About me
Aisha Cornelius Edwards has worked in public service and policy for more than 25 years. She is currently the Executive Director of Cabrini Green Legal Aid (CGLA), which provides holistic legal services that include social support services and advocacy for individuals and communities negatively impacted by the criminal legal system. Aisha is also an adjunct professor at Loyola School of Law, leading and co-leading courses focused on cultivating social justice competencies and leadership for future attorneys. She was previously a Senior Program Officer at the MacArthur Foundation supporting the Safety and Justice Challenge, a national initiative to eliminate racial disparities and reduce local jail incarceration through collaborative efforts across stakeholders in various jurisdictions in the US. She has also previously worked as a supervising trial attorney, leading the Criminal Defense work at Cabrini Green Legal Aid for five years, as well as an Assistant State’s Attorney in Cook County for 8 years.
Aisha obtained her MBA and undergraduate degree in psychology from the University of Illinois. Aisha received her law degree from Loyola School of Law. She was a 2020 Shriver Center Racial Justice Institute Fellow, and is currently on the inaugural Steering Committee of the Illinois Legal Aid Racial Justice & Diversity Collaborative.
Aisha’s passion for equity and justice is fueled by her personal, family, and community experiences growing up on the South Side of Chicago, where she witnessed many inequities and injustices. She has several family members who are justice involved, including several who were previously, or are currently, incarcerated.
