Public Records Researcher

Date Posted	October 11, 2025
Industry	Nonprofit
Specialty	Not Specified
Required Education	Bachelor's Degree
Job Status	Full-time
Salary	$60,000 to $75,000

Description:

The Human Rights Defense Center (HRDC) is seeking a full-time researcher/investigator for its Stop Prison Profiteering Campaign in its Boynton Beach, FL office.

HRDC is a nonprofit organization that advocates in furtherance of the human rights of people

held in U.S. detention facilities. This includes people in state and federal prisons, local jails,

immigration detention centers, civil commitment facilities, Bureau of Indian Affairs jails,

juvenile facilities and military prisons. HRDC is one of the few national opponents to the private

prison industry and is the foremost advocate on behalf of the free speech rights of publishers to

communicate with prisoners and the right of prisoners to receive publications and

communications from outside sources. HRDC also does significant work around government

transparency and accountability issues by filing and litigating public records and Freedom of

Information Act (FOIA) cases at the state and federal levels.

HRDC is one of the leaders and founders of the Campaign for Prison Phone Justice which challenges exorbitant phone rates charged to those who receive calls from prisoners. For more information about the campaign please go to www.phonejustice.org  and www.prisonphonejustice.org . HRDC maintains and updates the data on the latter website.

Campaign for Stop Prison Profiteering and Prison Phone Justice

HRDC Researcher and Investigator. The ideal candidate can submit records requests, obtain data, analyze it and write about it. Most critically we need a researcher to get the data, if we need to hire someone to write it up we will do so.

Activities include:

Public Records Research

·         Survey all 50 states and BOP for prison phone and profiteering contracts and related information on an ongoing basis

·         Post records on website; maintain content of site

·         Analyze records and provide summaries for litigation staff

Communication

·         With campaign partner organizations: Communicate as needed by telephone and email to strategize and collaborate; coordinate and facilitate monthly national conference calls

·         With campaign allies on the outside: Communicate daily/weekly with campaign allies such as state and local partner campaigns, attorneys, and journalists

·         With prisoners: Read and respond to letters from prisoners regarding phone and profiteering issues;

Generating Press and Social Media Content

·         Contribute to HRDC websites and social media accounts with blog posts, press releases, etc.

·         Disseminate information on Campaign activities through listserv and Campaign Twitter account

·         Write articles for Prison Legal News and allied publications about prison profiteering and other prison phone justice issues

·         Communicate with impacted people about their experiences and help disseminate the human impact these policies of exploitation have on prisoners, their families and society

Public Education and Advocacy

·         Write reports for legislative hearings and utilities commission meetings

·         Create online advocacy actions for engaging Campaign supporters as needed

Litigation Support:

·         Assist HRDC lawyers in public records litigation related to phone information

·         Assist litigation partners in class action litigation related to the financial exploitation of prisoners and their families as needed

This is a salaried position as part of a litigation project and a public policy campaign. Knowledge of criminal justice issues and telecommunications policy is highly desirable but not required. The successful applicant will work under the supervision of litigation director Jon Picard in our Boynton Beach office. This is a M-F, 9-5 full time office position.

Computer skills and knowledge of office software packages including Microsoft OS, Office, and QuickBooks is required. A minimum of two years related work experience is required. A college degree is not required but is desired. The successful candidate will have excellent writing and analytical skills, excellent problem solving, interpersonal and communication skills.  Managing large amounts of data in electronic and hard copy format is required along with the ability to process large amounts of mail. Experience with public records laws and submitting public records requests is helpful but not required.

HRDC has a professional work environment;  business casual dress and neat appearance are required.

HRDC is an equal opportunity employer. Formerly incarcerated persons are strongly

encouraged to apply.

Pay scale for this position is $60,000-$75,000 annually. HRDC provides paid vacation and time off; all federal holidays are paid time off. HRDC also provides health, dental and vision insurance and pays 100% of insurance premiums.

Please submit resume to Paul Wright at: pwright@prisonlegalnews.org.

No phone calls please.