Virginia Raymond, J.D., Ph.D., is an oral historian, archival researcher, and policy analyst who works with the disability rights group ADAPT of Texas; La Peña, a Latina/o arts organization; and the Texas Jail Project. A social justice activist continuously since1975, she practiced law between 1985 and 2000, during which time she started a legal services office for low-income refugees and immigrants that has served thousands of people since 1987.

Between August 2007 and August 2011, Raymond directed the Texas After Violence Project, an independent, non-profit narrative and human rights organization that listened to, digitally recorded, and shared the first-person experiences of people directly affected by serious violence, including murder and execution, jails and prisons, and human rights violations. When it hired Virginia Raymond, the Texas After Violence Project consisted of a one-page certificate of incorporation and an empty office; by the time she left, the project had conducted over 130 interviews, 43 of which are online at the Human Rights Documentation Initiative (HRDI) of the University of Texas at Austin Libraries, the project’s YouTube channel, SoundCloud, or the project’s own website. During her tenure at the Texas After Violence Project, she trained and supervised 98 interns, volunteers, and staffers.

Virginia Raymond is also a teacher, having taught at the Travis County Jail (literacy volunteer, 7 years); St. Edward’s University (adjunct faculty member, 2 years); and the University of Texas at Austin (5 years Assistant Instructor, 4 years as a Lecturer.) She currently teaches composition and literature at Austin Community College.