Tyler Foster (He/Him)

From experiencing incarceration firsthand to becoming an advocate for criminal legal reform, Tyler Foster’s journey is one of resilience, transformation, and an unwavering commitment to justice. Raised by a single mother, he faced childhood poverty and witnessed the devastating impact of incarceration on those around him. As a young adult, he was incarcerated for several months, enduring solitary confinement and confronting the harsh realities of the criminal legal system.

While incarcerated, Tyler became a “jailhouse lawyer,” spending his days studying the law, assisting others with their cases, and leading legal empowerment workshops. It was through this experience that he discovered his calling: to use the law as a tool for liberation. Tyler now attends the University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law on a full-tuition scholarship, where he is a Humphreys Law Fellow and has received multiple academic awards. He is the co-founder and president of the Transformative Justice Initiative, a student-led organization committed to dismantling punitive legal systems and advancing community-centered approaches to justice through education, advocacy, and movement lawyering.

Beyond academics, Tyler is a respected leader in the nonprofit field. As a board member of the Formerly Incarcerated College Graduates Network (FICGN), he spearheads efforts to expand educational and employment opportunities for system-impacted individuals. As vice president of the Memphis Interfaith Coalition for Action and Hope (MICAH), he leads grassroots advocacy and coalition-building efforts focused on advancing social justice. He previously served as a board member of Chattanoogans in Action for Love, Equality, and Benevolence (CALEB) and co-chaired its Criminal Justice Task Force, where he built coalitions and led criminal legal reform initiatives.

Tyler has been recognized for his expertise and has contributed to important conversations on criminal legal reform. He co-authored a Vanderbilt Law School article titled “Movement Lawyering for Pretrial Justice in Eastern Tennessee” and has been invited to speak as a panelist at Harvard Law School on movement lawyering and abolitionist legal strategies. His work has been featured in news outlets including The Daily Memphian, The Commercial Appeal, The Tennessean, Action News 5, and WREG.

Before law school, Tyler worked as a community organizer and criminal defense paralegal/investigator and interned with the Shelby County Public Defender’s Office (Memphis, TN) and the Federal Defender Services of East Tennessee (Chattanooga, TN). Tyler earned his B.A., summa cum laude, from the University of Memphis. He was awarded the Dean’s Scholarship and inducted into Phi Kappa Phi and Omicron Delta Kappa honor societies.

Tyler’s journey from incarceration to law school fuels his relentless fight for transformative change. By combining his lived experience with legal training and community-rooted advocacy, he works to dismantle oppressive systems and build a legal system rooted in equity, dignity, and collective liberation.