Tess Joseph

Content Specialist

Tess has long been passionate about the intersections between sexual freedom, feminist anti-violence work, and alternative, non-carceral responses to harm. She is delighted to explore her interests through her work at the Woodhull Freedom Foundation, an organization that recognizes violence—whether perpetrated interpersonally or by the state—as a central issue in the fight for sexual freedom.

In 2018, Tess’s interest in nonprofits’ capacity to address violence led her to intern at Woodhull. During her internship, she conducted a research project focused on over thirty anti-violence nonprofits’ programming and inclusivity. This project served as the inspiration for her undergraduate honors thesis, which critically engaged with “carceral feminism” and mainstream conceptions of punishment as justice. After defending her thesis, she obtained a Bachelor’s Degree in Comparative American Studies and Hispanic Studies from Oberlin College. Upon graduation, she moved to Chicago, where she currently advocates for survivors as a paralegal at a civil legal aid organization.

Since 2018, Tess has continued her work at Woodhull as the author of the bi-weekly newsletter. In addition, she authors bi-weekly blog posts that ground the newsletter articles in Woodhull’s mission to affirm sexual freedom as a fundamental human right.