Elliot Williams: A Voice for Justice

Elliot Williams served as an assistant director in the Obama administration for nearly 8 years, and was a former deputy assistant attorney general at the Justice Department. He is now a Principal at The Raben Group as well as a CNN Legal Analyst, where speaks regularly about the convergence of law and racial justice.

In this guest post, Elliot shares why he is supporting us as the emcee of Sweeping Recovery: The Doe Fund’s Gala.

What a year—or two—it has been.

It’s safe to say that Covid has taken something, or someone, from all of us. However, it has also provided us the opportunity to admit when we ourselves need help, and has shown us where we can provide support to others. People in communities around the world need each other right now. More importantly, they need organizations that guide others into service.

Simply put, the world needs more organizations like The Doe Fund. For this reason, I couldn’t be prouder to join the Doe Fund as the Master of Ceremonies at its annual gala this year.

Since the pandemic hit, some 600 Men in Blue have served as frontline workers when their city and country needed them most. In the most direct sense, these Ready, Willing, and Able participants have been a crucial resource as the city, and nation, recovers. But it’s even deeper than that.

So many of the issues in which The Doe Fund plays a part— advocating for sensible and humane criminal justice reform, ending recidivism, tackling homelessness, advancing racial and economic justice—are at the heart of very important conversations around America right now. They are all issues I care about deeply. And being brave enough to confront them all will make for a more inclusive, vibrant city and country of which we should all be proud.

I can’t wait to celebrate this work, and the men who are carrying it out, later this month.