Events

EVENTS

SPECIAL EVENING EVENT WITH FELICITY ROSE OF FWD.US
MAY 14, 2026
Blue Ribbon Hall, Best Place, Milwaukee

Felicity Rose, vice president of criminal justice research and policy at FWD.us, joined WJI and more than 80 guests on May 14 to share her research on the staggering economic costs of incarceration for the family members of imprisoned individuals.

The incarceration crisis extends far beyond prison and jail walls. Families with incarcerated loved ones face lost income, housing instability, and expenses that prevent them from climbing the economic ladder. Each year, those families lose or spend almost $350 billion combined for childcare, travel expenses, communications, and other costs, including supplemental food from prison commissaries.

Not surprisingly, the economic burden falls more heavily on families of color. Young adults with parents or siblings in prison mortgage their futures, while seniors with children in prison spend what little they may have out of fixed incomes.

Children are frequently harmed by having to move (or even becoming unhoused), experiencing their families broken apart, or facing harmful or discriminatory treatment by teachers or others based on the actions of a parent.

Based in Oakland, California, Rose spearheaded reasearch behind FWD.us' report We Can't Afford It: Mass Incarceration and the Family Tax.

She talked not only about what drives these many costs and on whom they fall, but also how to mitigate them. In particular, she looked at various steps our neighbor state Illinois recently took to reduce its prison population significantly.

To better see the PowerPoint slides from the event, click here.

MANY THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS!
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DIAMOND SPONSOR

PLATINUM SPONSORS

GOLD SPONSORS

Jackie Boynton & Peter McAvoy

Jim Gramling

Gretchen Schuldt

Leonard Sobczak

SILVER SPONSORS

Craig Johnson & Paige Styler

Peter Goldberg

Alexandria & Zane Staubach

BRONZE SPONSORS

Tori Dietel-Bargender
Margo Kirchner
Edgar Lin

SALONS

We're taking May off for Salons because of the big fundraiser speaker event. Check back later for our June Salon date.

past events

OUR 10TH ANNIVERSARY COMMEMORATION

December 11, 2025

SPECIAL EVENING EVENT WITH NICOLE D. PORTER
MAY 14, 2025
Turner Hall, Milwaukee

Nicole D. Porter, senior director of advocacy with The Sentencing Project (Washington, D.C.), discussed efforts around the country to reduce the nation's prison population as well as the current political climate impacting the incarceration rate.

We also awarded the second annual Wisconsin Justice Initiative "Advocate for Justice" award to Parker White and Evan Bondoc of the Foley & Lardner law firm. White and Bondoc represented WJI pro bono in its 2024 rule petition to improve the court rule on municipal court interpreters.

View video of Nicole's talk on the WJI blog.

Nicole Porter of The Sentencing Project, speaking at WJI's special event on May 14, 2025, at Turner Hall in Milwaukee.

Above photography donated by Barbara Miner. Thank you, Barbara!

Award winners Evan Bondoc (far left) and Parker White (far right) of Foley & Lardner, with WJI Policy Analyst Alexandria Staubach and WJI Executive Director Margo Kirchner. Photograph by Barbara Miner.

Additional photos below by Alexandria Staubach.