Wake Forest Law professor and alumni
join group to cut crime, incarceration
SPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE __
Wake Forest Law Professor Kami
Chavis Simmons, director of the law
school's Criminal Justice Program, has
joined more than 130 current and former
police chiefs, sheriffs, federal and state
prosecutors, and attorneys general from all
50 states to form Law Enforcement
Leaders to Reduce Crime and
Incarceration to urge for a reduction in
both crime and incarceration. Wake Forest
Law Alumni Walter Holton (JD '84), for
mer U.S Attorney for the Middle District
of North Carolina, and Ben David (JD '95),
district attorney for New Hanover and
Pender counties in North Carolina, are also
founding members of the group.
"This is a critical time in our nation
with respect to criminal justice reform,"
Professor Simmons said. "There is now
widespread bipartisan support for major
changes including alternatives to arrest
and reforming mandatory minimum laws.
We are experienced current and former law
enforcement officials who know that we
can reduce mass incarceration and crime at
the same time."
Law
Enforcement
Leaders is a
project of the
B r e n n a n
Center for
Justice at
New York
University
School of
Law. The
New York
Times wrote
about the new
group here and NPR featured the group on
Morning Edition today.
The group's mission is: "As current and
former leaders of the law enforcement
community - police chiefs, sheriffs, dis
trict and state's attorneys, U.S. Attorneys,
attorneys general and other leaders - pro
tecting public safety is a vital goal. From
experience and through data-driven and
innovative practices, we know the country
can reduce crime while also reducing
unnecessary arrests, prosecutions, and
incarceration. We can also reduce recidi
vism and strengthen relationships with
communities. With the goal of building a
smarter, stronger, and fairer criminal jus
tice system, we are joining together to urge
a change in laws and practices to reduce
incarceration while continuing to keep our
communities safe."
In 2015, Professor Simmons was
appointed as a Senior Academic Fellow at
the Joint Center for Political And
Economic Studies. She has substantial
practice experience and writes and teaches
in areas related to criminal law, criminal
procedure and criminal justice reform.
After receiving her J.D. from Harvard
Law School, Simmons worked as an asso
ciate at private law firms in Washington,
D.C., where she participated in various
aspects of civil litigation, white-collar
criminal defense, and internal investiga
tions.
In 2003, she became an Assistant
United States Attorney for the District of
Columbia, involving her in a wide range of
criminal prosecutions and in arguing and
briefing appeals before the District of
Columbia Court of Appeals.
Professor Simmons frequently makes
presentations on law-enforcement issues
and is a leader in the field of police
accountability. Her articles have appeared
in the American Criminal Law Review, the
Ohio State Journal of Criminal Law, The
Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology,
the University of Alabama Law Review,
and the Catholic University Law Review,
and other legal journals. Her research
focuses on using Cooperative Federalism
principles and stakeholder participation to
implement sustainable reforms in the crim
inal justice system. She writes in the areas
of police and prosecutorial accountability,
federal hate crimes legislation and
enforcement, and racial profiling. She was
elected to the American Law Institute in
2012.
Simmons is a frequent contributor to
national and international media outlets
and has appeared on CNN, CTV, and NPR.
She has written for the New York Times
and the Huffington Post, and has been
quoted in the Wall Street Journal, BBC
News, U.S. News and World Report,
International Business Times, Deutsche
Welle, and other outlets regarding police
accountability and the structural reform of
law enforcement agencies.
Simmons
Children's Museum of W-S
awarded prestigious grant
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SPECIAL TO
THE CHRONICLE
The Children's
Museum of Winston-Salem
(CMWS) has been award
ed a federal grant of
$150,000 by the Institute of
Museum and Library
Services (IMLS). This
grant, which must be
matched, will support the
development, prototyping,
fabrication, and installation
of an approximately 1,000
square-foot theatre-themed
maker space and associated
programming, entitled
"The Prop Shop".
iii auuuioii 10 rcpurpos
ing underutilized space in
the museum into a perma
nent maker space exhibi
tion and providing related
programming, this project
is the ideal collaborative
opportunity to integrate the
performance arts program
ming of Peppercorn
Theatre at the Children's
Museum, and enhance cur
rent exhibits and educa
tional programming.
Aligned with the
Museums for America
Learning Experiences cate
gory, "The Prop Shop and
related programming will
support learner-driven
experiences that engage
children and families,
school groups, and staff in
open-ended, problem-solv
ing processes, integrating
experimentation and cre
ativity.
As CMWS looks to
incorporate theatre-based
play, design, and innova
tion into its offerings, "The
Prop Shop" exhibit will be
built to serve as a theatre
focused maker space.
Maker spaces are hands-on
learning environments to
make and remake the phys
ical and digital worlds.
These experiences foster
experimentation, inven
tion, creation, and explo
ration through design
thinking and project-based
learning. Embracing the
theme of a technical theatre
shop in this project, muse
um staff will highlight sto
rytelling as a departure
point for individual inven
tion, therefore linking the
learning goals of "The Prop
Shop" with the rest of the
museum.
Maker spaces are a fun
and effective way for
museums to broaden their
educational role and impact
within the diverse commu
nities they serve By jointly
solving problems in set
tings like "maker spaces"
and "tinkering studios,"
parents and children
become co-learners in a
process that builds relation
ships, encourages commu
nication, and sets the stage
for the development of
important executive func
tion life skills such as
focus, self-control, critical
thinking, and taking on
challenges.
The installation of the
new exhibit space and
complimentary program
ming will demonstrate and
reinforce the distinctive
role CMWS plays as an .
educational institution,
while strengthening the
Museum's relationship
with the Winston-Salem
community and surround
ing counties.
"The process to receive
IMLS funding is competi
tive and we are honored to
have been selected by our
peers for funding. This is
our second IMLS grant and
each funded project is just
one stepping stone towards
furthering the Museum's
efforts to increase collabo
ration and partnerships,
enhance exhibit and visitor
experiences, and expand
outreach to the larger com
munity," said Elizabeth
Dampier, the Executive
Director.
The Institute of
Museum and Library
Services (IMLS)
announced grants for 217
museum projects totaling
almost $26 million. The
museums were selected
from 583 appli
cations
requesting a
total of about $74 million
and were awarded through
the highly competitive
Museums for America and
National Leadership
Grants for Museums pro
grams. Institutions receiv
ing the awards are match
ing them with about $34
million in non-federal
funds.
"IMLS helps museums
provide opportunities for
visitors to experience sci
ence, history, art, technolo
gy and living collections in
unique and interactive
ways," said IMLS Acting
Director Maura Marx.
"With this federal support,
museums all over the coun
try will be better equipped
to care for their collections,
create exhibitions and
learning experiences for
visitors, and contribute to a
better quality of life for
their communities."
The Children's
Museum of Winston-Salem
will celebrate its 11th birth
day in November. The
museum is the communi
ty's destination to play and
learn through literature,
storytelling, and the arts.
Every visit to the museum
nurtures children's imagi
nations, creativity, and love
of reading with interactive
and educational opportuni
ties for exploration and dis
covery.
For more information,
call 336-723-9111 or visit
www.childrensmuseu
mofws.org.
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