EYES ON THE LAW

Contact Information | Eyes on the Law

Nonprofits, schools and community groups: Book Eyes on the Law for training or presentations:

Main email: eyesonthelaw@lincnc.org

Cooper Mertens, LINC Data & Impact Coordinator

(336) 568-6005 | cmertens@lincnc.org

Telesa Jones, LINC Justice Services Coordinator

(901) 390-2995 | tjones@lincnc.org

What We Do

Eyes on the Law (EOL) is a LINC, Inc. initiative headed by Telesa Jones, LINC’s Justice Services Coordinator, and Cooper Mertens, LINC’s Data & Impact Coordinator. EOL works to create a library of resources and provide data-driven presentations and trainings in order to educate both staff and the community on a variety of justice and advocacy-related topics. We do this through content & legal analyses, extensive research processes, data collection, interviews with impacted individuals, and connecting with community partners and issues. With a growing library of in-depth publications and presentations, we hope that LINC can take the forefront in educating the community and establishing reputable resources that offer insight and solutions to the justice-related issues our society faces.

Eyes on the Law staff are available to speak on a wide variety of justice- and reentry-related topics, including, but not limited to:

Leading Into New Communities (LINC): history, programs, and services
Youth justice involvement
Growing up with incarcerated parents
Trauma-informed courts
Reentry: all things reentry rights, legislation, efforts, and more
LGBTQ+ involvement in the CJS
School to prison pipeline
Overdose & Suicide prevention and awareness
Expereinces of women in the justice system
Incarcerated pregnant women
Advocacy trainings and presentations
Voting rights
Current legislation
Recovery & treatment courts
Current events in the justice system
Resiliency in reentry
Reparations
The Business Model of prisons
Abortion rights
Healthcare access
Mass Incarceration
Historical implications of justice and legislation
Rehabilitation in the CJS

Who We Are

Telesa Jones graduated from University of North Carolina – Wilmington with a bachelor’s degree in International Studies, minoring in Anthropology and Asian Studies. She then obtained a Master of Legal Studies and Business Law from the University of Southern California. Telesa is a certified Community Health Worker and Mental Health Technician. She currently serves as LINC’s Justice Services Coordinator and co-founded LINC’s Eyes on the Law Initiative, dedicated to researching and educating the community on the challenges justice-involved individuals face. She has also provided extensive service with Legal Aid of North Carolina Second Chance team, providing expunction, driver’s license restoration, and certificate of relief services for individuals residing in New Hanover County. Telesa serves on the SYNC task force, charged with identifying community-level factors that may influence ACEs in the community and developing a tailored plan to address and mitigate the impacts of ACEs. Throughout her education and career, Telesa has been dedicated to the study of social justice, human rights, cultural competency and diversity, and equity and inclusion.

Cooper Mertens, LINC Data & Impact Coordinator, graduated from University of North Carolina – Wilmington with two bachelor’s degrees, in both Public Criminology and Public Sociology, with a minor in Psychology. Originally hired at LINC as Data & Impact Analyst for the Pathway Home program, Cooper has been able to implement and support the creation and continuation of data-driven practices to all LINC programs. Cooper also co-founded the Eyes on the Law Initiative, designed to research and educate the community on the rights of justice-involved individuals — all in an effort to continue to uplift and support the reentry community. A certified Peer Support Specialist, Community Health Worker, and Mental Health Technician, Cooper works tirelessly as an advocate for social justice, the rights of all humans, and ensuring that equity and inclusion is included in all spheres of research and education.