Palika Makam is the Head of US Activism at Ben & Jerry’s. She is a digital strategist and storyteller with a decade of experience running creative and strategic advocacy campaigns focused on racial, immigrant, and criminal justice.

Makam is deeply passionate about decarcerating the nation’s jails, prisons, and deportation centers. Before joining Ben & Jerry’s, she held jobs at: the 8th Amendment Project, an anti-death penalty organization where she helped stop multiple killings; Color of Change, the country’s largest Black led digital advocacy organization, where she passed bills to protect Black maternal health; and international human rights organization WITNESS, where she taught people to safely expose police violence and deportations and piloted a legal video advocacy program that led to the release of 50 people. At the age of 23, Makam cofounded and ran the Babel Project, a youth media organization that trained youth activists to use documentary video as a tool for their advocacy work.

She holds a BA in Journalism and Social and Cultural Analysis from New York University, and MA in International Affairs concentrating in Human Rights and Media from The New School.

SXSW, Food & Beverage, Food, Social Activism, South Asian Heritage Storytelling, Digital Media, Modern Media, Social Justice, Human Rights,