NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. – Ashley Biden, daughter of U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, recently gave a candid interview with Rutgers Today in advance of her Monday address to students at the university’s School of Social Work convocation.

Biden is the executive director of the Delaware Center for Justice, Inc., a nonprofit that helps criminals and their families through the criminal justice system with a variety of programs and services.

In the interview, Biden spoke about what inspired her to pursue social work, and her perspective on the criminal justice system, which she believes is stacked against minorities because of “institutional racism, structural violence and white privilege.”

MORE NEWS: Know These Before Moving From Cyprus To The UK

From Rutgers Today:

You have done a lot of work involving incarceration and the criminal justice system. What sparked your interest in this type of advocacy and what changes would you like to see in the juvenile and adult justice system?

I had the privilege of attending a Quaker Elementary School where social justice was often the topic of conversation inside and outside the classroom. The civil rights movement fueled my interest in the study of institutional racism, structural violence and white privilege. I began to learn that justice wasn’t equal for all, that red lining, discriminatory practices and inequality in education has led to historic trauma instrumental in creating communities without resources and only enough resilience to survive. I think if we want to truly tackle structural violence, we need to make significant changes in the criminal justice field, such as mandatory minimums, pre-trial reform, repeal of the death penalty, reforms in policing, decriminalization of marijuana, among others. I hope one day to see a justice system where the amount of money you earn doesn’t influence your sentence and where brown and black children are treated with respect and not criminalized or institutionalized at a young age.

Perhaps ironically, Biden also discussed how her white privilege and special status as the daughter of an influential lawmaker helped launch her career at a very young age, an experience that propelled her to a master’s degree in social work from the University of Pennsylvania School of Social Policy and Practice.

“I grew up meeting and interacting with people of all different races, religions and socioeconomic backgrounds and was involved from a young age in grassroots campaigning – knocking on doors, attending rallies and advocating for my beliefs. As a child, I was acutely aware of injustices toward people and animals, and in grade school became concerned about dolphins being captured by purse seine net,” Biden said.

“My father linked me up with then Congresswoman Barbara Boxer, who was leading the effort to save the dolphins, and I was able to go on the floor of the House armed with my posters to talk to legislators – the Dolphin Protection Consumer Act was passed,” she said.

Biden also spoke about how her high-powered parents served as role models, another life advantage that’s becoming increasingly rare for the minority clients she aims to serve.

“I have witnessed my father’s passion to make the world a more equitable and equal place for all regardless of skin color, religion, sexual orientation or socioeconomic status. My mother was a public school English teacher all my life and still teaches English at a NOVA Community College. She is passionate about learning and teaching,” she said.

MORE NEWS: How to prepare for face-to-face classes

So while minorities struggle to make it in a country that’s supposedly designed to keep them oppressed, they can find comfort in knowing the America’s most privileged are looking out for their interests, and are working to make the system fairer for their families.

“My overarching goal is to make the criminal justice system fair, equitable and equal for all and to heal and revitalize the community through the arts, civic participation and inclusion,” Biden said.