Episode Details

Jennifer Long never planned to leave the Philadelphia DA's office. She was an assistant district attorney handling child sexual abuse, adult sexual assault, stalking, and exploitation cases, and she calls it the best job she's ever had. She expected to be in that unit for life.

Then life made leaving the only option, and she cried about it in her boss's office.

What she built from there is the first and only nonprofit in the country dedicated to training and equipping prosecutors who handle sexual violence, intimate partner violence, stalking, and human trafficking. Since co-founding AEquitas in 2009, Jennifer and her team of former prosecutors have trained more than 220,000 legal and allied professionals across all fifty states and around the world.

This conversation is about heavy work, honest leadership, and what happens when the path you planned disappears underneath you.

In this episode we cover:

• The thing she kept hearing from survivors that made her want to become a prosecutor in the first place
• What it's like to cut your teeth in a packed Philadelphia courtroom against the best defense attorneys in the city
• Why she says getting humbled early is a gift
• Leaving the job she loved before she was ready, and what came after
• Teresa Scalzo, the legend who gave her a seat at the national table
• Founding AEquitas with no credit history, no track record, and partners who took grants on their behalf to make it exist
• What AEquitas actually does, from a single legal question before trial to building a community's entire response
• The Supreme Court line at the core of their work: strike hard blows, not foul ones
• Why she wants her team to be brutal with her internally
• How she thinks about the long road, and the emergency room versus the research institute
• What she misses about the courtroom
• Her advice for any lawyer whose path just disappeared underneath them
• A legally blonde moment involving her very first preliminary hearing

Connect with Jennifer Long and AEquitas:

• Website: aequitasresource.org
• Podcasts: Just Champions and The Traffic Report
• Also at AEquitas: the National Resource Center on Cybercrimes Against Individuals, and SPARC, the Stalking Prevention, Awareness, and Resource Center

Work with Erin Gerner: Erin coaches high-achieving female attorneys who are successful on paper but struggling with burnout, identity, and what's next, helping them redefine success on their own terms.

Book a connection call: https://calendly.com/eringerner/connectioncall

Stay connected with Erin Gerner:

• Website: eringerner.com
• LinkedIn: Erin Gerner
• Instagram: @eringerner
• Facebook: Erin Gerner

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