Our Story
We believe that business can advance justice, and justice can advance business.
Everyone is entitled to respect, equality, fairness, and dignity under the law. Too often, that's not what people get.
Justice systems frequently discriminate, over-criminalize, and trap the most vulnerable people in cycles of punishment and poverty. These patterns hurt everyone: the people caught inside them, and the businesses, communities, and economy that need the justice system to deliver the fairness, safety, and stability it promises.
Business is shaped by the justice system and has the power to reshape it in return.
As an employer, a voice in policy, a shaper of public opinion, and a force for industry transformation, business has unmatched influence to make justice work better. That's why RBIJ exists: to help the business community put that influence to work, championing solutions that promote public safety, strengthen communities, and deliver justice for all.
The businesses that join us in this work benefit from it directly. Their talent pipelines get stronger, the communities they operate in grow safer and more prosperous, their brand becomes known for delivering social good. For the hundreds of companies already working with RBIJ, justice and business success go hand in hand.
Our History
RBIJ was founded in 2018 by an unlikely alliance: lawyers who'd seen the toll of mass incarceration firsthand, business leaders who wanted more for the communities they called home, and government officials committed to protecting basic rights. What united them was a shared belief that the justice system could be made fairer, could keep people safer, and that business belonged in the work of building it.
That belief now powers a network of 800+ companies, working to reform policy, change how businesses operate and govern themselves, and shift the culture around justice — so that the system, the economy, and the communities within it all grow safer, fairer, and more prosperous together.
Our Founder
RBIJ was founded in 2018 by Celia Ouellette, then a death penalty defense lawyer who spent her career representing and fighting for those most disadvantaged by broken criminal justice systems. In representing clients on death row, Celia saw firsthand how business advocacy could influence the outcomes of capital cases — and how that same leverage, applied at scale, could reshape justice systems and business practices far beyond the death penalty system.
After launching RBIJ, Celia served as its CEO for five years, growing the organization's staff, programs, and sizable business network. Her expertise at the intersection of justice and business established her as a regular speaker at international conferences and events and as a media commentator featured in publications including The Economist, Financial Times, Associated Press, and Bloomberg News. In 2023, Celia passed her role to current CEO Maha Jweied and transitioned to a seat on RBIJ’s U.K. CIC Board of Directors.
Before establishing RBIJ, Celia founded The Powell Project in 2015, an organization that trained and equipped trial teams in capital cases. Prior to that, she was a Staff Attorney at Reprieve, a U.K. human rights charity, and a lawyer in private practice.
Our Approach
We activate business across four areas of influence, helping them reshape systems, transform their own business operations, influence industries, and move public discourse to be more fair and just.
Reforming Justice
Systems
We equip companies to advocate for policy reforms that make the justice system fairer, communities safer, and the economy stronger.
Embedding Justice Practices
We advise businesses on how to build justice into how they hire, operate, and invest.
Reframing Justice Narratives
We help private sector voices build the narrative that justice is good for business.
Connecting Justice-Minded Companies
We convene events and networks where business leaders build shared learning, lasting partnerships, and collective impact.