San Francisco Chronicle

Bay Area criminal justice reformer wins MacArthur ‘genius award’

• Oct 04, 2018
• Peter Fimrite

A Bay Area community organizer who started a Silicon Valley nonprofit that helps low-income families defend loved ones against criminal charges and navigate the justice system has been awarded a MacArthur Foundation “genius” grant.

Raj Jayadev, the 43-year-old co-founder of Silicon Valley De-Bug, was among 25 people chosen Thursday as 2018 MacArthur Fellows, an annual award given to people who have shown extraordinary creativity and are deemed likely to continue to make important contributions to society.

Washington Post

MacArthur ‘genius’ grant winners ponder a new future: ‘Your life can change in an instant.’

• Oct 04, 2018
• Caitlin Gibson

The foundation maintains that winners are never chosen for any political reasons or in accordance to any particular theme; the honor is meant purely to recognize work that is “for the benefit of human society.” This year’s class notably includes a number of individuals whose efforts focus on advocating for vulnerable and marginalized communities, often through creative and collaborative work.