Just Communities Staff
Caroline Isaacs
Executive Director
Caroline has worked for over 20 years advocating for just and effective criminal justice policy in Arizona. She is the author of several reports on the poor performance of private prison companies in Arizona, conditions in correctional facilities, and criminal justice policy and sentencing.
Her work has been featured in The New York Times, Salon.com, The Appeal, Dan Rather Reports, In These Times, Al Jazeera America, The Huffington Post, and numerous state and local media outlets.
She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from the College of Wooster and a Masters in Social Work from Arizona State University.
Jason Martinez
Finance / Operations Manager
A founding member of JCA, Jason’s role is to honor AZ communities, partners, and staff through compassionate leadership, mentoring, education and resourcing. Having grown up in Albuquerque, NM, Jason seeks to promote barrio cultural values and sensibilities through his work with community and among peers. His faith, family and church community are what keep him going.
Jason holds a bachelor degree in Sociology and obtained his M.A. in Communication from Northern Arizona University. A father and husband, he enjoys building with adobe (mud bricks) whenever he has free time.
DeAnna Ford
Deputy Director
DeAnna has over 20 years of experience as an educator, mental health advocate, and community organizer. She recently retired after two decades of teaching technical College in the Human Services discipline as a Faculty member. Her passion for organizing and strategic thinking led her team to record breaking Voter Registrations in Southeastern WI.
Since relocating to AZ, she helped organize over 65 grassroots orgs around Justice Reinvestment and Prop 207 while building solidarity within local Black and Brown grassroots orgs.
DeAnna holds a bachelor’s degree in Sociology from the University of WI and a Master’s degree in Education from Oklahoma City University and EBD in Educational leadership from Edgewood College.
Enrique Olivares-Pelayo
Community Safety Incubator Program Manager
Enrique has been with JCA since September 2020.
In his role as a community organizer, Enrique has worked with directly impacted people to advocate for punishment reform, developed and maintained the largest outreach mechanism in Arizona for Prop 207 expungement assistance, and worked closely with his fellow Tucsonans to transform their sense of community safety via Safety Incubator Projects.
Enrique is currently completing a doctoral program in geography at the University of Arizona.
Khalil Rushdan
Justice Reinvestment Program Manager
Khalil Rushdan is a dedicated advocate and leader in Arizona’s reentry community. Wrongfully convicted of a 1997 murder, Khalil served 15 and a half years before his conviction was overturned due to prosecutorial misconduct, leading to his release in December 2011.
Since then, he has been a passionate advocate for wrongful conviction awareness and systemic change, focusing on reentry resources, transitional mentoring, employment training, and housing. As founder of the AZ Village Network, Khalil works to remove barriers for justice-involved individuals and serves as a mentor, consultant, and ally to legal, non-profit, and private sector organizations, fostering second chances and stronger communities.