The founder and president of the Arnall Family Foundation (AFF) based in Oklahoma City, Sue Ann Arnall began her professional career in the energy industry after graduating from the University of Tulsa with her Juris Doctorate. Opened in 2015, the AFF is focused on criminal justice reform and finding solutions to lower incarceration rates and racial disparities in Oklahoma jails and prisons. The foundation also works to create systemic change in areas including homelessness, youth welfare and historically under-resourced communities. We recently sat down with Arnall and got her thoughts on …
… shifting from the energy to the nonprofit sector.
I loved the challenges I faced in the energy industry. And I also loved the ability to track my successes through the revenue that I was able to generate for the company. Since I’m fairly competitive, I like having a way to objectively measure my work.
However, helping others live better lives is beyond exhilarating, and tracking those outcomes is incredibly rewarding. In working in the criminal legal system, a very concrete way to measure success in our programs is through lowering the number of people incarcerated. On that account, we have been successful. The jail numbers are half of what they were eight years ago, the number of people from Oklahoma County entering incarceration at the Department of Corrections has been halved as well. I want to emphasize that during this time frame, crime has not increased, but instead is trending downward. This is due to the concerted efforts of many.
… her passions for creating equitable spaces and reducing incarceration.
Fairness is the key concern for me. Individuals can accept almost any result, so long as they see it as fair. Dishonesty and use of power to benefit some at the expense of others is antithetical to everything that I believe in. I have also seen how using incarceration as punishment is not effective at addressing crime, and it doesn’t create justice. I have a huge problem with caging any person or animal without an extremely good reason. Punishment is not a good reason, and it backfires. Caging an animal makes it dangerous. Same goes with humans. Crime is societal. To truly address it, we need programs to rehabilitate and restore which our current system of incarceration is not equipped to provide.
… the work of the Arnall Family Foundation.
We have done our best to help Oklahomans have better lives. Our work to improve the systems that protect children has been rewarding. Fewer children are in foster care. DHS now identifies at-risk families more quickly and provides wraparound services to help people become better parents who get to keep their children. Our work to make the criminal legal system easier to navigate for people who become entangled has helped the entire system, not only improving lives of countless individuals, but improving processes and collaboration within the system as well.
… her favorite part of the job.
Getting to help others. Instead of just walking on by, I get to stop and solve the problems I see.
… proudest accomplishments thus far.
Without a doubt, the Diversion Hub. Diversion Hub has already assisted tens of thousands of individuals to successfully navigate their way out of the criminal legal system, so they may live more complete and productive lives.
… her dream for Oklahoma in 20 years.
I hope that we resolve the racial disparities in incarceration. Currently, despite having no greater criminological tendencies than Caucasians, African Americans are incarcerated at a rate three to five times that of every other racial demographic. If the rate were equal, Oklahoma would have one of the lowest incarceration rates, rather than one of the highest.
… the foundation’s mission.
Our goal at the foundation is to repair broken systems.
