Ellison Radek
Office Assistant
Undergraduate Research Assistant
Pronouns: she/they
About
Ellison Radek is a third-year undergraduate student at the College of Urban Planning and Public Affairs. They are studying Public Policy and minoring in Black Studies and Urban Studies. As a student with lived experience, Ellison is passionate about restorative justice and dismantling the school-to-prison pipeline and works to fight for policy changes both in and outside of the carceral system.
Since arriving in Chicago, she has volunteered with Chicago Votes’ Unlock Civics initiative at Cook County Jail, registering incarcerated community members to vote. Prior to her work at IRRPP, Ellison served as a Policy Intern for the Justice, Equity, and Opportunity Initiative in the Office of the Lt. Governor and currently works as a Youth Advocate for the Cannabis Equity IL Coalition. Looking ahead, Ellison hopes to pursue a career in reentry, centering racial justice, abolition, and healing in spaces where both interpersonal and systemic harm have been caused.