Carlton joined the Foundation in 2024 as its Program Director overseeing the foundation’s portfolios in the Southern part of the United States.
Previously, Carlton served as the director of the prisons and fines and fees portfolio for Arnold Ventures. There, he oversaw investments to reduce prison populations, improve prison culture and conditions, increase transparency, and bolster prospects for successful reentry, as well as to end harmful monetary sanctions in the criminal legal system. Prior to joining Arnold Ventures, he served as the Director of Strategic Partnerships for Criminal Justice Reform at FWD.us, where he orchestrated key relationships, alliances, and networks with national and state-based organizations, associations, brands, and influencers to reform America’s jails and prisons.
Earlier in his career, Carlton served as policy advisor to Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards, during which he advised Gov. Edwards on transportation, corrections, energy and environmental issues. In this role he fashioned and oversaw the implementation of key legislation that included REAL ID, Raise the Age, Ban the Box, and Community Policing. Most notably, he played an integral role during the 2017 Justice Reinvestment Initiative that resulted in the passage of historic legislation aimed at removing Louisiana’s label as “prison capital of the world.”
Before joining the Edwards Administration, Carlton also served as an attorney on the Transportation Committee in the Louisiana House of Representatives and was a criminal defense attorney representing both adults and juveniles in Louisiana. Carlton earned a B.A. from Louisiana State University and a J.D. from Southern University Law Center.
