S1: E12 Darcy Van Oden Founder and CEO of Utah Justice Coalition

Founder and Executive Director for the Utah Justice Coalition. Darcy first took a Criminology course her Freshman year at Utah State University in Logan, UT where she found her love and passion for reform work. Darcy then headed after her freshman year to Virginia where she received her Bachelor’s Degree in Criminology from George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia. It was at George Mason University where she first toured a local prison and also became better educated about the death penalty. Darcy changed her position to support repealing the death penalty in college understanding how broken the system is, how costly the process is and ultimately had the change of heart realizing that government and society had no place putting people to death. Darcy interned in the juvenile justice system working with a shelter for at-risk teens in northern Virginia, working to make a difference in their lives. Darcy moved her family to Utah and became active in Utah politics in 2009 as a citizen lobbyist in support of fiscal accountability and transparency. She co-founded the Utah Tea Party movement organizing citizens to unite and take action in their local communities. She organized campaigns to assist citizens to become County and State Delegates, elect fiscally responsible representatives as well as pass constitutional and State Powers legislation. Over the years, she has supported common sense reforms to the criminal justice system and opposed legislation which violates civil rights and due process. She has worked as a family rights champion, working to assist families affected by CPS and the court system over years. Darcy has working tirelessly at keeping families together. Darcy has utilized her staffing and HR professional background to help citizens find jobs post prison. She has forged partnership with like-minded organizations to promote a holistic approach to reentry from prison including faith based programs and corporate partnerships.