Podcast appearances and mentions of Adam J Foss

welcome to episode 1 of the What Shapes Us podcast. Our first guest is Adam J. Foss. Adam is a former Assistant District Attorney in the Juvenile Division of the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office (SCDAO) in Boston, MA. Since his viral Ted Talk on prosecution in February in 2016, Adam has gone on to found Prosecutor Impact, a non-profit developing training and curriculum for prosecutors to reframe their role in the criminal justice system. Selema talks with Adam about the current state of America two weeks after the killing of George Floyd.

In light of recent events that have further exposed the gross racial injustices and system failures of the American criminal justice system, many of us are searching for answers on what we can do to move racial justice and equality forward.Enter Adam J. Foss, who has dedicated his life to criminal justice reform and reinventing the role of the criminal prosecutor in order to end mass incarceration. In 2016, Mr. Foss delivered a powerful Ted Talk that shed light on the true power of the prosecutor to change the fate of someone’s life, and therefore many lives, by focusing on opportunity and compassion, rather than winning a case.Mr. Foss was born in the Caribbean and adopted by a white couple in Massachusetts. His father was a Marine and a police officer. Therefore, Adam grew up with a deep respect and love for the men in blue, while also living life as a black man in America. Through his experiences in this paradox, he has learned that deep empathy for both sides is needed in order to have a productive conversation about criminal justice reform. Americans were all raised by a country that deprived us of the whole truth, and now we have the opportunity to reckon with this false story and unlearn, so that we can rebuild.We hope this conversation brings clarity around questions you may have about the failings of the criminal justice system, mass incarceration, and what you can do to help push the needle forward on racial justice and equality. Please share this extremely important message with friends and family.For full show notes: https://www.baktashahadi.com/podcastConnect with Adam J. Foss: https://prosecutorimpact.com/teamFollow/Support Stories of Transformation and Baktash Ahadi:Donate to the production of this podcastFollow on Instagram Follow on Facebook Produced by: Dana Drahos Edited by: Joseph Gangemi Digital Marketing by: Katherine An Theme music by: Qais Essar Artwork by: Masheed Ahadi 

April 29, 2019 at the Boston Athenæum. Join us for a conversation with two leading voices in the movement to bring about criminal justice reform, New York Times Magazine journalist Emily Bazelon and Boston-based advocate and former prosecutor Adam Foss. In their respective fields, both grapple with the fact that the image of the American criminal justice system as a contest between the prosecution and the defense with judges ensuring a fair fight does not, in fact, match the reality. Much of the time, it is prosecutors more than judges who control the outcome of a case, and oftentimes with devastating consequences. Emily Bazelon’s new book entitled Charged examines this heretofore unchecked power of prosecutors and how this power undermines the American criminal justice system. She exposes the damage overzealous prosecutors can inflict alongside those—like Adam Foss—who seek to reform the system. Adam Foss, who formerly served as Assistant District Attorney in the Juvenile Division of the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office, has firsthand insight into the connection between prosecution and mass incarceration. Since his viral Ted Talk on prosecution in February in 2016, Adam Foss has gone on to found Prosecutor Impact, a non-profit developing training and curriculum for prosecutors to reframe their role in the criminal justice system. With participants uniquely suited to speaking on the present issues afflicting the justice system, this event will shine a light on the little known cause for enormous injustice, while also offering a vision for a better future.

Learn how mass incarceration can be positively impacted when you “re-route” a win and change the mind-set of criminal prosecutors. Consider how the most powerful form of influence may be to change the way success is measured. Bio: Adam J. Foss, Executive Director of Prosecutor Impact, is a former Assistant District Attorney in the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office (SCDAO) in Boston, MA. Adam is a fierce advocate for criminal justice reform and the importance of the role of the prosecutor in ending Mass Incarceration. Mr. Foss believes that the profession of prosecution is ripe for reinvention requiring better incentives and more measurable metrics for success beyond, simply, “cases won.” Watch Adam discuss a reformed justice system in his Ted Talk. https://www.ted.com/talks/adam_foss_a_prosecutor_s_vision_for_a_better_justice_system?language=en