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Worth Rises is a non-profit advocacy organization dedicated to dismantling the prison industry and ending the exploitation of those it touches. The organization exposes the commercialization of the criminal legal system and advocates and organizes to protect and return the economic resources extracted from affected communities and strip the industry of its power. Through this work, Worth Rises is helping to clear the road toward a safe and just world free of police and prisons. Find out more at worthrises.org.

Bianca is the Founder and Executive Director of Worth Rises, combining her direct experience with the criminal legal system and expertise in financial and legal services to challenge the prison industry.

Before founding Worth Rises in 2017, Bianca was a legal fellow at the Brennan Center for Justice, where she investigated the perverse financial incentives created by correctional funding. Previously, Bianca also worked with various state and local corrections agencies, including New York City, Pennsylvania, and Massachusetts. Most notably, in New York City, she drafted the young adult plan that eliminated solitary confinement for young adults 21 years old and younger—a first in the nation.

Bianca has also consulted to the Association of State Correctional Administrators and worked for the Campaign to End Mass Incarceration at the American Civil Liberties Union. Bianca co-founded College Pathways at Rikers Island, a preparation program for incarcerated students interested in pursuing higher education. 

Before committing her career to the struggle for justice, Bianca worked as a financial analyst at Citigroup and Morgan Stanley. 

Bianca has been honored as a Draper Rickard Kaplan Entrepreneur, Art for Justice Fellow, TED Fellow, Equal Justice Works Fellow, Harvard University Presidential Public Service Fellow, Ford Foundation Public Interest Fellow, Paul & Daisy Soros New American Fellow, and an Education Pioneers Analyst Fellow. Bianca holds a B.A. from Columbia University and a J.D. from Harvard Law School.

Katie Rose Quandt is a freelance journalist who writes about criminal justice, incarceration, and inequality. She is a senior editor at the Prison Policy Initiative, a writer and editor at Solitary Watch, and she’s written for Slate, Rolling Stone, Mother Jones, The Village Voice, The Appeal, The Nation, Vice, and In These Times, among others. She was a 2017 Soros Justice Media Fellow and a 2020 Alicia Patterson Foundation Fellow.

Ebony Underwood is the founder/CEO of WE GOT US NOW, a national nonprofit, nonpartisan organization and movement. Built by and led by children and young adults impacted by parental incarceration, the mission of WE GOT US NOW is to engage, educate, elevate and empower this historically invisible population. Through the use of digital narratives, safe and inclusive spaces, and advocacy led campaigns, the organization ensures the voices of these young people are at the forefront of strategic initiatives that help keep families connected. WE GOT US NOW aspires to create fair sentencing, and end mass incarceration.

Paul Wright is the founder and director of the Human Rights Defense Center and the editor of Prison Legal News. He started both in 1990 while serving a 17 year sentence in Washington state. He has edited three anthologies on mass incarceration, and written hundreds of articles related to the criminal justice system. Paul is one of the leading experts on prison conditions, free speech and government transparency in criminal justice. HRDC is one of the leaders in the struggle to end the financial exploitation of prisoners and their families.