Kelly Orians

Overview

Kelly Orians is a recent graduate of UCLA School of Law where she specialized in public interest law and policy business law and policy and critical race studies. While in law school Kelly focused on developing strategies to reduce mass incarceration through community economic development projects in low income communities of color. Prior to law school Kelly worked as a Project Coordinator at the Juvenile Justice Project of Louisiana (JJPL) managing a statewide advocacy campaign to End Life Without Parole Sentencing for Juveniles (JLWOP). Kelly helped create public policy and impact litigation strategies including the implementation of the Graham v. Florida decision in Louisiana which made JLWOP unconstitutional in non homicide cases. Kelly worked on the legal team that secured the release of the first two people in the country under Graham drove them home from the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola and continues today to assist them with their reentry. Through this work Kelly was exposed to the many barriers people and their families face when someone returns home from prison and began taking innovative approaches to combat the lack of reentry resources in New Orleans.