Penn Law’s Quattrone Center appoints Kimberly Foxx, Ty Stiklorius to Advisory Board

The Quattrone Center for the Fair Administration of Justice at the University of Pennsylvania Law School has announced the appointments of Kimberly Foxx, State’s Attorney for Cook County, Illinois and Ty Stiklorius C’97 WG’03, co-founder of #FREEAMERICA and music manager, to the Center’s Advisory Board.

The Quattrone Center for the Fair Administration of Justice is a national research and policy hub created to catalyze long-term structural improvements to the U.S. criminal justice system. The Center takes an interdisciplinary, data-driven, “systems approach” to identify and analyze the most crucial problems in the justice system, and propose solutions that prevent errors and improve fairness.

The Center’s Advisory Board consists of nationally-recognized criminal justice reform leaders from across the country, as well as across the political spectrum, who help the Center prioritize and operationalize its research. 

Foxx is the first African American woman to lead the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office and has served in her current role since December 2016. A nationally recognized voice in the improvement of the criminal justice system, she has been actively involved in revamping the Office’s Conviction Integrity Unit, and is a leader in bond reform.

“It is only through strong partnership and dialogue between research and practice that we will be able to maximize the impact of criminal justice system reform efforts,” said Foxx. “The Quattrone Center is an important leader in that partnership, and I am honored to join their Advisory Board.”

Stiklorius, a graduate of Penn’s College of Arts and Sciences and Wharton Business School, is a criminal justice advocate and music manager who represents Quattrone Center Advisory Board member and Penn graduate John Legend, as well as Alicia Keys, Ciara, and other artists. She is the founder of Friends at Work, an entertainment, innovation, and social impact company, and she and Legend co-founded #FREEAMERICA, a non-profit that raises awareness about mass incarceration.

 “The Quattrone Center is doing groundbreaking work on some of the most important issues in criminal justice reform, said Stiklorius. “They are leaders in redefining the role of prosecutors in our society, and their research on pretrial detention and holistic public defense are having real impact in communities across the country. I’m excited to work with the Center and increase the awareness of their data-driven work.”

“Kim and Ty are tremendous additions to the Quattrone Center’s Advisory Board,” said John Hollway, executive director of the Quattrone Center. “Both are incredibly thoughtful and passionate about improving our nation’s criminal justice system. The Board will benefit from Kim’s direct engagement in every significant issue in urban criminal justice, and Ty’s amazing ability to connect people, share information, and build awareness.”

Recent scholarship from the Quattrone Center has measured the cash bail system’s contribution to disparity and error in the criminal justice system, and has identified how reducing reliance on money bail in misdemeanor and other non-violent, low-level offenses can better improve system performance. 

The Center also recently issued a national report detailing best practices for conviction review units — units within a district attorney’s office that exist to review plausible claims made by a convicted inmate that he or she is actually innocent of a crime. These units are a growing trend in criminal justice reform, and the Center’s report contains recommendations for structure, staffing, policies, and procedures.

The Center is supported by an Advisory Board comprised of justice system leaders from diverse professional backgrounds, as well as dedicated and informed individuals concerned with ensuring the quality of the system.