Employees

Executive Director

Lori Curry

Outraged by the realities of Missouri’s prison system, Lori Curry (she/hers), a dedicated justice advocate and human rights champion, founded Missouri Prison Reform to advocate for transparency and accountability within Missouri’s prison system.

Lori Curry is the founder and executive director of Missouri Prison Reform. After learning of the realities of the prison system in Missouri and those impacted by it, Lori began anonymously tweeting stories from
those inside the prisons as well as their loved ones. Lori was quickly contacted by others, including prison staff, who wanted to tell their stories without fear of retaliation. She realized the need for more advocacy
for those directly impacted by the state's carceral system and decided to form a nonprofit. Lori has spent her life helping to amplify the voices of others including children and adults with special needs. She has lived in southwest Missouri her entire life and enjoys spending time with her family and loved ones.
Marketing Organizer

Hannah Adams

Hannah Adams (she/hers) is a senior marketing student at Missouri Southern State University and a successful entrepreneur. Raised in Joplin, Missouri, she is deeply connected to her community and advocates for social justice and criminal justice reform. A creative individual, Hannah enjoys making art and decorating, always seeking to enhance her surroundings and contribute positively to her community.

Hannah Adams is a senior marketing student at Missouri Southern State University, deeply connected to her hometown of Joplin, Missouri. She owns and operates three successful online businesses, showcasing her entrepreneurial skills and extensive e-commerce experience. Her businesses focus on providing unique, high-quality products to a diverse customer base, demonstrating her ability to identify market needs and execute effective business strategies. Growing up with family members involved in the criminal justice system has informed her passion for activism and social justice. She actively volunteers with local organizations, contributing to campaigns that promote transparency and accountability within the system.

In addition to her business and academic pursuits, Hannah enjoys engaging in creative activities such as making art and decorating. Her artistic projects range from painting and sculpture to interior design, reflecting her diverse talents and interests. Committed to growth, creativity, and social impact, Hannah has received recognition for her academic achievements and entrepreneurial success. As she completes her marketing degree, she plans to expand her businesses, further her activism, and explore new opportunities to make a meaningful impact in her community and beyond.

Board Members

Board Chair

Carissa Tarnowski

Carissa Tarnowski (she/hers), a trial attorney at the Missouri State Public Defender's Office, advocates for justice and prison reform. With degrees from Texas Tech University and Southern Illinois University School of Law, she focuses on defending vulnerable groups and raising awareness for their rights, particularly within Missouri's custodial facilities.

Carissa Tarnowski is trial attorney at the Missouri State Public Defenders Office in the Mid-Missouri area. She is a graduate of Texas Tech University, Lindenwood University, and Southern Illinois University School of Law. During her education, Carissa focused her time on advocating and promoting awareness for various groups and their rights including, child protection, women's health, justice for minorities, and even animal rights. She has taken positions in multiple organizations to aid the furtherance of justice, equality, and protection of those vulnerable groups.
Since becoming a criminal defense attorney, Carissa has spent time with clients in prisons and jails across the state. Hearing the experiences and conditions her clients were living in while held in custody ignited a passion for advocating for prison reform. After learning about Missouri Prison Reform, Carissa reached out to become involved with the organization to aid in bringing awareness to the struggles, treatment, and circumstances in which people are being forced to live in across Missouri. She has since become a member of the board and looks forward to the positive impact reform can have on custodial facilities in the state.
Board Vice Chair

Dr. Chandler Easley

Chandler Easley (she/hers), an Education Advocate and Learning Specialist at the University of Iowa, supports student-athletes as learners and leaders, fostering their success both at the university and in their future endeavors. With a background in English education and a Doctorate in Educational Leadership & Policy, Chandler's research focuses on addressing the racial discipline gap among underrepresented high school students, aiming to mitigate disparities that contribute to the prison pipeline.

Dr. Easley currently serves as Assistant Principal at a local elementary school in Columbia, MO, beginning in the summer of 2024. Previous to this role, she acted as Learning Specialist for the University of Iowa Student-Athlete Academic Services department where her primary focus was to support student-athletes as learners, leaders, and thriving Hawkeyes and encourage their success at the University of lowa and beyond. She earned both her B.S. in English Education and M.A. in English from the University of Missouri and her Doctorate in Educational Leadership and Policy from Sacramento State University. Chandler has served as an English teacher in many states across the country and in classrooms ranging from 7th grade through college. Her research focus includes the racial discipline gap of underrepresented high school students leading to the disparity of these populations in the prison pipeline. These concerns brought her attention to the Missouri Prison Reform group where she currently sits on the executive board.
Board Member

Amy Breihan

Amy Breihan (she/hers) advocates for juvenile justice reform and civil rights in the criminal legal system. Her work includes leading litigation for second-chance sentences and improving inmate healthcare, recognized with the 2020 ABA Livingston Hall Juvenile Justice Award.

