Biography
Romarilyn Ralston is Executive Director for the UCLA Prison Education Program and Center for Justice. She has held the positions as Senior Director of the Justice Education Center for Claremont Colleges and executive director of Project Rebound at California State University, Fullerton. After serving 23 years in prison, she earned a bachelor’s degree with Honors in Gender and Feminist Studies from Pitzer College. Then achieved a master’s degree in liberal arts from Washington University in St. Louis. In addition to an advanced degree, she has completed many fellowships: CORO Fellowship in Public Affairs, Women’s (Solis) Policy Institute, Napier Fellowship for Peace and Justice, Leading with Conviction Fellowship, and a Galaxy Gives Fellow.
Identifying as a Black feminist abolitionist, she brings personal experience with incarceration to her work. Access to higher education has fueled my commitment to helping others discover the transformative power of post-secondary education and community accountability. Through organizing with the California Coalition for Women Prisoners (CCWP) her primary focus is on empowering BIPOC women impacted by the justice system, as well as other justice-involved individuals from diverse backgrounds. She advocates for the transformative power of post-secondary education and community and coalition building.
Romarilyn has been honored with numerous social justice awards and policy recognitions, including accolades from the California Legislature, the National Council of 100 Black Women-Orange County Chapter, and Pitzer College’s Distinguished Alumni Award in 2021. Romarilyn has been a fellow Women’s Foundation of California Solis Policy Institute, Galaxy Gives and JLUSA. Additionally, she received a Gubernatorial Pardon from California Governor Gavin Newsom in 2022. She is a 3rd-year Ph.D. student in Executive Management at Claremont Graduate University’s Drucker School of Management with an expected graduation of 2027.