Mr. Atkinson received a BA in Political Science from Benedict College, Columbia, SC and a JD from the University of St. Thomas School of Law, Minneapolis, MN. He is a member of both the Minnesota and North Carolina Bars. Since moving to North Carolina in 2007, Mr. Atkinson has been active in both the prisoner reentry and legal service communities. He served on a subcommittee of Governor Beverly Perdue’s Task Force to Stop Repeat Offenders and has led continuing legal education sessions for criminal defense attorneys on how to address the reentry issues of their clients. He has also worked with municipalities to adopt “Ban the Box” policies. Mr. Atkinson was responsible for launching and managing C-CAT and continues to consult on its implementation.