Dr. Vanessa Enoch
Dr. Vanessa Enoch has owned Cultural Impact, LLC, a management and political consulting firm for the past 20 years. She is also the Executive Director of Vision Works, Inc. a social justice and policy advocacy organization, which advocates for racial equity. Enoch also served as a professor and a higher education administrator for many years. As a Department Chair, she oversaw multiple college departments and acted as Dean of Students for business and accounting departments at a local college. In 2018, Dr. Enoch ran for Congress in the 8th District of Ohio. She won her four-way primary with over 58% of the vote. Dr. Enoch is a trained community organizer, who is passionate about Social Justice and Human Rights causes. Enoch has also taken up numerous causes for marginalized and oppressed communities in Greater Cincinnati. She has worked alongside state legislators and state court judges on judicial reform efforts. While completing her doctorate degree, Enoch worked tirelessly on issues of mass incarceration and juvenile justice reform. Last year, she received an award from the Society for Professional Journalism for her Criminal Justice reporting work on behalf of The Cincinnati Herald.
Enoch is especially passionate about empowering women and children, the protection of the mentally ill, and finding solutions to the opioid epidemic. She sat on the juvenile justice taskforce with former corporate CEO’s, former judges, community activists, and attorneys, to dismantle the school-to-prison pipeline and reform of the juvenile justice system. Enoch believes that children should have the opportunity to make mistakes and be reformed. And, she believes that all Americans should have equal access and the opportunity to succeed, no matter their background and socioeconomic status.
Enoch is concerned that Ohio’s prisons are filled with individuals who are mentally ill, poor, and disproportionately from minority communities. She believes that this is not only a social justice issue, but also has a direct impact on how our tax dollars are spent. Enoch says, “mass incarceration exploits prison labor and takes jobs from civilians, and is to the detriment of 99% of Americans whose tax dollars pay to house them in private for-profit prisons”. As a former chemical dependency and family counselor, Enoch understands that it is more effective and less costly to educate a child, treat mental illness and drug addiction, and provide equal opportunities for all citizens.
Dr. Enoch holds a Ph.D. in Public Policy and Social Change from Union Institute & University.
Phone: 5132408981
Address: West Chester, Ohio, United States
Enoch is especially passionate about empowering women and children, the protection of the mentally ill, and finding solutions to the opioid epidemic. She sat on the juvenile justice taskforce with former corporate CEO’s, former judges, community activists, and attorneys, to dismantle the school-to-prison pipeline and reform of the juvenile justice system. Enoch believes that children should have the opportunity to make mistakes and be reformed. And, she believes that all Americans should have equal access and the opportunity to succeed, no matter their background and socioeconomic status.
Enoch is concerned that Ohio’s prisons are filled with individuals who are mentally ill, poor, and disproportionately from minority communities. She believes that this is not only a social justice issue, but also has a direct impact on how our tax dollars are spent. Enoch says, “mass incarceration exploits prison labor and takes jobs from civilians, and is to the detriment of 99% of Americans whose tax dollars pay to house them in private for-profit prisons”. As a former chemical dependency and family counselor, Enoch understands that it is more effective and less costly to educate a child, treat mental illness and drug addiction, and provide equal opportunities for all citizens.
Dr. Enoch holds a Ph.D. in Public Policy and Social Change from Union Institute & University.
Phone: 5132408981
Address: West Chester, Ohio, United States
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Papers by Dr. Vanessa Enoch
The purpose of this qualitative study was to apply an intersectional lens to understanding the experiences of three black female judges, and their ascendency and removal from the judiciary in major cities in Ohio. Many studies on judicial diversity have focused singularly on either race or gender, with very few studies looking at the intersectionality of both race and gender. Most of these studies have been inconclusive quantitative
studies, which used large datasets to examine the extent to which race or gender impact decision-making. Using a qualitative case study methodology coupled with a historical analysis, this study focused on the experiences of three black female judges in Ohio within the context of the structural composition of the bench and the political environment.
In applying an intersectional lens, while situating race, gender, and political
orientation at the center of my analysis, three unexpected and significant findings emerged. The most significant of those findings was that 1) partisanship, nepotism, and cronyism rules the judiciary in Ohio; and 2) there are hidden power structures/ stop gaps that provide veto power that are built into the policy design of both the Ohio and US Constitution’s, the judiciary, and overall criminal justice system in Ohio; and 3) finally, I
found what I have termed stacked decks and loaded bases which are also a form of hidden stop gaps within the judiciary in the State of Ohio.
These hidden systems significantly impacted the African American female judges in my study, because they enabled political adversaries the opportunity to take away power that should have been the constitutional right of each judge, and interfered with the right of the people (electorate) to elect judges of their choosing.
Each of the three judges in my study were treated differently from their peers, they all complained of having larger caseloads than their peers, and each of them experienced accusations of misconduct that were extreme, unusual, outlandish, and extraordinary. All three judges faced significant opposition from their election campaigns, through their service on the bench, and ultimately to the time of their removal from the bench. There was also evidence that there was secret, orchestrated, and coordinated efforts on the part of their Republican adversaries to build cases against them in an effort to have them removed from the bench. In each case, it was demonstrated that the intent in bringing disciplinary and criminal charges was to permanently prevent them from serving as judges.
The findings of this study corroborate previous findings in the public policy
literature, which suggests that Blacks and women experience backlash on the bench. It also expands the backlash discussion and fills a gap in the literature by interjecting the unique and specific experiences of Black Female Democratic judges on the bench in Ohio, who also happen to be in the political minority.
