California
JJ’88 is a singer, rapper, and songwriter raised in North Long Beach, and shaped by the streets, the church, and 18 years of incarceration he began as a child. His passion for music ignited in prison, where freestyle sessions became a lifeline.

California
Thaisan and his family are survivors of the Cambodian genocide (1975-79) that saw over 3 million lives lost. He grew up in Long Beach, CA and is the second oldest of 10 siblings. He was serving Life Without the Possibility of Parole (LWOP) until his sentence was commuted in December 2018 and subsequently found suitable for parole in 2021.

Georgia
Page Dukes is a core organizer with liberatory memory and writing projects Mourning Our Losses and Georgia Freedom Letters, and Communications Associate at the Southern Center for Human Rights, where she raises awareness about the effects of incarceration and the need for agency and accuracy in conversations about people in prison.

California
Kent Mendoza was born in Mexico and came to the US at six years old. He grew up in Los Angeles where at an early age he was exposed to gangs, drugs, and violence. He joined a gang at 14 and was incarcerated at 15 and served time in a probation camp.

Illinois
NaJei Webster is an advocate and mentor committed to supporting incarcerated women and youth. Through volunteerism, mentorship, and public education, she promotes self-advocacy, legislative awareness, and successful reentry for justice-impacted individuals.

Illinois
Nicole Davis is a social entrepreneur and community leader dedicated to empowering marginalized communities. As CEO of the Talk2Me Foundation and founder of The Sisters of Support House, she provides critical resources and advocacy for justice-impacted individuals and their families, using her lived experience to drive meaningful change.

Alabama
Dena Dickerson is a justice reform advocate and community leader based in Alabama. As Chief Operating Officer of the Offender Alumni Association and founder of initiatives like “Heroes in the Hood,” she develops programs that support community rebuilding and empower individuals impacted by systemic inequities.

Minnesota
Autumn Mason is a Certified Doula and Peer Support Professional who advocates for families impacted by incarceration. Grounded in her own healing journey, she works at the intersection of reproductive justice, reentry, and policy change—educating and empowering communities while advancing systemic reform.

Alabama
Angelique Todd is an award-winning filmmaker, survivor leader, and visionary social impact entrepreneur committed to transforming systems through storytelling, advocacy, and economic empowerment. She is the Founder and Executive Director of WE WIN Organization Inc. and CEO of Next Level Business Services & Solutions, where she leads initiatives that equip underserved communities—particularly justice-impacted women—with the tools to achieve sustainable economic mobility.

Texas
Marci Marie Simmons is a justice reform advocate, educator, and storyteller who centers the experiences of incarcerated women and gender-expansive people. Through her work, she raises awareness about gender-specific challenges in the criminal legal system while fostering healing, empowerment, and community support for those impacted by incarceration.

Massachusetts
Emmanuel “Noble” Williams is a restorative justice leader, educator, father, and activist with over a decade of experience advancing healing-centered practices. Through his work with the Transformational Prison Project and academic institutions, Noble fosters authenticity, vulnerability, and community-driven approaches to justice reform.

California
John Medina Jr. is a program manager and criminal justice reform advocate who transformed his life through education after a childhood shaped by adversity, bullying, and incarceration. Now holding a Master’s Degree in Social Work, he supports formerly homeless adults navigating complex behavioral health challenges, including co-occurring disorders, through systems navigation, practical, community-based support, and person-centered approaches that empower individuals to take action, build belief in their ability to transform, and move forward with purpose. His work is grounded in a vision of communities where people live with dignity and autonomy, have access to the resources they need, and are not defined by systems, diagnoses, or past experiences.

Georgia
Jessie D. Mabrey is Certified Peer Specialist and dedicated advocate for justice-impacted people and children with incarcerated parents, leveraging over 15 years of experience to connect people in reentry to resources, support, and programming. She is driven by her belief that "where you’ve been is not who you are."

Illinois
Xavier McElrath-Bey, Executive Director of the Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth and Co-Founder of the Incarcerated Children's Advocacy Network, champions the human rights of incarcerated children by advocating for the abolition of life without parole and other extreme sentences for youth. Drawing from his own experience of being charged as an adult for murder at 13 and serving 13 years in prison before becoming a dedicated advocate for at-risk youth, Xavier boldly professes to the world that "no child is born bad."

Georgia
Waleisah Wilson is a passionate criminal justice reform activist and organizer who founded NewLife Second Chance Outreach, Inc. after her release from prison in 2011 to provide essential employment and entrepreneurship services and workshops for individuals with criminal convictions, while advocating for disability justice, voting rights, bail reform, faith community inclusion, an end to solitary confinement, fines & fees, mass incarceration and prison labor in Georgia, and the removal of barriers to reentry.

Georgia
Tabatha is a full spectrum birth doula, prison doula, and abortion doula that helps incarcerated and formerly incarcerated women and girls through her program, Dorcas Doula Initiative. Through her other venture, Woman With a Plan, Tabatha provides mentorship and support services while sharing her own journey of mental illness, drug addiction, incarceration, and motherhood.

Wisconsin
Shannon Ross, the Executive Director of The Community, founded the organization while serving a 17-year prison sentence to address the criminal legal system's impact through greater information sharing, self-empowerment, and narrative change. Since his release in 2020, he has expanded his advocacy as a graduate student, podcast host, and entrepreneur focused on supporting system-impacted individuals.

Ohio
Malika Kidd is a Project Manager at the Council of State Governments Justice Center, where she leads initiatives to support economic mobility for people with criminal records, drawing on her personal experience and expertise in workforce development, education, and reentry services.

Pennsylvania
After serving 31 years of a life sentence given at age 17, John was resentenced and paroled, and since his release, he has dedicated himself to supporting other former juvenile lifers in their reentry journeys and young people who find themselves involved in the criminal justice system, earning recognition for his advocacy work and serving as Senior Reentry Coordinator at the Youth Sentencing & Reentry Project in Philadelphia.

Washington D.C.
Eddie B. Ellis Jr., a reentry advocate and consultant, founded One by 1, Inc. and leverages his experience as a formerly incarcerated person to build safer communities through training, mentorship, and support for reintegration, while also serving as the Co-Director of Outreach & Member Services at the Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth.