Amaal Sharif

Amaal found her roots in abolitionist organizing by witnessing the beauty of community her refugee parents took part in building their own thousands of miles away from home to fight back against a system so hellbent on dehumanizing and criminalizing peoples existence.  In her hometown she helped start Decarcerate Utah as a way to fight alongside community members to carry out various campaigns across the state from  “Defund SLCPD” to “Stop Ice Contracts” and so many more. She took this same fighting spirit with her to Houston as she helped found Jailhouse Justice which works to honor the lives of those who had died in Harris County Jail while also continuing to struggle for those who are still in state custody. Through her work with family members of those who died in the jail to help make vigils, demonstrations and political education, Amaal crossed paths with TJP and began this beautiful journey. Since she joined earlier this year as program associate, she has been able to dabble in small ways to see all that TJP does by helping with organizing community members at the Texas Commission on Jail Standards, social media and informational resources. 

As a daughter from the land of poets and nomads she often spends her free time embracing that culture through her writing and roaming the city with friends and strangers alike to find more ways to learn, grow with and push her new home in the lone star state.