Sara Jones

Sara Jones is the executive director of the Great North Innocence Project, fighting to free the innocent, shining light on injustices in our legal system, and working independently and in coalition with other organizations to pass laws and implement policies that minimize the chances of wrongful convictions and remedy injustices. Sara is an advocate with a breadth and depth of experience in nonprofit development and management, and public service in law. She formerly served as Strategic Giving Director for Breck School in Golden Valley, Minnesota. Sara received her law degree from the University of Minnesota, and her B.S. in Communication Studies from Northwestern University.

Sara’s involvement with the cause of justice began while growing up with her father, who served as Minnesota’s State Public Defender for nearly 25 years and taught criminal and constitutional law. They had ongoing conversations about justice, mercy, opportunity, and seeing the humanity in everyone. Sara’s life also involves a loved one with a criminal record, and she has been deeply affected by that as well.

“We Are All Criminals powerfully combines advocacy and artistry that chip away at the notion of ‘them’ and ‘us’ to reveal that WE are all human. I believe the work of improving our flawed and biased system of justice must be seen through that lens. We are missing out on vast amounts of human potential and capacity for good as a result of the horrendous inequities in our society and our criminal justice system. I want to help change that.”