WFU Face to Face will host social justice activist Bryan Stevenson

Lawyer, bestselling author and social justice advocate Bryan Stevenson will join the Face to Face Speaker Forum for an evening of conversation with Wake Forest University Vice President of Campus Life Shea Kidd Brown on Thursday, Feb. 23 at 7:30 p.m. in Wait Chapel.

Stevenson, a public interest lawyer and author of the New York Times bestseller “Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption,” has dedicated his career to helping the poor, the incarcerated and the condemned. He is the founder and executive director of the Equal Justice Initiative (EJI), an Alabama-based group that provides legal representation to people who have been illegally convicted, unfairly sentenced or abused in state jails and prisons. EJI also challenges the death penalty and excessive punishment and provides re-entry assistance to formerly incarcerated people. 

A 1985 graduate of Harvard, with both a master’s in public policy from the Kennedy School of Government and a JD from the School of Law, Stevenson joined the clinical faculty at New York University School of Law in 1998 and is Aronson Family Professor of Criminal Justice.

In addition to the Face to Face keynote event, Stevenson will participate in a student-led conversation at Wait Chapel at 5 p.m. hosted by Wake Forest University School of Medicine, School of Business, School of Law, School of Divinity, and the Program for Leadership & Character. Four students from Wake Forest professional schools will serve as moderators.

Students from Winston-Salem area colleges and universities are invited to join the Wake Forest community in this student-led event for free with a student ID. 

Media are welcome to the student-led conversation at 5 p.m. Photography is permitted. Broadcast media is limited to three minutes. 

The community-facing Face to Face Speaker Forum brings world-renowned, influential voices to Winston-Salem to discuss topics in a variety of areas including politics, arts and culture, business and social justice. 

This Face to Face Speaker Forum with Bryan Stevenson is presented by Rose and Travis Collins. A complete list of Face to Face Speaker Forum sponsors is available here.