Virginia
Kemba Smith Pradia, once sentenced to 24.5 years in prison for drug-related offenses, became a prominent advocate for criminal justice reform after receiving clemency from President Clinton, and now works as a public speaker, author, and consultant while continuing her activism through various organizations and her own foundation.

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."

South Carolina
Vivian is an advocate, healer, and the Founder & Executive Director of EveryBlackGirl, Inc., a grassroots, community-based advocacy and service organization focused on prevention, intervention and creation for a world where every Black girl thrives.

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.

Washington D.C.
Paine The Poet, a spoken word artist and activist, uses his poetry and personal experience as a formerly incarcerated individual to advocate for the disenfranchised, disrupt the school-to-prison pipeline through high school poetry courses, and prepare incarcerated youth for reintegration into society.

Arizona
Michelle Cirocco, Chief Social Responsibility Officer for Televerde and Executive Director of the Televerde Foundation, has been recognized as one of the World-Changing Women in Conscious Business and is committed to using her leadership to advocate for second chances while actively volunteering in her community.

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.

South Carolina
Niya Kenny is a social justice advocate and education reformer who uses her experience to fight the school-to-prison pipeline and challenge laws that disproportionately impact Black students.

Georgia
George Anthony Morton is an Atlanta-based award-winning and internationally recognized artist, specializing in classical painting and drawing inspired by Classical-Realist tradition.

New York
Fernando, wrongfully convicted of murder and imprisoned for over 18 years, was exonerated in 2009, becoming the first Latin-American male in New York to be cleared on actual innocence grounds, and has since transformed his life into a powerful advocacy and public speaking career while pursuing his creative passions.

Louisiana
Andrew, once labeled a “juvenile lifer,” transformed his life after becoming the first in Louisiana to be paroled under new rulings, and now leads the Louisiana Parole Project to help others with extreme sentences reintegrate and thrive.