Chat in the Stacks

The Road to Reform: A Conversation with Philly DA Larry Krasner

Thursday, February 24, 2:30 pm, ET

Join us for a conversation between Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner and Tara N. Tripp, assistant professor in Temple’s Department of Criminal Justice. If you are interested in learning more ahead of the program, check out this eight-part documentary, Philly DA, that follows DA Krasner throughout his first term. The documentary is licensed by the Libraries and available to anyone with a Temple login.  

About the speakers:

Lawrence S. Krasner was officially sworn in for a second term as Philadelphia's 26th District Attorney on January 2, 2022. 

Throughout his 34-year career, Mr. Krasner has demonstrated a steadfast commitment to social justice, stepping up at numerous times in the past to offer his services for free to defend protesters involved with movements like ACT UP, Black Lives Matter, progressive clergy with POWER, Casino-Free Philadelphia, DACA Dreamers, Decarcerate PA, anti-gun clergy with Heeding God’s Call, anti-poverty and homelessness advocates with Kensington Welfare Rights Union, Occupy Philly and Reclaim Philadelphia, Grannies for Peace, and many others.

Early in his career, Mr. Krasner was a federal public defender before going into private practice as a civil rights and criminal defense attorney. In his last job before being elected, Mr. Krasner served as of-counsel at the law firm of Greenblatt, Pierce, Funt, and Flores. 

Mr. Krasner was born in 1961 in St. Louis, the son of a World War II veteran and author father and evangelist mother. He attended public school in the St. Louis and Philadelphia areas and earned his undergraduate degree at the University of Chicago in 1983 and his law degree from Stanford in 1987. 

He’s lived in Philadelphia for more than three decades with his wife of over 30 years, retired Court of Common Pleas Judge Lisa M. Rau. After for many years on Philadelphia's highest trial bench, Judge Rau retired to found her own private mediation company, Resonate Mediation & Arbitration. They have two adult sons.

Tara N. Tripp is a lifelong Philadelphian who graduated from Temple University in 1993 with a bachelor's degree in political science. She went on to St. Joseph's University to pursue a master's degree in criminology and graduated in 1995. That same year, she began working for Center City Crime Victim Services where she learned the various skills required for an advocacy career in criminal justice.

In 1997, Tara was offered a position within the First Judicial District of Pennsylvania working with the Philadelphia Juvenile Court System. After seven years with the Juvenile Court, she transferred into the Philadelphia Adult Probation & Parole Department where she worked for two years. In 2004, Tara joined Temple University’s Department of Criminal Justice as a non-tenure track faculty member.

During her almost 20-year career at Temple, it has been her goal to engage students on not only academic responses to crime but to provide them with meaningful experiences that go beyond the classroom. For the past six years, Tara has taught for the Temple University Inside Out Prison Exchange Program at Riverside Correctional Facility for women. In 2016, she led a study abroad course on Human Trafficking in Rome, Italy. She has also participated in many Criminal Justice student-led programs on Temple’s main campus that covered topics such as understanding the impact of gun violence to bridging the gap between the community and law enforcement. Currently, Tara is a member of the University Faculty Senate as well as a member of the Faculty of Color Committee (university) and Diversity Committee within her department.

For 14 years running, the Libraries and the Faculty Senate Committee on the Status of Faculty of Color have co-hosted this engaging series of panels on timely topics, featuring faculty from across the university.

This program will be presented via Zoom. On the day of the program, use this link to join: https://temple.zoom.us/j/96663001250.

Our programs are geared toward a general audience and are open to all, including Temple students, faculty, staff, alumni, neighbors, and friends. Registration is encouraged.

Contact libraries@temple.edu with questions.