Yulise Waters

Yulise Reaves Waters, Esq. is the Chief Innovations Officer of Lone Star Justice Alliance (LSJA). Previously, Waters was an Assistant City Attorney and Lead Community Courts Prosecutor for the City of Dallas where she co-founded the Second Chance Community Improvement Program (SCCIP) in 2014 which became the first-ever felony community court in Dallas County and the first-ever young adult specialty court in the State of Texas. Under her leadership, SCCIP was awarded the 2018 National Association of Drug Court Professionals’ Equity and Inclusion Award for “excellence and leadership in demonstrating and promoting cultural proficiency in treatment court services.”

Yulise holds B.A. degrees in English, Spanish, and a B.B.A. in Organizational Behavior and Business Policy (each magna cum laude), and a Juris Doctorate, all from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas. Yulise is a graduate of the 2019-2020 inaugural Dallas Truth, Racial Healing, & Transformation Racial Equity Now Cohort. Nationally, her commentaries on race and justice have been featured on syndicated radio and in major U.S. city newspapers. She holds memberships in the Juvenile Law, Criminal Justice, and Collaborative Law Sections of the State Bar of Texas and is a graduate of the Leadership Dallas Class of 2020. She serves on the The Dallas County Sheriff’s Community Partnership Board, the Metro Dallas Homeless Alliance (MDHA) Racial Equity Workgroup, was an appointee to the 2020-2021 Dallas ISD Racial Equity Office Trustee Appointed Advisory Council, and chair of the 2021 Dallas ISD District of Innovation Committee. She is also a member of the Inaugural Emerging Leader Board at the Dedman School of Law, which recognizes graduates over the last twenty years who have “a strong record of leadership in the legal profession and a proven commitment to public service.”

Yulise is the recipient of numerous honors including Who’s Who in Black Dallas, the City of Dallas’ Wall of Honor for meritorious service to the citizens of Dallas, Texas Muslim Women’s Foundation Peace Champion Award, DFW Millennial-to-Watch, Texas State Fair Juanita J. Craft Catalyst Award Honorable Mention and D Magazine’s 78 Women Changing the Face of Dallas. She is the 2020 recipient of the SMU Dedman School of Law Emerging Leader Distinguished Alumni Award, a recipient of the Dallas Business Journal’s “40 Under 40” honor, and the SMU Black Alumni’s History Maker Award, their highest honor.