Hey Empower Missouri Family! I am the new Criminal Justice Policy Manager. I am so excited to join the Empower team. With our 2024 theme being “Policy Change Needs People Power,” I believe that in 2025, utilizing the power of the people, we can build stronger communities through radical and liberating policy strategies and wins. I am a proud St. Louis citizen and have worn many hats within my community for years.
In my new role, I will be focusing on the statewide Community Justice Coalition and helping to unify leaders across the state, continuing the great work of Clean Slate Missouri, and establishing an independent oversight system for the Department of Corrections. I am joining an excellent policy team and will be the new addition to the criminal legal system reform realm for Empower.
I am joining this role with a background in political science. I have spent many years in local grassroots organizing and have done a substantial amount of national work around gun violence, mass incarceration, and mass criminalization. I’ve worked on many key issues in the state all relative to directly impacted individuals and communities such as healthcare and voting rights. I also have over a decade of experience in grassroots and faith-based organizing. I worked with many faith leaders across the state as an organizer then Director of Organizing with Missouri Faith Voices. During my time with MFV, I worked to help faith communities transform lives and co-create a moral vision for every Missourian. I enjoyed connecting with a variety of faith leaders and communities to engage in prophetic action that helped communities who were deeply impacted by system issues and state-sanctioned violence.
I’ve worked on state level and national policies around many key issues affecting everyday people. Leading Faith Advocacy Days, training on legislative sessions, and testifying at legislative hearings have all been key to my work. I also provided extensive political education around filed bills to community members and faith leaders and their congregations, specifically around Missouri Medicaid.
Most recently, I worked for a National organization around national policy regarding gun violence, mass incarceration and criminalization. I enjoyed the great work on a national level but felt so out of touch with what was happening in my own community. When this opportunity with Empower Missouri came about, I hopped on board instantly to really get back in the field working on issues in my hometown and state.
I look forward to building with the community members that make up the Community Justice Coalition to organize, learn, and work on policy issues.
Let’s connect!
-Rika White, Criminal Justice Policy Manager
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