Spero is the Latin word for hope, a value that grounds our work.  

We fight to bring hope to our incarcerated clients, and are driven by our hope for a criminal legal system that prioritizes meaningful accountability, healing, and dignity for all.

We also find significance in the symbolism of the sparrow. In many cultures, these small birds are synonymous with strength, diligence, productivity, perseverance, teamwork, and joy. These virtues enable us to work collaboratively to achieve big results despite our relatively small size. 

Our Vision

We envision a criminal legal system that is grounded in facts instead of fear, respects human dignity, and produces just and equitable results.

Our Mission

Spero Justice Center’s mission is to eradicate unjust and extreme sentencing practices in Colorado, where almost 30 percent of the state prison population is serving life or virtual life sentences. We do this by representing individuals serving extreme sentences, fighting for decarcerative policies, and changing false, dehumanizing narratives about those who are incarcerated. 

Our Team

Kristen Nelson, Executive Director

  • Kristen has served as Executive Director of Spero Justice Center (then known as the Powell Project) since 2018. Before joining Spero, she served for almost 7 years as a Deputy State Public Defender on the Complex Litigation Team for the Office of the Colorado State Public Defender in Denver, where she represented indigent clients facing the death penalty. Previously, Kristen spent four years as a staff attorney at the Equal Justice Initiative in Montgomery, Alabama, where she spent the majority of her time representing indigent clients in various stages of appeal on Alabama’s death row. Kristen began her indigent defense career as a trial attorney at the Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia following a clerkship with U.S. District Judge Myron H. Thompson in the Middle District of Alabama. Kristen received her undergraduate degree from Wellesley College, an M.Phil in Criminology from Cambridge University, and her law degree from Harvard Law School in 2004.

Dan Meyer, Litigation & Policy Director

  • Dan joined Spero in 2021, and directs Spero's strategic litigation and policy initiatives in addition to representing individual clients. During law school, he helped represent clients facing a range of extreme sentences, including the death penalty and juvenile life without parole, while interning with the Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem, the Complex Crimes Unit of the Colorado State Public Defender, and the Southern Center for Human Rights. In addition, as a clinical student in the Impact Defense Initiative of Harvard Law School, he argued and helped litigate a challenge to a discriminatory charging practice in federal court in the District of Columbia. Dan graduated from Harvard Law School and received a Bachelor of Arts in History from Brown University.

Hannah Subega, Staff Attorney

  • Hannah joined Spero in 2023 following her graduation from Stanford Law School. During law school, Hannah trained exclusively in public defense and criminal justice. She spent her summers interning with the San Francisco Public Defender’s Office and the ACLU Capital Punishment Project. While on Stanford's Criminal Defense Clinic, she prepared and successfully argued a suppression motion on behalf of a client whose 4th Amendment rights had been violated by the police and helped win early termination of supervised release for another client in the federal system. For her efforts, Hannah received the Thelton E. Henderson Prize for outstanding performance in clinical practice. As a student with Stanford's Three Strikes Project, she helped bring home a man who received a 175-year sentence for robberies committed in his twenties. Hannah also volunteered throughout law school, with both Stanford's Prisoner Legal Services program and the Santa Clara Public Defender's pretrial release unit. She served as the co-President of both the Criminal Law Society (CLS) and the Disability and Mental Health Network at Stanford (DAMNS). She received a Bachelor of Arts in American Studies from Cornell University in 2020.

Robin Farris, Program Associate

  • Robin D. Farris joined Spero Justice Center’s team in July 2023. In 2022, after enduring 32 years of a life sentence, Robin was granted clemency by Governor Jared Polis, making her the first Black woman to receive a sentence commutation from a Colorado governor in over thirty years. Spero Justice Center and Holland & Hart partner Risa L. Wolf-Smith assisted Robin in her quest for freedom. During her incarceration, Robin devoted her time to self-improvement, mentorship, and healing. She enrolled in a number of educational programs and earned certificates in counseling after completing over 2,000 hours of one-on-one classroom instruction. While incarcerated, she also earned her Associates Degree from Pueblo Community College. She mentored countless women in prison and served as a Peer Educator for the “H.O.P.E.” program, which provides education and support to new arrivals at Denver Women’s Correctional Facility. She also mentored at-risk youth who were court-ordered to participate in a juvenile justice diversion program called Shape-Up. Robin is now passionate about helping other incarcerated people, especially women, understand and address the root causes and choices that lead to incarceration. Drawing on her personal experiences, she endeavors to educate others about the destructive and counterproductive effects of mass incarceration and the importance of expanding legal pathways for second chances.