Dr. Marc Howard

Marc M. Howard, J.D., Ph.D., is the Founder and President of the Frederick Douglass Project for Justice. In this role, he leads all aspects of the organization and strives to fulfill the Douglass Project’s mission of facilitating structured meetings and respectful conversations between members of free society and prisoners.

Before founding the Douglass Project, Marc was already an established political science professor and award-winning author when he began visiting his childhood friend Marty Tankleff in prison. These prison visits served to reshape the course of Marc's life, as he dedicated himself to helping overturn Marty's wrongful conviction—even deciding to go to law school to help his friend. After Marty was exonerated and released, Marc continued his transformation into one of the country's most prominent criminal justice and prison reform advocates. He began volunteer teaching in a prison and started visiting prisons nationwide. These experiences have brought Marc together with people who have made mistakes but still have hopes, dreams, talents, and fears. They also have families who love them and communities to which they will eventually return.

The Frederick Douglass Project for Justice embodies Marc's goal to drive change by increasing connections with and promoting the humanity of, incarcerated people nationwide.

Marc received his B.A. from Yale University, his M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley, and his J.D. from Georgetown University. He is also a Professor of Government and Law and the founding director of the Prisons and Justice Initiative at Georgetown University, as well as the author of three books and dozens of academic articles, including his most recent book, Unusually Cruel: Prisons, Punishment, and the Real American Exceptionalism.