Making the Law Work and Family with Alana Mathews
This episode discusses working to make the law work for all and be more just, along with taking action to change the plight of marginalized communities. We also discuss steps to maintain your mental health and the mental health of youth around you on your journey to make change in the world. This episode features Alana Mathews who is an attorney with a strong community presence and is running for District Attorney of Sacramento. She has done all of this with grace while raising her 3 children.
You will learn:
-Doing it all
-Giving yourself grace
-Asking for help
-Watching kids turn into adults
-Encouraging mental health in young adults/children
-Looking for the root cause behind “crime”
-Seeing marginalized populations struggle and taking action to do something about it
Get in touch with Alana:
https://facebook.com/alanaforda
https://twitter.com/alanaforda
https://instagram.com/alanamathewsforDA
Resources:
A Return to Love: Reflections on the Principles of “A Course in Miracles” – https://www.amazon.com/Return-Love-Reflections-Principles-Miracles/dp/0060927488/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3CDJ8JDZNFVSX&dchild=1&keywords=a+return+to+love+by+marianne+williamson&qid=1629114195&sprefix=a+return+to+love%2Caps%2C173&sr=8-1
Fix Your Fairytale: A Woman’s Guide to a Great Life, Love, and Legacy – https://fixyourfairytalebook.com
About Alana Mathews:
While raising her three children, Mathews went to night school at McGeorge School of Law. She served
as a Deputy District Attorney in Sacramento County and worked her way up from misdemeanor jury trials to prosecuting domestic violence, juvenile delinquency, general felony, and prison crime cases. She protected victims in the courtroom while working to reduce crime in the community. Mathews mentored women on parole and led the Florin Law Academy program to build legal career pathways for at-risk youth in South Sacramento.
After eight years as a Deputy District Attorney, Mathews was recruited to help start the enforcement unit for the California Energy Commission and was later appointed Public Adviser for the agency by Governor Jerry Brown. In this position, Mathews led organizational change by developing and implementing the agency’s equity initiative to ensure California’s most vulnerable communities were protected. She expanded this work as the Chief Consultant for Climate Change for the California Legislature, continuing to address disparities in policy and practice while protecting vulnerable populations.
She now works for the Prosecutors Alliance of California, an alliance of reform-minded prosecutors working to promote criminal justice reform statewide and teaches law at the McGeorge School of Law in Sacramento, training the next generation of legal advocates.
In 2020 Mathews founded the Community Justice Collaborative to empower and educate underserved communities throughout Sacramento by hosting free educational legal clinics and supporting frontline civic engagement.
Mathews graduated from Spelman College in Atlanta, becoming the first person in her family to earn a college degree. She and her husband, retired Army First Sergeant Eugene Arcurio, live in Elk Grove, California. She has lived in Sacramento County for almost 25 years.
