Akiesha Anderson

Akiesha Anderson is the Advocacy and Partnerships Manager for Represent Justice. As a lawyer with a decorated career in policy advocacy, prior to joining Represent Justice, Akiesha served as the Policy and Advocacy Director for Alabama Arise where she led a team of policy advocates, analysts, and lobbyists and helped lead her team in successfully passing various pieces of legislation and state-level policies as well as in securing millions of dollars in state-level appropriations to benefit low-income children and families.

Akiesha began her career in policy advocacy more than a decade ago, helping to advance LGBTQ+ rights. This led to her working at The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR), the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), and the Williams Institute.

Akiesha also formerly worked as the Policy Director for Alabama Appleseed, the Chief of Staff for the Alabama House of Representatives’ Minority Leader Anthony Daniels, and for U.S. Congresswoman Terri Sewell (AL-07). Between 2020 – 2024, Akiesha wrote, lobbied for, or helped secure the passage of at least seven pieces of progressive state-level policies / legislation that have since been passed into law and which were designed to improve the lives of Alabamians marginalized by poverty or the state’s criminal [in]justice system. In one instance, a piece of legislation written by Akiesha which passed in its first year helped make Alabama, a deeply conservative state, a Southeastern leader in the passage of legislation designed to reduce barriers to reentry (associated with fines and fees) for people after their release from prison.

As someone who has been personally impacted by and knows what it too often looks and feels like to have to navigate the criminal justice system and incarceration, Akiesha is committed to work that helps society reimagine (and advance) what is possible when policymakers and leaders are willing to see and honor the humanity of others while remembering that we all are “more than the worst thing [we]’ve ever done” (quote from Bryan Stevenson’s book Just Mercy).

Akiesha is from Montgomery, Alabama yet currently resides in Southern California. She received her undergraduate degree in Sociology from Alabama State University (an HBCU), a Master of Public Administration (MPA) from Auburn University Montgomery, and a Juris Doctor degree (JD) with a certificate in governmental affairs from The University of Alabama School of Law. Akiesha currently sits on the Advisory Board for The University of Alabama’s Blackburn Institute and owns/runs Anderson Admissions Academy — a business designed to help underrepresented and low-income students navigate the law school admissions process.