Robin Steinberg

Activist, Change Agent, Concerned citizen, Idea generator, Jewish, Lawyer, Parent

Robin Steinberg is the Founder of The Bail Project, a national non-profit organization working to end the cash bail system in the United States through direct service intervention for low-income people held in jail on cash bail before conviction, narrative change, data collection and policy advocacy. Steinberg spent much of her career as a public defender. Steinberg is the founder and former executive director of The Bronx Defenders, a community-based public defender office serving low-income New Yorkers in the Bronx since 1997, and the former executive director of Still She Rises, Tulsa, the first and only public defender office in the nation dedicated exclusively to the representation of mothers in the criminal justice system. She has taught at various law schools, including Columbia Law School, CUNY Law School and most recently as a Senior Fellow of the Criminal Justice Program at UCLA School of Law where she worked with faculty and students on bail reform initiatives and research. Robin's first book, "The Courage of Compassion: A Journey from Judgment to Connection" was published in April 2023 by Optimism Press, an imprint of Penguin Random House. She and her co-author, Camilo Ramirez, are working on their second book on the history of bail in America.

Justice, Feminism, Public Defense, Story Telling, Family, Travel, Camping and Pit Bulls

Freedom should be free

Bail Reform, Building and Scaling Ideas, Criminal Justice, Holistic Public Defense, Non-profit management

I was lucky enough to be part of the 2018 Audacious cohort of incredible leaders and change makers. The Audacious community of supporters helped us launch The Bail Project in January 2018. Today we have over 20 sites across America, working everyday to transform our cash bail system and put ourselves out of business. I delivered my TED talk on the main stage in April 2018 which was one of the scariest things I've ever done but also the most impactful. TED has been instrumental in supporting our work, expanding our reach and helping us connect with supporters, thought partners and donors. I couldn't be more grateful to the entire TED community.

Making brisket, hiking, photography, pitching a tent and yoga.