Bio
Kanya Bennett is a former senior legislative counsel with the American Civil Liberties Union, serving from 2014 to 2020. In this capacity, Kanya advanced criminal justice reform at the federal level.
Prior to joining the ACLU, Kanya spent over three years at the American Constitution Society for Law and Policy as the Director of Policy Development and Programming where she focused on civil and criminal justice issues. Kanya also served as Counsel to the House Judiciary Committee for over eight years and completed a fellowship at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation immediately following her graduation from law school. She holds an undergraduate degree in journalism from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, and earned her law degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Featured work
![Militarized federal agents deployed by the president to Portland, fire tear gas against protesters](https://assets.aclu.org/live/uploads/2020/07/Defense-1033-Program-Header-Image-400x266.jpg)
Jul 29, 2020
Communities Deserve Better Than Bayonets and Grenade Launchers: The Defense 1033 Program Must End Now
![Police force stands guard in riot gear in front of Hall of Justice in Los Angeles.](https://assets.aclu.org/live/uploads/2020/06/Congress-Police-Reform-400x266.jpg)
Jun 12, 2020
Congress Can Lead the Charge on Divesting From Law Enforcement
![Prisoners are seen walking in a hallway in a prison, one in a wheelchair](https://assets.aclu.org/live/uploads/2020/04/web20-prisonv2-BlogImage_Wordpress_1110x740-400x266.jpg)
Apr 29, 2020
Federal Bill Would Release Vulnerable People from Prisons to Help Stop Spread of COVID-19
![Inmates walk around a recreation yard of a California prison.](https://assets.aclu.org/live/uploads/2020/04/BOP-COVID19-Header-Image-400x266.jpg)
Apr 13, 2020
Federal Wardens Must Immediately Flatten the Curve in our Nation's Prisons
![](https://assets.aclu.org/live/uploads/2019/12/Fair-Chance-Act-Blog-Header-Image-400x266.jpg)
Dec 20, 2019
A Fair Chance at Opportunity: The U.S. Government Bans the Box
![](https://assets.aclu.org/live/uploads/2019/10/AP_16237814475582_opt-400x266.jpg)
Oct 25, 2019
The First Step Act was Exactly that, a First Step. What Comes Next?
![Public defender meeting with jailed client](https://assets.aclu.org/live/uploads/2019/09/web19-counsel-1160x768-400x266.jpg)
May 16, 2019
Our Government Has Failed to Defend the Sixth Amendment
![Border Wall](https://assets.aclu.org/live/uploads/2019/09/web19-borderwall4-1160x768-400x266.jpg)
Jan 15, 2019
Can the Trump Administration Use Asset Forfeiture Funds to Build the Border Wall?
![Specimen sample cups](https://assets.aclu.org/live/uploads/2019/09/web19-drug-test-1160x768-400x266.jpg)
Jan 10, 2019
Trump’s Labor Department Wants to Drug-Test Applicants for Unemployment Benefits
![Jeff Sessions at a podium](https://assets.aclu.org/live/uploads/2019/09/web18-jeffsessionspodium-1160x768-400x266.jpg)
Nov 9, 2018
Before Resigning, Jeff Sessions Handcuffed the Justice Department’s Ability to Police the Police