“My dedication to working for a legal organization that combats various forms of inequality has always been connected to my life experiences and academic pursuits. I have a personal commitment to practice law in areas that center under-represented communities, specifically within the areas of civil rights, racial justice, and criminal justice reform."
As a staff attorney researcher, Dr. Shakeshaft works to combat legal procedures that criminalize poverty and perpetuate racial inequality. Her primary areas of focus are racial justice, criminal justice, the criminalization of poverty, and policing.
Dr. Shakeshaft began working at the ACLU of Wisconsin in 2018 as an Equal Justice Works fellow sponsored by Quarles & Brady LLP & The John M. Kohler Foundation, Inc. Her specific project challenged modern-day debtors’ prisons in Wisconsin by urging courts to pursue more rational and equitable approaches to criminal legal debt. The project focused on the implementation of constitutional court procedures and legal advocacy through 1) coalition-building 2) attorney training and pro-bono opportunities 3) community outreach and education 4) data collection and evaluation 5) impact litigation.
Before joining the ACLU of Wisconsin, Emma was a law and society postdoctoral fellow at Newcomb College Institute at Tulane University. She was also a doctoral fellow at the American Bar Foundation in Chicago, Illinois.
Emma received her law degree from the University of Wisconsin Law School and completed her PhD and a Master’s of Science degree in Sociology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Some of the cases, blogs, interviews and other media involving Emma:
Equal Justice Works Fellowship