Mara Sanchez joined the Alliance in 2024. Mara has a background in criminal justice and youth justice policy research, program development, and evaluation. Mara previously worked at the University of Southern Maine (USM), where she co-created the Opportunity Scholars initiative which supports people with lived experience in the carceral system in pursuing higher education and professional growth, and served as a lecturer in the Criminology and Sociology department.

Mara earned her BA from Brown University, her Master of Public Policy from the University of Southern Maine, and her PhD in Public Policy with a concentration in Higher Education Leadership, also from USM. She resides in Maine with her family.