Daryl V. Atkinson

Daryl is the Co-Director of Forward Justice, a law, policy, and strategy center dedicated to advancing racial, social, and economic justice in the U.S. South. Prior to joining Forward Justice, Daryl was the first Second Chance Fellow for U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). While at DOJ, he was an advisor to the Second Chance portfolio of the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), a member of the Federal Interagency Reentry Council, and a conduit to the broader justice-involved population.

Prior to serving at BJA, Daryl was the Senior Staff Attorney at the Southern Coalition for Social Justice (SCSJ) and before SCSJ, he served as a staff attorney at the North Carolina Office of Indigent Defense Services (IDS).

In 2014, Daryl was recognized by the White House as a “Reentry and Employment Champion of Change” for his extraordinary work to facilitate employment opportunities for people with criminal records. He is a founding member of the North Carolina Second Chance Alliance and serves on the North Carolina Commission for Racial and Ethnic Disparities in the Criminal Justice System.

Daryl received a BA in Political Science from Benedict College, Columbia, SC and a JD from the University of St. Thomas School of Law, Minneapolis, MN.