CCRI Announces Jae Lin as the Honoree of The Dr. Holly Jacobs CCRI Founder Award

Jae Lin

Honoree

To mark its ten-year record of accomplishment, CCRI established The Dr. Holly Jacobs CCRI Founder Award, which recognizes one outstanding U.S.-based individual who has made a significant contribution to a safer internet. The award is named in recognition of survivor-leader Dr. Holly Jacobs, CCRI’s founder, board member, and one of the world’s first advocates fighting against the non-consensual distribution of intimate imagery and other forms of IBSA.

The inaugural Honoree of the Dr. Holly Jacobs CCRI Founder Award is Jae Lin.

 Jae Lin is currently the executive director of Gender Unbound, which uplifts trans and intersex artists in central Texas, and the host of biweekly Queer Art Nights in Austin. Lin previously served as the Director of the Games and Online Harassment Hotline and Programs Manager of Feminist Frequency. While with the hotline, Lin cultivated supportive resources around mental health, harassment and abuse, and online safety. Lin has incorporated abolitionist values with trauma-informed care, a human-centered understanding of online harassment, and a cultural context of games spaces in shaping the work and growth of the hotline. Lin’s passion for breaking cycles of sexual violence is reflected in their work with ReSpec, an accountability space for people who have caused harm. They have a background in queer community health and suicide prevention, with roots in collegiate esports. Lin is also a community organizer around queer arts and transformative justice in Austin, TX. With buoyant artwork and hand lettering, their work as Doodle Me Alive focuses on trans liberation, loving affirmations, and the possibilities of healing.

In announcing the award, CCRI President Dr. Mary Anne Franks stated, “It is a pleasure to recognize Jae Lin’s accomplishments in addressing online abuse within the gaming community and beyond. Like Dr. Jacobs, Jae Lin has demonstrated courage and initiative as an advocate for vulnerable individuals and groups experiencing technology-facilitated harms.”

CCRI Founder Dr. Holly Jacobs said, “Jae is a true community leader and grassroots mobilizer. It is a profound honor to see the award bearing my name bestowed upon an individual as accomplished and inspiring as Jae Lin.”

Former U.S. Representative Jackie Speier said, “The Cyber Civil Rights Initiative was the first survivor-led group in the U.S. to tackle the problem of image-based sexual abuse. CCRI’s input and advocacy were invaluable in my effort to pass groundbreaking federal criminal legislation to protect intimate privacy. Though we did not succeed in this before I left office, I am confident that Congress will act soon to finally pass this long-overdue and urgently needed law. The Dr. Holly Jacobs CCRI Founder Award celebrates Holly’s pioneering, dedicated spirit, and Jae Lin is a most fitting Honoree. They have fostered a safer internet environment, especially within the gaming community, raised awareness regarding trans and queer rights, and they are an inspiring recipient of this prestigious award. Thank you to Jae and to CCRI for your untiring work in making the internet a safer place.”