Jennifer Stevens
Coordinator, Rhode Island Commission on Prejudice & Bias
2024
Jen Stevens coordinates the Rhode Island Commission on Prejudice and Bias, a longstanding state commission of community leaders, law enforcement officers, legislators, and attorney general’s office staff with a mission to study prejudice in the state, revise policy, and provide trainings, education, and support to law enforcement, the community, and victims of hate. From 2004-2021, she advocated for the local LGBTQ+ community as lead organizer for the campaign for marriage equality, as coordinator of RI Pride, and as editor-in-chief of Options Magazine. Jen has produced the monthly Sweet Little Variety Show in Providence since 2010 and is pursuing a master’s degree in youth development.
This cannot be thought of as a conference or a summit. The stakes are simply too high and the data/conversation and methods to drive action more valuable/motivating than any gathering I have attended. I took more than 100 pages of notes and have shared them with my CBS News leadership team, anchors, producers, and correspondents. Nothing about this gathering was easy. The agony around this topic is real. But no one curious about it could ask for a more devoted, rational, or unflinching look into this dark but decipherable world.
