RestoreHER LeadHERship

RestoreHER is founded and led by transformative peer to peer leadHERship of justice-involved women. The executive leadership and general board are composed of directly impacted women of color from the south. RestoreHER also maintains an advisory board that is composed of other experts including academia/research, medical, legal, and public policy, that engages in RestoreHER’s participatory process, centering the experts with direct lived experience. Through this process, the RestoreHER Boards work toward a set of principles and advocate policies that support the too often ignored needs of directly impacted women of color and incarcerated pregnant women.

​PAMELA WINN, FOUNDER

Known as "The Face of Dignity For Incarcerated Women”…Pamela Winn is an activist from Atlanta, GA and single mother of two sons that studied Biology at Spelman College, obtained three post-secondary degrees in Nursing, and worked more than 10 years as a Registered Nurse specializing in Women’s Health prior to serving a 78-month federal sentence for a white-collar crime while pregnant. During her incarceration, she was shackled, causing her to fall and miscarry, then placed in solitary confinement. Rather than diminishing her spirit, Pamela allowed the separation of her family, a miscarriage, revocation of her nursing license, and closing of her businesses that she experienced while in prison to empower her.

Pamela Winn is the founder of RestoreHER US.America, a policy advocacy reentry organization dedicated to enhancing the lives of directly impacted women and work in partnership with those women to end the mass incarceration of women of color and pregnant women. RestoreHER is a core movement partner of the Southern Black Girls and Women Consortium and a partner of the National Network For Justice (NNJ). Pamela led RestoreHER to spearhead the unanimous passage of HB345, #DIGNITY For Incarcerated Women GA, as well as the overwhelming passage of SB105, Probation REFORM GA. Pamela is also co-founder the Formerly Incarcerated College Graduates Network (FICGN) which promotes higher education of convicted people. FICGN has more 1000 members nationwide with 150 doctorate degrees and 5 law students. She is an organizer and Board President of the Georgia Chapter of Higher Education in Prison (GACHEP) which is a coalition of higher education programs in GA prisons that advocates for the educational rights and reentry of incarcerated people. She also founded “Unlocked Minds” Program in partnership with Spelman College for incarcerated women that offers a book club, wellness, rehabilitation, leadHERship, and an opportunity for secondary education. Pamela created the Dignity LeadHERship Alliance (DLA) collective of directly impacted women, successfully experienced with informing policy through lived expertise that advocate for marginalized women internationally. DLA is responsible for leading major policy transformations for justice-involved women throughout the nation including solitary confinement, shackling, and pell grant. Pamela is the Vice President for the Board of Directors with the Association for Justice-Involved Female Organizations (AJFO). AJFO is the only professional conference focused exclusively on women and girls involved with the criminal justice system. She is a Board Member of Motherhood Beyond Bars, who provides support for infants born to incarcerated women and works to reunify families. She also serves on the Advisory Council for the National Religious Campaign Against Torture (NRCAT) to end solitary confinement. 

Pamela Winn is a national leader in anti-shackling legislation informing policy throughout the south.  She is part of the National Advisory Board working in collaboration with other organizations, women who have experienced shackling while pregnant, and advocates motivated to pass anti-shackling laws in their states. Together, they have developed a Bill of Rights For Incarcerated Pregnant People. She serves on the Women’s Advisory Board with Human Impact Partners where public health officials and formerly incarcerated women collaborate to address the social determinants of criminalization. She facilitated for the 2017 Convening on Pregnancy in Correctional Settings, hosted by Pregnant In Prison Statistics. In collaboration with Change.org, Pamela leads a petition that has approximately 200K signatures with an endorsement from Senator Cory Booker advocating the Dignity For Incarcerated Women and her video with ATTN: Media & #Cut50 currently has over 5M views.

Pamela Winn is a US Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Peer Reviewer. She has provided written and oral testimony for the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights Briefing: Women In Prison: Seeking Justice Behind Bars. Pamela was  invited to the White House for the Prison Reform Summit as well as the Criminal Justice Reform Summit to speak on “Women’s Issues” of incarceration. She consulted on the national legislation, "Pregnant Women In Custody Act" introduced by Representative Karen Bass. Pamela provided her language for pregnant women in federal custody, which was instrumental in the historic passing of federal legislation HR5682, First Step Act.

Pamela Winn is listed as a Forbes 50 OVER 50 Impact Leader. Ms. Winn is featured in the short-film documentaries, “WINN Movie”, “THE BOX”, and “COUNTED”. Pamela has also been appears in Essence Magazine, “She The People”, Ms. Magazine, Women’s Republic, “ATL’s Most Inspiring” in Voyage ATL magazine and many other media articles including podcasts. She has been a speaker on numerous podcasts, panels, and keynote across the nation including Spelman College, St. Olaf College, Emory University, Sacred Heart University, FSU Institute for Justice Research and Development, Association For Justice-Involved Females and Organizations (AJFO) 2019, Healthy Mothers Healthy Babies, ForeverFamily, 2017 International Drug Policy Reform Conference hosted by the Drug Policy Alliance, and Dignity For Incarcerated Women Roundtable with Senator Cory Booker.

Pamela Winn is a 2017 Leading with Conviction Fellow of JustLeadership USA dedicated to reducing mass incarceration #HalfBy2030, 2018 Erin J. Vuley Fellow of Feminist Women’s Health Center fighting for #ReproductiveJustice, 2019 Community Change Women’s Leadership Fellow showing what it looks like when #WomenOfColorLead, 2019 Soros Justice Advocacy Fellow with Open Society Foundation, 2021 Opportunity Agenda Communications Institute Fellow, and 2021 Women’s Transcending Collective Leadership Institute with Columbia University.

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RestoreHER BOARD

The General Board is composed of directly impacted women of color leading social justice in the south. These women are experts of "lived experience"  as well as founders of organizations, executive directors, an attorney, doctorate graduate, licensed professionals, JLUSA alumni, and Soros Justice Fellows.

RestoreHER also maintains an Advisory Board that consist of women who are experts in their professional disciplines including more than 50 years of organizing, magistrate judge, attorneys, policy director, medical doctor, doctorate graduates, social worker, realtor, and public health specialist.

The RestoreHER Boards address the social determinants of criminalization and intersectionality through engagement in a participatory research process relying upon women with direct experience and other experts including academia/research, medical, legal, and public policy. Through this process we will work toward a set of principles and advocate policies that support the too often ignored needs of directly impacted women of color and incarcerated pregnant women.