Taonga Leslie (he/him), joined ACS in January 2023 as Director of Policy and Program for Racial Justice. In this role, he works with ACS’ members, stakeholders, and partners to advance a more racially just and equitable future.
Before joining ACS, Taonga was a senior consultant with Public Equity Group, a boutique consulting firm that helps nonprofits, foundations and other social impact groups develop strategic plans to advance racial and economic justice. Prior to consulting, he was an associate with Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, where he investigated violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act in Latin America and represented a diverse portfolio of pro bono clients, including asylum seekers, survivors of domestic violence, nonprofit arts organizations, and police accountability groups.
Other past professional experiences include supporting efforts to reduce youth incarceration and advance alternative justice models at Impact Justice, and internships with Equal Justice Initiative and the Southern Center for Human Rights.
Taonga is a graduate of Yale Law School, where he served as a Coker Fellow, and of Harvard University, where he earned a B.A. in Sociology.
Lindsay Langholz joined ACS in September 2019 and currently serves as Senior Director of Policy and Program in charge of the “Democracy and Voting” and “Equality and Liberty” portfolios.
In this capacity, she works with legal scholars and advocates to protect and expand the right to vote, ensure that our elections are fair and accessible, and promote laws and policies that protect individual liberty and address inequality resulting from discrimination. She represents the organization in coalition meetings and works with experts in the field to develop issue briefs and blog posts.
Before joining ACS, Langholz directed voter protection programs on behalf of two presidential campaigns, a national party, and two state party organizations. She has also advised nonprofit voting rights organizations, managed several political campaigns, and worked as a campaign coordinator for the AFL-CIO.
Langholz received her J.D. from Vanderbilt University Law School and her B.A. in Politics from New York University.
Valerie M. Nannery joined ACS in 2019 and serves as Senior Director of Policy and Program. She oversees the State Attorneys General Project.
Before joining ACS, Nannery was an Assistant Attorney General in the Public Advocacy Division of the Office of the Attorney General for the District of Columbia where her practice was focused on federal affirmative civil litigation of constitutional and administrative law issues. Prior to her work as an Assistant Attorney General, Nannery was a fellow in the Supreme Court Fellows Program. Previously, she practiced at the Center for Constitutional Litigation, P.C. and at Quinn Emanuel’s Los Angeles office. She began her legal career as the Supreme Court Assistance Project Fellow at Public Citizen.
Nannery is an elected member of the American Law Institute, and a member of the Women’s Bar Association of the District of Columbia and the Hispanic Bar Association of the District of Columbia. She received her J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law and her B.A. in American Studies from Cornell University.
Christopher Wright Durocher joined ACS in 2014 and currently serves as Vice President of Policy and Program. He oversees the development of policy related to a wide range of criminal justice and access to justice issues. He works directly with scholars and experts to develop issue briefs and blog posts, manages and directs relationships with various coalition partners, represents the organization in coalition meetings, and develops and implements national programming related to the criminal justice and access to justice portfolios.
Before joining ACS, Wright Durocher was Government Affairs Counsel for The Constitution Project, where he oversaw the organization’s federal strategy on criminal justice issues, including the death penalty, right to counsel, and sentencing. Prior to this, Wright Durocher practiced as an associate at Mayer Brown LLP and as a senior associate at Obadal, Filler, MacLeod & Klein, PLC.
Wright Durocher received his J.D. from Boston University and his B.A. in English from the College of the Holy Cross.
