Susan Pollitt

Susan Pollitt came to DRNC after joining Carolina Legal Assistance in 2005. She specializes in defending the rights of people with disabilities who are incarcerated. A native of Chapel Hill, N.C., Pollitt earned her law degree from Northeastern University School of Law. She returned to North Carolina and began her career in 1984 at the Mecklenburg County public defender’s office. She and her husband moved to the Triangle in 1987 and she took a position with the North Carolina Occupational Safety and Health Project where she advocated for workers’ rights. In 1989, Pollitt joined North Carolina Prisoner Legal Services where, over her 16 years of service, she developed the expertise that makes her one of our state’s leading advocates for breaking down the connections between poverty, disabilities, and incarceration. Her years of advocacy have led to increased public awareness of the psychological effects of long-term solitary confinement, the treatment of juvenile offenders with mental health disorders and intellectual disabilities, and incidents of suicide in prisons and jails. She is known within the state and around the country as an expert and mentor in this area of law.