Grinnell Prize

The winner of the 2017 Grinnell College Innovator for Social Justice Prize is Gina L. Clayton, an attorney, activist and advocate for women, who founded and serves as executive director of the Essie Justice Group.

Clayton grew up in Los Angeles and became a youth organizer for the NAACP while earning her bachelor's degree in American Studies and Ethnicity at the University of Southern California. Under her leadership, the chapter grew into the largest in the nine-state western region, and campaigned for better campus policing, increased voter registration and reforms in California sentencing laws. These successes led to her election to the NAACP National Board of Directors.