This is important because WPA is centering on the needs of women and mothers in a way that society isn’t accustomed to. Women and mothers are known as our caregivers, and many times are the breadwinners in households and communities, yet when they don’t fit into the cookie-cutter role expected of them, they are easily and quickly discarded and disregarded. WPA has forced society to extend grace to these women, and the importance of that can never be downplayed.”

The real-life stories of women facing murder, drug and prostitution charges—many with heartbreaking backstories of trauma, domestic violence and human trafficking—are not for the faint of heart. Given the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of thousands of justice-involved sisters, wives, mothers and daughters whose lives had taken an unexpected and unfortunate turn, Kozlowski rolled up her sleeves and went to work.

"For me, it’s about having an opportunity to give a learning and teaching moment to people who have never had to think about criminal justice. I was struck by the barriers and injustices women face. Incarceration is a family issue, and the stigma is very different for women than it is for men,” explains Kozlowski, who joined the WPA board in 2015 and became president in 2018, bringing a powerful skill set in finance, technology and entrepreneurship to the table. She first employed these skills to help stabilize the organization and then point it toward a new direction of growth.

“I felt I could not only help women but change the trajectory of future generations,” Kozlowski says, describing her work alongside other WPA board and staff members. This meant securing government and other funding sources, which are, according to Kozlowski, “constantly compromised and rarely consistent from year to year. [But] I am proud to say we succeeded at this.” During her time with WPA, she has helped to grow the $3 million to $4 million organization into an $8 million to $10 million one. Overall, this growth has helped to reach more women with resources like housing, child care, access to therapists and counseling, job training and more.

Part of what made the harmony between WPA and Kozlowski so productive is her signature leadership brand—a special combination of grit and grace that comes from a unique upbringing as the daughter of a U.S. Marine and a native of Japan, and her pioneering career experience as one of the few women analyst-traders on Wall Street in the 1990s. Growing up in Jacksonville, North Carolina, home of Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, Kozlowski learned the values of honor, discipline and tradition. She’s also an active advocate for female entrepreneurship at the Women’s Equity Lab, Silicon Valley Chapter.

By combining the wisdom of her formative years with her cutting-edge business acumen, Kozlowski has a vision of how to grow the good work of the WPA far beyond what its Quaker founders could ever have possibly imagined. Imagining that critical moment when a woman in desperate straits might make a tragic choice that could end with her in prison, Kozlowski sees the synergy of a technology-assisted intervention. “I want WPA to be the first thought, or the 911 if you will, when faced with in-the-moment decision-making. Our programs would allow potential offenders in a compromising situation to exit their circumstances safely while providing life-changing opportunities, creating stability through on-the-job training, education, counseling, housing, child care, trauma care and legal support,” she says. “We have effective support systems that can be expanded upon, and we want to raise awareness of WPA’s capabilities from a New York City, regional level to a national, even international, level eventually serving both men and women. This is what WPA does and does well, but we want and need to go bigger.”