Meet our Staff
Philadelphia Community Bail Fund was started in May 2017 as a grassroots all volunteer collective. During that first year, we spent about $49,000 in bail to free 27 people. By May 2020, that amount grew to $1.5 million with 386 people freed. Our work is bottom-lined by a core group of dedicated (and over worked) volunteers, mostly Black women, queer folk, and gender non-conforming people. In 2019, we realized that we needed to engage full-time staff in order to complete our mission in a sustainable way. In 2020, we brought on board three full time staff people to help hold down the essential work of PCBF. These positions are supported by grants and an ongoing fundraising campaign separate from our general bail fund. To donate to support our staff, you can donate here. PCBF is still governed and driven by a group of volunteer Core Organizers who are mostly Black, women, queer and gender nonconforming folk including formerly incarcerated people bailed out by PCBF.
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Candace McKinley, Lead Organizer
Candace began organizing with PCBF at its beginning in May 2017 as a volunteer through Black Lives Matter Philadelphia. A former attorney, Candace brings over 12 years experience in nonprofit management and development as well as 8 years experience as an organizer in Philadelphia with groups such as Up Against the Law Legal Collective and Philly REAL Justice. Candace is a graduate of Yale University and the University of Chicago School of Law. Email: candace@phillybailout.org |
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LaTonya Myers, Support Coordinator LaTonya is a community organizer and activist native to Philadelphia who is dedicated to abolishing the prison system. LaTonya began organizing with Philadelphia Community Bail Fund in 2017 after being imprisoned pretrial for nine months. LaTonya channels her lived experience to uplift the voices of her neighbors and to empower those who are experiencing the horrific impact of cash bail on their lives. Email: latonya@phillybailout.org |
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Sameer Khetan, Operations Coordinator
Sameer joins PCBF with extensive experience in local community and economic development, most recently as principal of Ascend Strategies assisting area non-profits with fundraising, strategic planning, organizational structuring, and program evaluation. Beyond joining PCBF in the fall of 2019, he has organized with such groups as the Shut Down Berks Coalition, Reclaim Philadelphia, #OurDream Coalition, and Black & Brown Workers Cooperative. He recently graduated from Bryn Mawr College with his Masters in Social Work and looks forward to integrating behavioral health practice into his community work. Email: sameer@phillybailout.org |