ANNIE RUHNKE

Director of Mitigation

pronouns: she/her

Annie is the Director of Mitigation at YSRP where she leads our mitigation advocacy and technical assistance. Annie has been practicing mitigation since 2010 and is passionate about the use of storytelling to humanize and facilitate connection. 

Annie joined YSRP in 2016 as a mitigation specialist to help coordinate the commonwealth-wide mitigation efforts for the resentencing of so-called juvenile lifers. Annie has remained at YSRP and expanded her work to youth currently being charged as adults, in addition to her continued advocacy and support for the juvenile lifer community. Before joining YSRP, Annie worked for six years with the Federal Public Defender for the District of Delaware’s Capital Habeas Unit, representing individuals on both state and federal death row, developing social history narratives. In that role, she honed her skills as a mitigation specialist and conducted life-history investigations across the country. 

Annie holds a Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice from the George Washington University. Originally from Northern New Jersey, South Philadelphia has been home to Annie since 2011, where she lives with her husband, daughter, dog, and cat. In her spare time, she enjoys going on long walks in her neighborhood and watching baseball (go Phils). Annie believes deeply in connection through community. Together, we can do it better.

Contact:  aruhnke@ysrp.org