At the 2019 annual meetings of the American Society of Criminology, this year in San Francisco. After a busy couple of days, Meda gave her “Presidential Address” late Friday afternoon. First, she presented an award for “Distinguished Contributions to Justice” to Mark Mauer, founder and director of The Sentencing Project.

We first met Mark several decades back when he and I were both working for the American Friends Service Committee. He was working on criminal justice issues in the midwest, while I was working in Hawaii on peace education. He and Meda have stayed in touch over the years, and co-edited a book, “ Invisible Punishment: The Collateral Consequences of Mass Imprisonment” a while back. Meda was pleased that she had this opportunity to recognize his professional contributions throughout his career.

After the award, Meda gave her relatively brief address, then passed the presidential gavel over to the incoming president.

And with that, Meda’s one-year term as president of this national organization was over. It was an honor. She remains on the ASC board for another year as “immediate past president.”