Amy Breihan is a Co-Director with the Missouri office of the MacArthur Justice Center (MJC), a non-profit civil rights law firm that fights for racial, gender, social, and economic justice through litigation on behalf of people involved in the carceral and criminal legal systems. Amy joined MJC as a staff attorney when it opened a new Missouri office in 2016.

Prior to joining MJC, Amy was a trial attorney with the law firm of Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner, in both their Chicago and St. Louis offices. She has extensive trial, appellate, and mediation experience and has prioritized public interest work throughout her career.

Since 2012, Amy has been part of a team of advocates helping to lead efforts to seek second-chance sentences for Missouri youth sentenced to die behind bars. For the last several years, she has both provided direct representation to those clients and worked for changes in the law to end juvenile life without parole sentences. That work included state and federal habeas litigation, as well as a successful class action culminating in a systemic overhaul of the parole process for juvenile lifers. Under the reformed process, juvenile parole hearings have gone from an 86% denial rate to a 100% grant rate. Amy is the recipient of the 2020 ABA’s Livingston Hall Juvenile Justice Award for her work on behalf of juvenile lifers. In addition, she has played a pivotal part in state-wide litigation related to, among other things: inadequate treatment for inmates with chronic Hepatitis C; the parole revocation process that impacts thousands of Missouri parolees; Missouri’s chronically under-resourced and over-burdened public defender system; and the protection of individuals’ First Amendment rights, especially the right to protest against police violence and racial injustice.

Amy is a 2010 graduate of Northwestern Pritzker School of Law. While in law school, Amy served as a student attorney with the Bluhm Legal Clinic’s Center on Wrongful Convictions, where she helped represent clients in post-conviction, actual innocence cases. Amy is a proud alumna of Grinnell College, where she graduated with a bachelor’s degree in economics in 2006. She is an avid gardener, and lives in St. Louis with her partner, three young children, and menagerie of animals.

Board Member

Brandon Jackson

Brandon Jackson (he/his) is the Founding Attorney of the Jackson Law Firm in St. Louis, specializing in personal injury and civil rights. With a background as a U.S. Assistant Federal Public Defender, he provides holistic legal representation. Brandon has received multiple awards, including the 'Up & Coming Lawyer' award from Missouri Lawyers Weekly.

Brandon Jackson is Founding Attorney of the Jackson Law Firm, a personal injury and Civil Rights trial office in St. Louis, Missouri. His experience includes civil and criminal litigation. Before starting the firm, Brandon worked as a United States Assistant Federal Public Defender in the Southern District of Illinois (East St. Louis). He is deeply concerned with community safety and seeks to provide a holistic legal representation to all clients.
Brandon is the recipient of several awards, including the “Up & Coming Lawyer” award from Missouri
Lawyers Weekly (2019); Roy F. Essen Memorial Award for Outstanding Work as a Young Lawyer (2022) (St. Louis County Bar Association) and The Ronda F. Williams Community Awareness award in 2022 (The Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis).
Board Member

Chelsea Mérta

Chelsea Mérta is a seasoned Political Advisor and committed Civil Rights Advocate with extensive experience in electoral and legislative arenas. Her advocacy spans impactful criminal legal reform legislation at municipal and state levels, alongside leadership roles in nonprofit boards including Missouri Prison Reform and Missourians to Abolish the Death Penalty.

Chelsea Mérta is a political advisor and recovering civil rights attorney with more than two decades of electoral & legislative experience at all levels of government. As a dedicated advocate for criminal legal reform, Chelsea has contributed to
impactful legislation for municipal and state legislatures, improving the conditions
inside of county jails & state prisons. Chelsea began her 10-year legal career right as the Ferguson Uprising sparked its national movement, fighting for the rights of
protesters wrongfully detained by police and settling her first federal §1983 civil rights case during her first year of practice. She has served on several non-profit boards, including Missouri Prison Reform and Missourians to Abolish the Death Penalty, and Chelsea has led numerous municipal and state political efforts, from campaign management to communications director to policy development. She is proud to work with Missouri Prison Reform to advance the rights and compassionate treatment of those living under the state carceral system.