Derrell is an unwavering advocate for justice-impacted young people and emerging adults, an expert in criminal justice reform, and a champion for community transformation. At Next100, Derrell’s work focuses on removing barriers for young people in the justice system and decriminalizing poverty. As a justice-impacted individual and child of incarcerated parents, Derrell is determined to shape a brighter, more just future for communities like the one he grew up in in Baltimore.

Prior to Next100, Derrell was senior program manager of memberships and partnerships at Reform Alliance, served as Consent Decree neighborhood liaison for the City of Baltimore, and worked in the Baltimore Mayor’s Office of Performance and Innovation. He has consulted with the Annie E. Casey Foundation Juvenile Justice Strategy Group Youth Advisory Council, the Commission to Decriminalize Poverty Youth Group, Urban Institutes Juvenile Probation Policy Scan and Workforce/Juvenile Justice Program Scan, Columbia University Justice Lab Emerging Adults Justice Project, U.S. Dream Academy Social Justice Fellowship, and Foster America, and serves on the Maryland Governor’s Juvenile Justice State Advisory Council Emerging Leaders Group.

Derrell is committed to engaging underrepresented communities and the most vulnerable populations in an authentic way to develop better, more equitable solutions. His story is one of transformational change, a testament to the power of leadership, advocacy, and community empowerment.