Ameca Reali

  • Justice and Accountability Center of Louisiana

  • Co-Founded with Adrienne Wheeler

  • 2011 Global Fellow

Ameca Reali
  • Justice and Accountability Center of Louisiana

  • Co-Founded with Adrienne Wheeler

  • 2011 Global Fellow

bold idea

Tackle systemic criminal justice deficiencies in Louisiana by providing access to relevant legal files and bringing together the recently incarcerated, attorneys, and prisoner rights advocates to develop strategies for accountability and reform.

organization overview

The Justice and Accountability Center brings together the recently incarcerated, defense attorneys, prisoner rights advocates, and plaintiff attorneys in a membership cooperative, which provides incarcerated individuals with the possibility of freedom, access to justice, and the opportunity to make radical changes in a system with glaring deficiencies. In addition, the organization creates a collaborative space where attorneys, legal workers, and advocates can participate collectively in planning and implementing strategies for accountability and reform.

Personal Bio

A native of New York, Ameca graduated cum laude from the State University of New York at Buffalo with a degree in communication and moved to New Orleans to attend Loyola University School of Law. Ameca grew up as one of three children, raised by a mother and aunts who spent time advocating for others in their community and fighting to end injustice. She spent her first few years in New Orleans working on a range of legal issues affecting marginalized communities such as capital appeals, access to courts and justice housing discrimination, housing voucher termination, landlord tenant and security deposit retrieval for people receiving public assistance, First Amendment violations, voter protection and elections and education reform in post-Katrina New Orleans. She has worked closely with the Loyola Chapter of the National Lawyers Guild as a legal observer.
In 2011, after securing an Echoing Green Fellowship, Ameca and her partner founded the Justice and Accountability Center of Louisiana (JAC). Ameca co-founded and served as executive director for five years. JAC is dedicated to identifying and tackling deficiencies in the post-conviction phase of the criminal justice system while creating a collaborative space for a attorneys and advocates. In 2015, Ameca founded the Amicus Group LLC, a consulting firm that is committed to growing sustainable communities and addressing pressing social justice issues.
Ameca is passionate about mentoring young people and has worked for and volunteered for youth-based organizations such as Urban League College Track, Youth Run Nola and Project Butterfly Nola.

  • Organization/Fellow Location ?

    Our most recent information as to where the Fellow primarily resides.

    New Orleans, United States

  • Impact Location ?

    Countries or continents that were the primary focus of this Fellow’s work at the time of their Fellowship.

  • Organization Structure ?

    An organization can be structured as a nonprofit, for-profit, or hybrid (a structure that incorporates both nonprofit and for-profit elements).

    Nonprofit

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