Monica L. Reid serves as the Senior Director of Advocacy at the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL). In this capacity, Monica oversees NACDL’s state legislative criminal justice reform efforts and the day-to-day grassroots advocacy operations, including coordinating NACDL’s efforts to mobilize its members, individuals, state affiliate organizations and other partner organizations in support of NACDL’s state policy priorities. NACDL’s state legislative advocacy department assists in the preparation of advocacy materials for NACDL advocates and affiliates; prepare and disseminate legislative action alerts regarding pending legislation; monitor and track state legislation on priority issues; coordinate community education events; facilitate state-level coalition building; and coordinate state-level legislative reform campaigns. Monica has 17 years of professional experience in government relations and advocacy. Prior to joining NACDL, she served as a Legislative Assistant/Analyst for Fairfax County Government and Government Affairs Assistant for the Thurgood Marshall College Fund. Within her community, Monica has worked to promote civic awareness, political engagement and advocacy throughout the Washington Metropolitan Region, having served as Convener for the Northern Virginia (NOVA) Coalition for Black Civic Participation, which is a coalition of over 30 nonprofit organizations created to register and educate African American voters in Northern Virginia through the “NOVA Votes: Educating and Encouraging the Black Vote” campaign. As Convener, she facilitated partnerships with statewide and local organizations and manages the Coalition’s voter empowerment efforts. During her tenure, the NOVA Coalition was awarded the Corporate Leadership Award by the Fairfax Chapter of the NAACP, as well as the Social Justice and Human Concerns Award presented by Russell Temple Christian Methodist Episcopal Church of Alexandria, VA. In 2019, Monica was appointed by then Virginia Governor Ralph Northam to serve on Virginia’s inaugural African American Advisory Board. In 2013, she was awarded the Marian Van Landingham Legislation Public Policy Award by the Alexandria Commission on Women, the Excellence in Social Action Award by the Omicron Zeta Sigma Alumni Chapter of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc., and was a 2013 recipient of the Top 40 Under 40 Award presented by the EnVest Foundation. Monica is a graduate of George Mason University with a Masters in Public Administration and a B.A. in Government & International Politics and Economics. She is also a 2014 graduate of the Minority Political Leadership Institute, a collaborative initiative of the Grace E. Leadership Institute at Virginia Commonwealth University and the Legislative Black Caucus.
