MEET DAVID SMITH

Several months before John Horejsi passed away, he asked me to take over the leadership of SALT.  I asked him what his vision was, and he told me he didn’t care about his name or what he’d be remembered for; he wanted to ensure that those that didn’t have a voice in the halls of political power were represented and their rights protected.

SALT has always embraced the guiding principle that “The justice of a society can be measured by how the most vulnerable members of that society are faring and being treated.”

How do we continue this? No one is John, so the way SALT moves forward won’t look exactly like what we’ve done in the past, but that guiding principle will stay the same.

I met John in the Spring of 2017. I had just joined the Virginia Coalition on Solitary Confinement -- I had just become politically active. While I had worked in benefits eligibility in Virginia and Tennessee and had been an ordained Lutheran pastor, politics was not a space in which I spent much time. It wasn’t until despair and addiction led me to a horrible place in 2013 and I experienced the broken systems of Virginia’s prisons and jails first hand that I realized I could use my voice of experience and privilege to make a difference.

Since that first meeting, and often under John’s mentorship, I charted a path forward in advocacy. I was the second Chair of the Virginia Coalition on Solitary Confinement, and during my tenure we created bipartisan legislative support for reform, laying the foundation for this year’s successful legislation that guarantees everyone 4 hours out of cell time a day. I currently serve on the boards of Safer Virginia, OAR-Richmond, and Bethlehem Lutheran Church-Richmond, VA, as well as being the founder and festival director of Inthrive Film Festival, the first film festival to celebrate the voices of folks who have survived incarceration. At the beginning of this year, I launched Inthrive: Advocacy Solutions, a lobbying, strategic planning, and training firm that equips people to turn their passion into policy. SALT was my first client.

So what are SALT’s next steps?

Bob Stewart, SALT’s public affairs coordinator, and I recently met with several people John and Bob have worked closely with over the years, to get their feedback on SALT’s future. As a group, we decided on these four points:

1. SALT should focus on criminal justice and human care by giving voice to those that do not have political power.
2. SALT should focus its resources on Virginia issues while amplifying federal calls to action.
3. SALT’s value is its research based policy proposals, persistence on issues, and maturity of advocacy.
4. SALT will be led by David and a Board of Advisors until after the 2024 General Assembly session, when this group will decide SALT’s structure for the future.

This fourth point is my ask of you today. I need your help in creating our Board of Advisors. I am looking for 6 to 8 people with an interest in ensuring SALT continues its legacy of giving voice to those that do not have political power. I hope to create a diverse Board of Advisors consisting of directly impacted folks, policy experts, communication specialists, and people passionate about making a positive change in Virginia.

If you would like to nominate yourself or someone else, please send to me -- This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., by Monday, October 16 -- their name, contact info, and why you think you or they would be suited for this role.

Thank you for your continued support of SALT. I’m excited about what we can accomplish together!