How Chicago is Rewriting the Public Safety Playbook

John Palfrey is the President of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. Palfrey is a well-respected educator, author, legal scholar, and innovator with expertise in how new media are changing learning and education. Prior to joining the Foundation, he served as Head of School at Phillips Academy, Andover. Palfrey is the board chair of the United States Impact Investing Alliance; co-chairs the Disability and Inclusion Forum’s Presidents’ Council on Disability Inclusion in Philanthropy; and serves on the board of the Fidelity Non-Profit Management Foundation. He is a member of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences and serves on the governance council. And he is the former board chair of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. Palfrey holds a JD from Harvard Law School, an MPhil from the University of Cambridge, and an AB from Harvard College. Palfrey is an accomplished author; his most recent book is Wired Wisdom: How to Age Better Online, which he co-authored with Eszter Hargittai. His other books include Safe Spaces, Brave Spaces: Diversity and Free Expression in Education and Born Digital: How Children Grow Up in a Digital Age, co-authored with Urs Gasser.

Philip Rojc is Senior Editor, News and Features at Inside Philanthropy. Philip previously worked as a contributing editor for the city planning website Planetizen and as a consultant for nonprofit organizations in Los Angeles. He is a graduate of the University of Chicago. 

Esther Franco-Payne joined the Partnership for Safe and Peaceful Communities (PSPC) as its inaugural Executive Director in December of 2022. Esther’s personal commitment has been to serve as a voice for underserved communities of color and to be a champion for equity. Growing up in Chicago’s Englewood neighborhood, Esther has been front and center to the issues that permeate communities impacted by crime, poverty, and disinvestment. As a social worker by training, she is a long-time advocate who has engaged the public in the development of effective adult criminal justice and youth justice policies.

Esther is the immediate past executive director of Cabrini Green Legal Aid (CGLA), where she led the organization’s strategy, management, and fundraising, doubling its budget, increasing staff capacity and expanding its service offerings. Through her work with CGLA, Esther has amplified CGLA’s impact throughout Chicago, Cook County and the State of Illinois. She has also held senior leadership roles with the Public Welfare Foundation and the Illinois Justice Project, where she was co-founder and Deputy Director. Esther served for ten years as a member of the Illinois Juvenile Justice Commission; was appointed co-chair of the Families Committee in support of the Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice’s Advancing Transformation Task Force; and participated on the Cook County Equity Fund Taskforce. She was a lead advocate in the fight for equity as part of the Cannabis Act and has participated in several efforts to advance public safety and remove barriers to employment, education and housing for those impacted by the criminal legal system.

Previously, Franco-Payne worked for Chicago Metropolis 2020 and Metropolis Strategies where she was a staff member with the Justice and Violence Group, the predecessor to the Illinois Justice Project. She also worked with the Illinois Center for Violence Prevention and the Circuit Court of Cook County Family Violence Coordinating Councils.

Franco-Payne has a master’s degree from the University of Chicago – School of Social Service Administration. She is a Fellow of Leadership Greater Chicago, an alum of the Harvard Business School’s Executive Education Program and has participated in several cohort training programs focused on nonprofit management.

Esther resides in Chicago with her husband, Mark Payne and their three children.