Sonja Tonnesen-Casalegno is a lifelong advocate for racial and gender justice and a movement lawyer and organizer at heart, with over 15 years working to transform the carceral system. Born and raised outside Milwaukee, WI, she grew up in a family deeply committed to social justice and with loved ones directly impacted by incarceration, which shaped her dedication to liberation work from an early age.
A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and UC Berkeley School of Law, Sonja co-founded Root & Rebound, where she launched statewide coalitions that won California’s Fair Chance Licensing and Ban the Box in Higher Education laws, and led litigation challenging discriminatory licensing practices and corporate Ban the Box violations. As Policy & Legal Director at CURYJ and then Advocacy Director at LSPC/All of Us or None, she helped pass hundreds of bills alongside currently and formerly incarcerated leaders and supported lawsuits challenging the family policing system and abusive search practices for families visiting incarcerated loved ones. Sonja is also a trained full-spectrum doula, bringing a deep commitment to reproductive justice and community care into every part of her practice.
As Senior Director of Strategic Initiatives, Sonja advances Sister Warriors Freedom Coalition’s highest-priority initiatives, strengthening the organization’s ability to build the leadership, power, healing, and long-term well-being of currently and formerly incarcerated women, trans people, and their families.
Above all, Sonja’s most important role is being ‘mama’ to her two children, who inspire her daily to imagine and fight for a more liberated world.