Meet Tamisha

Tamisha Civil is a community advocate with over 10 years of experience working in our criminal justice system. She’s running for Governor’s Council because she has the right experience and vision to make our justice system work fairly for everyone in our Commonwealth.

Tamisha is the proud daughter of Haitian immigrants who came to Massachusetts for better opportunities. Her parents worked hard to provide a better future for their children, a work ethic they inspired in her. Thanks to her family and her passion, Tamisha became the first person in her family to graduate from college. She obtained a Master’s degree in Criminal Justice and Leadership from Northeastern University.

Tamisha’s life changed when her cousin was falsely imprisoned for murder. She had to watch helplessly as the person who helped raise her sat behind bars, unable to attend even his own mother’s funeral. Tamisha’s cousin sat behind bars for 27 years, losing his entire adolescence and early adulthood. After years of justice denied, her cousin was exonerated in 2021.

What happened to Tamisha’s family is far too common. Too many families are torn apart by miscarriages of justice — whether that means overincarceration of minority communities, the criminalization of mental health & drug use, or our inadequate response to sexual violence.

Influenced in part by her cousin’s experiences, Tamisha has spent decades gaining valuable experience working alongside judges, defense attorneys, clerks, assistant DA’s, and police officers. As an associate probation officer, she has worked to reduce recidivism and to help people who have served their time re-enter society. As a legal advocate for a domestic violence shelter and a Victim Witness Advocate at the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office, Tamisha has spent years working to support victims of crime and guide them through complex processes. Tamisha has decades of experience working in and around the court system, and she will bring this experience to the Councilor’s office.

Tamisha believes that the solutions to crime come from long-term investments in community. That’s why she has spent her free time trying to address the root causes of poverty and inequality: she helped found a food bank during the pandemic to combat food insecurity, she volunteers as a legal aid for victims of domestic violence, and she hosts a radio program where she brings on local leaders to discuss important topics. She also serves as a Commissioner on the Massachusetts Eastern Regional Commission on the Status of Women, where she works to empower women around the Commonwealth.

Tamisha is running for Governor’s Council because it has the power to directly examine and combat injustice in our criminal justice system. The Council’s most important job is vetting and approving judicial nominations, a duty that Tamisha will use to ensure our justice system is filled with qualified judges who will do what they can to ensure what happened to her cousin never happens to another family.

We need someone who deeply understands the importance of combatting injustice. Tamisha has the life experience, professional expertise, and vision of the future that District 2 needs in its Governor’s Councilor.

Tamisha’s Civic Experience:

• Stoughton Town Meeting Representative

• Commissioner for the Eastern Regional Commission on the Status of Women

• Board member of the Greater Boston Early Educators Network

• Board member Stoughton Equal Opportunity Committee

• Member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated

• Stoughton Police Department Interactive Citizen's Academy 2022