Kelly Gonzalez ’92 to Present “Perpetual Punishment & the Criminal (In)justice System”

Oakwood’s first virtual Caroline “Dash” Davis Gleiter ’51 Lecture on Social Justice will be held on Friday, April 24th, at 1:00 pm via Zoom. This lecture series highlights social justice issues and was initiated by the class of 1951 and friends in memory of their classmate, Caroline “Dash”  Davis Gleiter, an attorney whose life work and passion were devoted to civil rights and social action.

Our speaker, Kelly Gonzalez (formerly Wallace), class of 1992, has served as Deputy Director of the Center for Community Alternatives (CCA) in their Syracuse and Rochester offices since May 2017. CCA promotes reintegrative justice and a reduced reliance on incarceration through advocacy, services, and public policy development in pursuit of civil and human rights. 

Kelly earned her B.A. in Human Service Studies from Cornell University and a Juris Doctor degree from Northeastern University School of Law. She is admitted to the bar in New York State and in the US District Court, Northern District of NY.  After law school, Kelly worked for the Legal Aid Society offices in Suffolk County and Onondaga County.  Afterwards, Kelly was the Practitioner-in-Residence for the Office of Clinical Legal Education of Syracuse University’s College of Law where she taught student attorneys and provided direct legal service to clients, primarily in criminal and family law matters.  As Deputy Director at CCA, Kelly is also the supervising attorney for the Reentry Clinic – which works with individuals who face barriers to employment, housing, education, and licensing as a result of their involvement with the criminal justice system. 

We are honored to welcome Kelly Gonzalez ’92 to speak to our school community. Oakwood Friends School will send a Zoom link by email prior to the presentation. All are welcome and encouraged to join. Q & A will be held following Kelly’s talk. Please contact tech@oakwoodfriends.org if you have any questions about how to participate.