Location: Los Angeles (or we can just say Southern California)
Area of Knowledge: Pacific Islander community organizing, support for currently and formerly incarcerated women and non-binary people, life without parole, coalition-building
Leesa Nomura (she/her) is a formerly incarcerated woman of Samoan and Japanese descent. She serves the California Coalition for Women Prisoners as a membership organizer and a volunteer for her Samoan community as a part of the FOU Movement. Leesa’s life’s work is encapsulated in the empowerment of the formerly incarcerated and those who still fight for their freedoms behind those walls of oppression. She is a Project Rebound scholar and in 2023 earned her Bachelor’s degree in Human Services. Leesa is a proud mom of four sons and two daughters whose resilience has inspired her to continue to strive for success and live her best second chance. She is also a blessed “Nana” to her two granddaughters and one grandson.