About Gabrielle

Gabrielle A. Perry, MPH is an epidemiologist, a writer, and the founder and executive director of The Thurman Perry Foundation, a nonprofit that aims to provide direct-giving resources to women impacted by incarceration nationally, with a special emphasis on Black women and women of color in Louisiana.

In addition to her upcoming nonfiction novel, “Bad Girls”, and her Substack op-eds focused on gender equity and the criminal justice system, her writing has been featured in the Washington Post, Essence Magazine, Scalawag Magazine, and Prism. She’s been featured on CBS Mornings with Gayle King for her nonprofit work and has been interviewed in dozens of articles including New York Magazine, Refinery 29, and Jezebel.

She received the National Ally award from New Hour for Women and Children in 2024 for her work at The Thurman Perry Foundation. She was chosen as a member of Gambit Magazines 40 Under 40 and as a Waymaker Top 50 Freedom Builder. She received the 2023 Graduate of the Last Decade (GOLD) Professional Achievement Award from the Tulane University Alumni Association and was also chosen as one of the Jrue & Lauren Holiday Social Impact Fund Class of 2022.

When Gabrielle was just 21 years old, she was arrested. Following the deaths of her adoptive and biological parents, Gabrielle’s family was thrust into poverty and homelessness. In early 2016, 2 years after her arrest and an almost year-long stint of homelessness, her conviction was set aside. Her criminal record was later expunged in 2019. In 2020, Gabrielle created The Perry Second Chances Scholarship for current and formerly incarcerated women and girls, as well as girls who have a parent experiencing incarceration.

To date, The Perry Second Chances Scholarship has awarded $150,000 in scholarships to system-impacted women of all ages across the United States, with 53 women in 22 states becoming PSCS scholars since the start of the program.

Gabrielle later went on to found The Thurman Perry Foundation in 2021, in memory of her deceased father. The mission and vision of The Thurman Perry Foundation is to serve 10,000 women and girls impacted by incarceration nationwide by removing obstacles to education, healthcare, and housing so that they may successfully re-enter society and achieve their dreams. The foundation has aided over 11,000 women and girls across the country that have been impacted by incarceration.

She is a graduate of Southeastern Lousiana University with a Bachelor of Science in Biology and achieved a Master of Public Health in Epidemiology from the Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine.