Stacy E Scheff

Stacy is a native Tucsonan who traveled extensively before returning to her home in the Sonoran Desert. Stacy’s roots run deep in the Tucson area. Stacy’s parents met in the community that formed to support the legal struggle for freedom of association fought here in the early 1960′s when Barbara Elfbrandt refused to sign an unconstitutional loyalty oath. Ms. Elfbrandt’s then counsel (now husband) W. Edward Morgan, fought all the way to the United States Supreme Court twice, and won the case now enshrined in constitutional law text books around the country as Elfbrandt v. Russell. Stacy’s father volunteered on the legal team, and her mother cooked meals for the community of supporters once a week.

Stacy followed her creative instincts and studied Arts Management at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff before moving to San Francisco to apprentice in live theater production. She then moved with her company, the London Pacific Theatre Co., to Sydney, Australia, where she pursued a Masters degree in Arts Management and produced several original shows. In 2003, Stacy began volunteering for Justice Action, a prisoners’ human rights advocacy group in Sydney. Deeply moved by the work, Stacy decided to change careers and work to relieve the suffering of people in unfortunate and dramatic circumstances. While at Justice Action, Stacy was the plaintiff in a civil action to compel the New South Wales Department of Corrections to distribute election information to inmates eligible to vote. She helped establish an innovative mentoring project where successful ex-offenders were trained to mentor recently released prisoners and other at-risk groups.

In 2006, Stacy returned to Tucson to study law to become a legal advocate for civil and human rights. Graduating in 2010 from the University of Arizona Rogers College of Law with a Certificate in Criminal Law & Policy, she was awarded the Andrew Silverman Community Service Award. In law school, Stacy initiated a new clinic for students to assist with prisoner legal issues including Habeas Corpus petitions and prison conditions complaints. Stacy stays involved with community volunteer work, and helped initiate, and continues her volunteer work with the civil rights restoration workshops to restore citizens’ right to vote, sit on juries, and own firearms, as well as find employment. Stacy was nominated to the Area Committee of the Arizona chapter of the American Friends Service Committee in 2009, and worked on sentencing reform issues to improve Arizona’s sentencing policies, and initiated a lawsuit to hold legislators accountable for the quality of services provided by private prison companies.