Who We Are

Just Making A Change for Families, better known as JMACforFamilies, is a non-profit organization working to dismantle the family policing system while investing in community support that keeps families together. We are a team of impacted people, social workers, advocates, and organizers working towards the ultimate goal of community supports in place of Government intervention. 

JMACforFamilies works towards this goal through legislative advocacy, storytelling and narrative change, and programming for people who have been directly impacted by the family policing system. We also lead the Parent Legislative Action Network (PLAN), a statewide coalition of impacted parents and young people, advocates, attorneys, social workers, and academics collaborating to effect systemic change.

Joyce McMillan is a thought leader, advocate, community organizer, educator, and the Founder and Executive Director of Just Making A Change for Families (JMACforFamilies).

Joyce’s mission is to remove systemic barriers in communities of color by bringing awareness to the racial disparities in systems where people of color are disproportionately affected. Her ultimate goal is to abolish systems of harm–especially the family policing system (or the so-called “child welfare system”)–while creating concrete community resources.

As the Founder of the Parent Legislative Action Network, Joyce leads a statewide coalition of impacted parents and young people, advocates, attorneys, social workers, and academics collaborating to effect systemic change in the family policing system. Joyce also currently serves on the board of the Women’s Prison Association and on the Advisory Committee for the Center for New York City Affairs at The New School, where she holds a visiting fellowship. As a visiting fellow, Joyce explores ways to strengthen parent voices in child welfare and has led a series of public events where panelists discuss both problems and suggested solutions. 

Previously, Joyce led family engagement and advocacy efforts at Sinergia Inc, an organization that works with and to support people with disabilities and their families. Prior to Sinergia, she was the Program Director at the Child Welfare Organizing Project (CWOP), where she created a space for communities of color who have been traumatized by systemic injustices to learn about restorative practices. 

Joyce has served as a member of the NYC County Committee and a Supreme Court Judicial Delegate. She has also held fellowships with Law4Black Lives and the National Council for Incarcerated and Formerly Incarcerated Women and Girls. In 2021 she was recognized by City & State New York as a Nonprofit Power 100 Leader. In 2024, she was awarded the Trailblazer Award by Brooklyn Defender Services.

Joyce has lectured and spoken at Columbia University, Harvard University, New York University, Hunter College, Montclair University, CUNY Law School, Cornell University, Harlem Hospital, New York City Affairs at the New School, Williams College, and many other institutions. She has also appeared in various media interviews with outlets such as Al Jazeera, The New York Times, ABC Channel 7, The Imprint, ProPublica, and Politico.

Lina has been featured on multiple podcasts, featured on NPR, spoken at Minnesota State, on reproductive justice and adoption, spoken at the Colorado Suicide Prevention Commission, was a key note speaker at a Youth Suicide Symposium for the Colorado Office of Suicide Prevention, a contributor in the Petrie Flom Center's Health, Law Policy, Biotechnology and Bioethics at Harvard Law School Bill of Health Symposia on Adoption, Family Separation & Preservation and Reproductive Justice, presented at the BIPOC Adoptee Conference on abolition, and is a member of a Colombian Reparations Collective.

As the founder of Inspire & Empower Counseling & Consulting Firm and a licensed practitioner in NY, NJ, and CT, Viv is deeply committed to advocacy, cultural pride, and reimagining what freedom and healing can look like. She believes that healing begins the moment we give ourselves permission to imagine it—and through her work with BREATHE, she invites others to slow down, speak healing into existence, and bloom where they are planted.

Louie also supports the ABA’s Family Justice Initiative as a contract project manager where he spearheads projects including the development of a lived experience council and anti-racist legal videos series. Louie has served as a project manager and consultant to many initiatives primarily focused around racial equity, preventing separation and harm, and engaging impacted people with lived experience. Louie began his advocacy as a young teenager, eventually leading youth advocacy chapters and policy work in California and Washington state. As the Jurisdictional Project Coordinator for the Capacity Building Center for States from 2021-2024, Louie managed eight state projects focused on prevention and racial equity. Louie has also worked as the Lead Advisor for HHS Equity Technical Assistance Center, Senior Advisor to the OPT-In prevention initiative, Project Manager to NACC’s “Exercise Your Rights” guide, and as a Fellow to Youth MOVE National.

Tanitsa has two years of experience as a social worker, policy analyst, and administrator at the Department of Children and Youth within the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security of Thailand. In her role as a civil servant, she successfully led initiatives focused on child safeguarding policies in government institutional care, promoted meaningful participation of children and youth in policy development, and contributed to the Child Consultation on the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Tanitsa’s work reflects her unwavering dedication to creating better systems and policies for children and youth.

In addition to her academic pursuits, Marilyne is deeply involved in various professional and volunteer roles that reflect her commitment to social change. She is interested in community organizing, fundraising, and supporting parents and families impacted by carceral and the family policing system. In her internship with JMACForFamilies, Marilyne supports legislative efforts, engages in mutual aid through the Center for Mothers, and other initiatives focused on education, advocacy, and policy reform. Driven by a passion for social justice, Marilyne's diverse experience spans across various organizations, including the Justice Arts Coalition, Ìpàdé, the American Association of Colleges of Nursing, Voices for a Second Chance, the ACLU, Together for Girls, On Earth Peace, the Greater Washington Partnership, Street Smart Collaborative, the Vinyl Institute, HBCU First, and Catholic Charities, showcasing her expertise in communications, development, community engagement, and program support. She currently works as a Graduate Assistant at Columbia University, where she coordinates events, manages content creation, and supports the Office of Student Life.