Korynna Lopez is the program manager at the Illinois Justice Project.
Lopez works on a variety of juvenile and criminal justice projects, research assignments and events. After interning with the Illinois Justice Project as a college student, Lopez joined the staff full-time in October 2016 after receiving her bachelor’s degree with a double major in communications and media as well as sociology from DePaul University. She is a fellow of the 2020 cohort of Youth Justice Leadership Institute of the National Juvenile Justice Network.
She served as President of the Youth Advisory Board to the Illinois Juvenile Justice Commission, which is the federally mandated State Advisory Group to the Governor, the General Assembly and the Illinois Department of Human Services. Lopez and other advisory board members provided a youth perspective and voice to the Commission’s effort to improve juvenile justice.
From 2013 to 2015, Lopez participated in the Mikva Challenge program as a Youth Leader Intern assisting the Cook County Juvenile Justice Council. She contributed to reports recommending ways to help youth transition successfully from the juvenile justice system and assisted in the creation of a web-app to help people expunge their records.