Open Leadership Positions

Open Leadership Positions

  • Physicians for Criminal Justice Reform is seeking physicians to fill open leadership positions on our team. Available positions include:
  • Finance Committee Chair
  • Partner Organization Liaison
  • Local Community Organizer
For Medical Students:
 
  • Finance Committee Assistant
  • Research Committee Assistant
  • Membership Committee Assistant
  • Local Organizing Assistant
For anyone, including undergraduates:
 
  • Leadership Intern

All positions:

  • Offer the opportunity to work with an engaged leadership team and established physician-activists on the most critical civil rights issue of our time
  • Are unpaid volunteer positions
  • Require a minimum commitment of 1 year

Want to apply for a position?

Responsibilities

Taskforce Directors/Assistant Directors:

  • Work with the Membership Committee to recruit members and fellows to the Taskforce
  • Work with the Research Committee to generate at least one white paper per quarter from their Taskforce 
  • Identify 3 experts within their Taskforce to become members of the PfCJR Speakers Bureau (see more) 
  • Identify 3 experts within their Taskforce to become members of the PfCJR Writers Bureau (see more) 
  • Provide the Public Relations Committee with links to Speakers Bureau events, Op-Eds, announcements of new partnerships, relevant content for posting across media platforms
  • Identify and engage at least 1 new partner organization and partner liaison in the first year, and maintaining those relationships thereafter
  • Report status/progress of the Taskforce at each Board Meeting 
  • Implement other initiatives that advocate reform on the assigned Core Issue as appropriate

Committee Chairs

  • Become a member either of the Speakers Bureau or Writers Bureau
  • Engage committee members each month by providing Taskforce Updates for the PfCJR monthly newsletter 
  • Hold committee meetings no less than quarterly to update and report progress on initiatives 
  • Provide the Social Media Committee with links to relevant content for posting across media platforms
  • Contribute a Committee Update to the Quarterly PfCJR Newsletter
  • Report status/progress of the Committee at each Board Meeting 
  • Implement other initiatives that advocate reform on Core Issues as appropriate 

TaskForce/Committee Descriptions

Finance Committee

The Finance Committee, chaired by the PfCJR Treasurer, is responsible for managing and monitoring the fiscal activities of PfCJR including accounting for revenues and expenditures, developing an annual budget, providing monthly budget reports to the Board of Directors, filing taxes annually and ensuring compliance with all laws and regulations for 501c3 organizations.

Research Committee

The Research Committee is responsible for identifying and centralizing research related to PfCJR’s Core Issues by disseminating findings to the PfCJR membership and public, and supporting Taskforces and Partner Liaisons with literature searches and white papers on Core Issues.

Archive of Past Op-Ed Topics

January 2020

THE TOPIC:

Joe Biden vs. Cory Booker on criminal justice reform and decriminalization of marijuana

THE QUESTION:

Why is decriminalization of marijuana an important issue in criminal reform? How do Biden and Booker’s different platforms address this issue?

BOOKER: Argues Joe Biden was ‘architect’ of criminal justice system

Politico: “Sen. Cory Booker on Tuesday blamed Joe Biden for what he called a “failed” criminal justice system, dismissing the former vice president’s new plan to combat mass incarceration and escalating a weeks-long dispute between the pair.” Booker argues that his plan is more “comprehensive” and capable of creating “transformative change.”

READ MORE >

BIDEN: Scrutinized for Crime Bill, Unveils Plan to Reduce Mass Incarceration

New York Times: “Joseph R. Biden Jr., whose long record on criminal justice matters has cast a shadow over the early months of his presidential campaign, has unveiled a comprehensive plan aimed at combating mass incarceration and reducing “racial, gender and income-based disparities in the system.” 

READ MORE >

February 2020

THE TOPIC:

The Second Look Amendment Act: a proposed bill which expands eligibility for sentence review to all those who committed crimes before age 25 and have served at least 15 years in prison.

THE QUESTION:

Would the Second Look Amendment Act help or harm the criminal justice system? If passed, what effects would the bill have on public health and juvenile justice?

JAMES FORMAN JR: Justice Sometimes Needs A Do-Over

The Washington Post: Forman Jr. argues that the Second Look Amendment Act “offers a promising corrective to the harsh — and ineffective — practices once commonplace in courthouses across America. The bill gives the D.C. Council a chance to restore a measure of fairness to a criminal system often lacking it. If the council is willing to embrace reason over fearmongering, I am confident the Second Look Amendment Act will be recognized as another proud accomplishment.”

READ MORE >

THE POST: D.C. Has Gone Too Far on Justice Reforms

The Washington Post: The Post argues that the Second Look Act would be harmful to the criminal justice system. “Out the window would go transparency and truth in sentencing — the assurance to victims and the community that punishment is what it appears to be. By discouraging judges from considering the original crime when they weigh reducing sentences, the council is putting the public at increased risk, unnecessarily.”

READ MORE >

Not sure how to write an op-ed?

Check out this op-ed training webinar! It provides tips for writing effective and engaging op-eds, specifically with regard to health care and physicians issues.

This webinar was co-hosted by one of our partners, Doctors For America, and Families USA.

Click here to watch the webinar.

Have any other questions? Reach us at our social media or the email contact listed below.