More than 250 Discovering Justice supporters gathered June 22 on a beautiful evening harborside at the Moakley Federal Courthouse Lawn to celebrate the organization’s 2022 Annual Gala: Connections and Community.

Led by Discovering Justice Board Members Abim Thomas, Louis Lobel, and Marieljane Bastien, the evening’s program highlighted the work of the organization’s programs at the Moakley Courthouse, with teachers in classrooms across the Commonwealth, and with legal programs through its Mock Trial and Mock Appeal Programs,

Introduced by U.S. District Attorney Rachael Rollins, the New England Innocence Project was honored as this year’s Champion of Justice with Executive Director Radha Natarajan and Coordinator of The Exoneree Network Sean Ellis delivering passionate talks about their work to free wrongly convicted people from prison throughout New England.

Lowell 8th Grader Star Nunez and Cambridge Kindergarten teacher Fabiane Noronha also talked to the crowd about their experience with Discovering Justice and the importance of the programs that help students explore the ideals of justice and learn how to advocate for it.

Thanks to our lead sponsors WilmerHale, Goodwin, Ropes & Gray, Vertex, EY, and to the hundreds of donors who attended, the event raised close to $400,000 to help fund the organization’s programs.