Search
DONATE

Kathy Boudin
In memoriam, 1943 – 2022

Kathy Boudin, our beloved friend, mentor, and long-time partner passed away on May 1, 2022. We are devastated by Kathy’s passing and our hearts are with her family, Chesa and David, her work partner Cheryl Wilkins and Center for Justice family, and her vast beloved community on both sides of the walls.

Kathy was truly extraordinary – a mother, sister, partner, colleague, and leader who made a profound impact on countless lives and on the movement locally and globally. We were honored to partner with, learn from, and love Kathy over many years. She was one of our closest collaborators, who deeply shaped our work, analyses, thinking, and approaches. Her powerful moral compass, integrity, loving energy, creativity, and dedication to collectivity, community, healing, and transformation were – and will continue to be – a north star for us.

Kathy’s brilliance and energy shine through in these clips from some of the efforts we collaborated on:

I see myself as somebody that really believes in the power of people who have been thrown away. I believe in the wisdom and the enormous capacity…. I am someone who believes in hope, that hope is something that carries us and will carry us through this next period.

[T]here is a whole other narrative about women in prison…it’s true women have been victims and it’s true women come to prison with challenges to deal with in ourselves but there’s something different because those labels define women as passive, needing to be changed, and in fact, we are change agents. We’ve made change and we’ve made change in ourselves, we’ve made change in our communities, and those changes we made in our community in prison reached outside the prison.

We are committed to celebrating and honoring Kathy’s legacy by continuing the work with the deep love and determination that she exemplified.

We also encourage you to read more about Kathy’s extraordinary life and work, explore her powerful writings, and to support the many organizations she valued and contributed to so profoundly.

Some beautiful reflections on Kathy’s exceptional life:

Kathy Boudin: A Great Life and a Great Loss (Center for Justice)

The Radical Life of Kathy Boudin (New Yorker)

Remembering Kathy Boudin (JewishCurrents) 

Some works Kathy authored/contributed to:

The Resilience of the Written Off: Women in Prison as Women of Change, Kathy Boudin

Lessons from a Mother’s Program in Prison, Kathy Boudin

Alive Behind the Labels: Women in Prison, Kathy Boudin and Roslyn D. Smith

Breaking the Walls of Silence: AIDS and Women in a New York State Maximum Security Prison, Women of Bedford Hills Correctional Facility’s A.C.E. Program

Please consider donating to the Kathy Boudin Freedom Fund:

Columbia University’s Center for Justice – Kathy Boudin Freedom Fund

Jess jackson

Executive Director

Jess Jackson is a dynamic and creative professional with expertise in operations, program planning, organizing, and arts-based advocacy, committed to driving meaningful social change by cultivating highly functional organizations and innovative programming. To all aspects of her career, Jess brings a lifelong passion for the arts and a deep commitment to social justice. In summer 2026, Jess became Executive Director of WJP, leading the organization’s strategy, development, programs and partnerships. For 7 years prior, Jess served as WJP Director of Operations & Arts Advocacy, spearheading operations efforts and leading arts-based and culture change initiatives including creative arts programming at two New York women’s prisons. Prior to joining WJP, Jess worked in sales, business management, and arts administration with organizations including Marriott, Google, and the School of Visual Arts. She is known for developing highly impactful initiatives and programs for organizations looking to carry out their work in ways that are more effective, capacious, and values aligned. With a versatile skillset spanning operations, strategy, program planning, organizing, creative project management, and events, Jess brings an interdisciplinary flair to her work, and a dedication to advancing the brilliant work and vision of WJP’s staff and partners. Jess holds a BA from the University of Michigan, lives in Brooklyn with her family, and in her spare time enjoys volunteering with Narrows Botanical Gardens, traveling, reading, writing, and leaning into her creative pursuits.