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Rachael Rollins '94, who has pushed for progressive criminal justice reforms as the first woman of color to serve as a district attorney in Massachusetts, has been nominated by President Joe Biden to become the state’s top federal prosecutor. Rollins, who majored in Afro-American studies and education while a student at UMass, would become the first Black woman to serve as U.S. attorney for Massachusetts.

In her current role as Suffolk County District Attorney, Rollins has been outspoken about the need for police reform in the wake of high-profile killings of people of color by law enforcement across the U.S. In an interview with The Associated Press in April, she said the country must do away with the misconception that questioning the police or suggesting ways they can improve means “you don’t back the blue.”

Rollins has a long history of standing for justice. As a student at UMass on a lacrosse scolarship, Rollins fought for the reinstatement of her team after it and two other women's teams were cut due to budgetary constraints. Rollins and several other players threatened to initiate a Title IX lawsuit against the university, which led to the reinstatement of all three eliminated teams two years later. 

Rollins, who used to work as an assistant U.S. attorney in Massachusetts, would be just the second woman to head the state’s federal prosecutors’ office. Carmen Ortiz became the first woman and the first Latinx to serve as U.S. attorney for Massachusetts in 2009.