Join us on Saturday, May 11 for an in-depth tour of “Per(Sister): Incarcerated Women of Louisiana” led by PerSisters and co-producers of the exhibition Dolfinette Martin and Syrita Steib Martin. Free and open to the public, this tour is an amazing chance to hear first hand how this groundbreaking exhibition came together and learn more about the issues and women represented in the show.
About Dolfinette Martin:
Dolfinette Martin, the Operation Manager at Operation Restoration is a strong community leader who serves on the Formerly Incarcerated Transitional Clinic Advisory Board, a clinic created for formerly incarcerated people, the Criminal Background Check Review Panel for the Housing Authority of New Orleans (HANO). Dolfinette was appointed to New Orleans first female Mayor LaToya Cantrell transition team and Essence’s first ever all female criminal justice reform panel. She was a founding member and former president of the NOLA chapter of National Council for Incarcerated and Formerly Incarcerated Women and Girls. As a Formerly Incarcerated Person, Dolfinette earned a college degree in 2015 after her release from prison in 2012, and sets a powerful example for her children, grandchildren and her community. She is frequently asked to contribute her knowledge, expertise and wisdom on panels and media. A recipient of the John Thompson Leadership for Change Award and A Freedom Fighter Award, she created the Formerly and Currently Incarcerated Women and Girls Reentry project within VOTEs organization. Governor John Bell Edwards recently appointed her to sit on the Louisiana Women’s Incarceration Task Force based on her legislative advocacy.
About Syrita Steib-Martin:
Syrita Steib-Martin is the Executive Director of Operation Restoration.OR. She has an unrelenting passion to help women successfully reenter into society after incarceration. At the age of 19, she was sentenced to 120 months in federal prison. After serving 110 months, she earned her B.S. from LSUHSC in New Orleans and became a nationally certified and licensed Clinical Laboratory Scientist. Syrita is the founder and Executive Director of Operation Restoration (OR). Syrita successfully drafted and passed Louisiana Act 276 which prohibits public post-secondary institutions in Louisiana from asking questions relating to criminal history for purposes of admissions, making Louisiana the first to pass this type of legislation. She is working on the national Dignity for Incarcerated Women campaign after passing the legislation in Louisiana and regularly speaks at conferences across the nation about the experiences of incarcerated women. A panelist on the Empowerment stage at Essence Festival, she was on Mayor Cantrell’s transition team in 2018, was appointed to the Justice Reinvestment oversight council for the state of Louisiana, and chairs the Louisiana Task Force on Women’s Incarceration.
