Gina Clayton-Johnson is the founder and executive director of Essie Justice Group, the nation’s leading advocacy organization for women with incarcerated loved ones. She is also a central architect of the BREATHE Act, the largest piece of federal legislation delivered by a social movement to the U.S. Congress. For more than 15 years, Clayton-Johnson has been an advocate for Black communities, serving as an organizer, attorney and activist. During her tenure as a public defense attorney, she specialized in representing low-income women facing eviction because of a family member’s criminal record. Clayton-Johnson is a USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences alum.