Jakisha Blackwell

Jakisha Blackwell joins the UpTogether team after serving as an Assistant State’s Attorney for 10+ years. As an advocate for people impacted by the legal system, Jakisha’s work frequently addressed stereotypes and confronted the fairness and legality in applying criminal laws and policies in marginalized communities.

Before joining the State’s Attorney’s Office, Jakisha completed a judicial clerkship with the District Court of Maryland for Baltimore City. Jakisha also served as a Law Clerk in the Housing Law Unit of Maryland Legal Aid Bureau, where she worked to advance policies geared toward preserving affordable housing for low-income families throughout the state of Maryland. Jakisha has a passion for community engagement and generating solutions to issues of access, equality, safety, and dignity for economically and socially disadvantaged individuals and communities.

Jakisha holds a Juris Doctorate from the University of Baltimore School of Law. While in law school, Jakisha served as a Fellow in the Center for Families, Children, and the Courts and spent a semester at the University of the Netherlands Antilles studying International Family Law and Asylum and Refugee Law. Jakisha received a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Morgan State University.