Sofia Nelson joined the staff of the ACLU of Michigan in 2013 as a Skadden Fellow. Sofia’s work focuses on prisoner reentry and mass incarceration. Through strategic litigation and legislative advocacy she seeks to reduce the barriers to employment, housing, and family relationships for people with criminal records. 

Sofia graduated summa cum laude from Tufts University and received her law degree from Yale Law School. She is admitted to practice in Michigan. During law school she participated in the Veterans Legal Services Clinic and the Worker and Immigrant Rights Advocacy Clinic. She also worked with The Defender Association in Seattle, WA representing indigent criminal defendants. Prior to law school Sofia worked in the fields of financial literacy and transgender civil rights.

Originally from Southwest Michigan, Sofia now lives with her partner in Southwest Detroit.