Our Voices

The Opportunity Cost of Incarceration

At the 2019 Compass Investor Conference, Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Chief Operating Officer Michael Schreiber moderated a panel on the economic impact and opportunity costs of mass incarceration. Joined by Vera Institute of Justice Vice President Insha Raman, Kadens Family Foundation Chair Pete Kadens, and Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Staff Attorney Monica Smith, panelists discussed the private interests profiting off the $81 billion mass incarceration system, as well as the tremendous costs to the livelihoods and families of Black and Brown people who are victims of wealth-based detention. Watch a video of the panel here.


New year, new us. Same mission.

Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights is rebranding to honor the legacy of our founder and hero, Mrs. Ethel Skakel Kennedy. From now on, we will proudly be known as the Robert & Ethel Kennedy Human Rights Center

While our name is changing, our mission and work remain the same. We will continue to fight injustice, advance human rights, and hold governments accountable around the world in 2026 and beyond.