Join Us On May 8th In Philadelphia As The Juvenile Law Center Honors AFJ’s Co-Founder And Executive Director, Angel Rodriguez

Avenues for Justice’s Co-Founder and  Executive Director, Angel Rodriguez, is one of four recipients selected by  the  Juvenile Law Center (JLC) for the 2024  Leadership Prize. Avenues for Justice is grateful to the Juvenile Law Center  for recognizing Angel Rodriguez’s lifelong work in the criminal justice  field. We hope you will join us in celebrating Angel at the  National Constitution Center in Philadelphia on May 8th.

2024 Juvenile Law Center Leadership Prize Winners

Angel Rodriguez; Co-Founder & Executive Director |Avenues for Justice

Laurence Steinberg; Laura H. Carnell Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience | Temple University

Elizabeth Scott; Harold R. Medina Professor Emerita of Law | Columbia Law School

Bryan Stevenson; Founder & Executive Director | Equal Justice Initiative

JLC’s  annual Leadership Prize was first awarded in 2015 to recognize individuals  working to reform the child welfare and justice systems. The inaugural  recipient, Juvenile Law Center Co-Founder Robert Schwartz, not only brought  the Juvenile Law Center to national and international prominence over the  course of his 40 years of leadership, but he also helped develop the nascent  field of children’s law, inspiring thousands of children’s rights advocates  working nationwide. Today, the Juvenile Law Center is recognized both  nationally and internationally for its expertise as a trailblazer in the  field of children’s rights law.  

Recipients  of the Leadership Prize are leading lights whose inspirational careers are  beacons for future generations and whose work has substantially improved the  lives of youth. Awardees have achieved lasting change either through a  lifetime of work on behalf of youth, a landmark contribution to the field of  children’s rights, or exceptional efforts to shine a light on the most  important issues affecting youth today.

Honored  to be in a category with such esteemed recipients, Angel Rodriguez remarks  how “our young people need opportunities and support to accomplish their  goals. I co-founded AFJ 45 years ago to provide this support in a manner  that’s rooted in community, respect, and a belief in their abilities. AFJ  supports our Participants in court, in our programs, and with employment and  education. When anyone visits Avenues for Justice, they almost always say the  same thing – this feels like family. While we’ve come a long way since we  were founded in the Lower East Side, we have so much more to do. More young  people to serve in our city, more second chances that we hope to provide them  with, and more lives to enrich.” 

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