Mrs. Jhody Douglas Polk

Jhody Douglas Polk, is a Florida Native, born and raised in Gainesville, Florida. Mrs. Polk, has always had a passion for law and care of her community. She was first introduced into the legal world when she became a Bail Bondsman in Gainesville, Florida in 2007. Shortly after beginning her career, Mrs. Polk was sentenced to 8 years in the Florida Department of Corrections, after committing her first felony. While incarcerated, Mrs. Polk became a certified law clerk where she soon discovered that she had a natural talent at legal research and writing. Amongst assisting incarcerated women with post sentencing legal issues, she also served as a GED tutor and member for women while incarcerated. Since her release in 2014 Mrs. Polk has continued to assist other formerly incarcerated citizen in Florida by offering jobs and hosting employment training workshops in her community. Mrs. Polk went to work in hotels after her release and worked her way up to Assistant Manager, which allows her to hire and train formerly incaverated people in Florida. 

Mrs. Polk is completing her last semester to graduate with her AS in paralegal studies. She hopes to one day attend law school, and is working hard to secure a seat at UF law school. Mrs. Polk, a member the National Council for Incarcerated and formerly incarcerated women and girls, as well as a member of the Florida Restoration Rights Coalition; hopes to use her experience to bring awareness to the pathways that guarantee mass incarceration of all people

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