to pursue all the strategies that I’ve mentioned in this blog. The beauty about RBIJ’s engagement with the business community is that we have opportunities for all companies. That means that for businesses interested in being public about their views and positions in support of criminal justice reform, we can help you broadcast that message. For businesses interested in engaging privately with policymakers, we can help prepare you and connect you with decision makers who we know are keen on hearing directly from you. And for businesses interested in considering their own internal practices to ensure that people who are justice-impacted are not held back after they have paid their debt to society, through practices like inclusive hiring, we have technical assistance to offer you. The bottom line is that there is no one way to get involved and RBIJ is expert at helping to match your interest with opportunities to create meaningful change!
If you could change one aspect of the U.S. justice system, what would it be?
That it treats individuals differently depending on their wealth, identity, or color. If our legal system was truly blind, then outcomes would not be impacted by whether you could afford a lawyer or the policing practices employed in your community. But too often, justice – like so much in the U.S. – is tied to your zip code. Time and again, we see justice system outcomes differ for individuals who can pay for a lawyer, pay a court fine or fee, or post a bond. Layered on top of that are the racial disparities running through our legal systems that are a result of both longstanding systemic injustice and present-day bias that can creep into almost every moment of discretion – from policing to charging to pleading to sentencing. If I could flip a switch, it would be to make justice truly blind.
When you aren’t working, what do you enjoy doing?
I enjoy spending time with my family and friends – mostly cooking and eating together! This is all the more enjoyable these days when gathering was difficult at the height of the pandemic.
What is one fact about you that might surprise people?
That I’m a local Washingtonian! I was born and raised just outside of Washington, DC and while I left at different points, I made the happy decision to return and settle here. While that’s somewhat unusual, given that DC is such a transient city primarily because of the nature of federal jobs, I’m proud to be a local and knowledgeable about all the best places to visit and eat around the city.