This case study explores issues of power relative to the intersectionality of race and gender in the judiciary. It illuminates structural and systemic issues, that when viewed through a race and gendered lens presents an understanding of the level of resistance, obstacles, and challenges faced by African American women in particular who rise to leadership roles and seek to challenge the status quo. Judge Tracie Hunter is the first African American and the first Democrat to ever become a judge in the juvenile court in Cincinnati, Hamilton County, Ohio. Judge Hunter won her seat after a heated court battle and a series of appeals, spearheaded by Hamilton County Prosecutor, Joe Deters, who represented the Hamilton County Board of Elections, after Hunter sued the Board of Elections for voter suppression. Inevitably, the county was required to count more than 800 votes from majority black precincts, when it was found that poll-workers were responsible for sending voters to the wrong booth, which caused their votes to be disqualified. This case surrounds Hamilton County’s problem of a backlog of cases and background on the witch hunt that Judge Hunter faced in her first 18 months on the bench, and the tremendous injustices that are directed towards the children in the Hamilton County judicial system, which prompted Hunter to run for judge in the first place. Over 80% of the children served in Hamilton County are African American children who have for years been subjected to a school-to-prison pipeline. The case exposes the numerous violations of their civil, constitutional, and human rights; and presents an analysis of the collusion, strategic privatization of the juvenile detention facility, administrative policy changes, and political maneuvers on the part of Republican Party government officials in Hamilton County, to take the power of the judiciary and oversight of the $30,000,000 budget, the second largest budget in Hamilton County, out of the hands of elected Judge Hunter and putting it in the hands of the judge that she defeated in the 2010 elections.
The purpose of this qualitative study was to apply an intersectional lens to understanding the experiences of three black female judges, and their ascendency and removal from the judiciary in major cities in Ohio. Many studies on judicial diversity have focused singularly on either race or gender, with very few studies looking at the intersectionality of both race and gender. Most of these studies have been inconclusive quantitative
studies, which used large datasets to examine the extent to which race or gender impact decision-making. Using a qualitative case study methodology coupled with a historical analysis, this study focused on the experiences of three black female judges in Ohio within the context of the structural composition of the bench and the political environment.
In applying an intersectional lens, while situating race, gender, and political
orientation at the center of my analysis, three unexpected and significant findings emerged. The most significant of those findings was that 1) partisanship, nepotism, and cronyism rules the judiciary in Ohio; and 2) there are hidden power structures/ stop gaps that provide veto power that are built into the policy design of both the Ohio and US Constitution’s, the judiciary, and overall criminal justice system in Ohio; and 3) finally, I
found what I have termed stacked decks and loaded bases which are also a form of hidden stop gaps within the judiciary in the State of Ohio.
These hidden systems significantly impacted the African American female judges in my study, because they enabled political adversaries the opportunity to take away power that should have been the constitutional right of each judge, and interfered with the right of the people (electorate) to elect judges of their choosing.
Each of the three judges in my study were treated differently from their peers, they all complained of having larger caseloads than their peers, and each of them experienced accusations of misconduct that were extreme, unusual, outlandish, and extraordinary. All three judges faced significant opposition from their election campaigns, through their service on the bench, and ultimately to the time of their removal from the bench. There was also evidence that there was secret, orchestrated, and coordinated efforts on the part of their Republican adversaries to build cases against them in an effort to have them removed from the bench. In each case, it was demonstrated that the intent in bringing disciplinary and criminal charges was to permanently prevent them from serving as judges.
The findings of this study corroborate previous findings in the public policy
literature, which suggests that Blacks and women experience backlash on the bench. It also expands the backlash discussion and fills a gap in the literature by interjecting the unique and specific experiences of Black Female Democratic judges on the bench in Ohio, who also happen to be in the political minority.
This case study explores issues of power relative to the intersectionality of race and gender in the judiciary. It illuminates structural and systemic issues, that when viewed through a race and gendered lens presents an understanding of the level of resistance, obstacles, and challenges faced by African American women in particular who rise to leadership roles and seek to challenge the status quo. Judge Tracie Hunter is the first African American and the first Democrat to ever become a judge in the juvenile court in Cincinnati, Hamilton County, Ohio. Judge Hunter won her seat after a heated court battle and a series of appeals, spearheaded by Hamilton County Prosecutor, Joe Deters, who represented the Hamilton County Board of Elections, after Hunter sued the Board of Elections for voter suppression. Inevitably, the county was required to count more than 800 votes from majority black precincts, when it was found that poll-workers were responsible for sending voters to the wrong booth, which caused their votes to be disqualified. This case surrounds Hamilton County’s problem of a backlog of cases and background on the witch hunt that Judge Hunter faced in her first 18 months on the bench, and the tremendous injustices that are directed towards the children in the Hamilton County judicial system, which prompted Hunter to run for judge in the first place. Over 80% of the children served in Hamilton County are African American children who have for years been subjected to a school-to-prison pipeline. The case exposes the numerous violations of their civil, constitutional, and human rights; and presents an analysis of the collusion, strategic privatization of the juvenile detention facility, administrative policy changes, and political maneuvers on the part of Republican Party government officials in Hamilton County, to take the power of the judiciary and oversight of the $30,000,000 budget, the second largest budget in Hamilton County, out of the hands of elected Judge Hunter and putting it in the hands of the judge that she defeated in the 2010 elections.