JustUs Speaks Podcast

Jamala Taylor (Leading with Conviction™ 2024) was initially sentenced to a daunting 99-year-to-life term and spent 15 years in solitary confinement at Pelican Bay State Prison/S.H.U. Over his 31-year incarceration in various maximum-security facilities across California, Jamala’s journey took a significant turn when he was granted release on December 30, 2020.

Since his release, Jamala has earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Sociology from CSU-Fullerton and is currently pursuing a Master’s in Public Administration (MPA) with a concentration in nonprofit management/Public Policy from the University of Southern California’s Sol Price School of Public Policy.

Jamala is also a certified life coach, having completed the rigorous 9-month Coaching for Healing, Justice, and Liberation certification program (CHJL). Recently, he launched a coaching and consulting firm called Amandla. Jamala consults with various companies around the country on reentry and incarceration-related training and issues.

In addition to his coaching work, he currently serves as the Senior Reentry Manager for Land Together (formerly The Insight Garden Program/IGP), the program from which he himself is an alumnus.

Stephanie Jeffcoat (Leading with Conviction™ 2024) was in and out of prison because of substance use and addiction, which led to a six-month period of incarceration where she permanently lost custody of her daughter.

The trauma of losing her child has led her to found Families Inspiring Reentry and Reunification for Everyone (FIR4E). It also led her to earn five associate degrees, as well as her Bachelor’s at Cal State Fullerton and pursue a law degree through Trinity Law School.

Beyond academia, Stephanie has shared her transformative journey from addiction, incarceration, and homelessness in a published memoir.

At the time of this interview last year, Alexander Brown (Leading with Conviction™ 2024) was working with Live Free Illinois, as well as being Community Liaison for Cook County’s Justice Advisory Council and working as a Paralegal with the Cook County Public Defender’s Office, one of the biggest law firms in the country.

He talks about fair chances at employment after incarceration.

The In Their Hands documentary tells the powerful personal story of Ronnie Carrasquillo. Ronnie was only 18 years old when he committed the crime for which he was convicted. It was a shooting of a plainclothes police officer that occurred in 1976 during a gang-related incident in Chicago, resulting in a sentence of 200-600 years in prison. 

As you watch In Their Hands, Ronnie appears destined to die in prison. His life is in the hands of a parole board whose decision-making is swayed by shifting political sands and an ever-present police union. But we’re glad to tell you that Ronnie was finally released from prison in 2023 after serving 47 years.

And we’re so grateful he is with us on the podcast today—along with the film’s director/producer Dan Protess—to talk about his story and this powerful documentary that JustLeadershipUSA is honored to be partnering on as it airs on PBS stations across the country during the month of April, Second Chance Month — what we’re also calling “Fair Chance Month.”

Ashley Furst (Leading with Conviction™ 2024) grew up with a father who worked for Wackenhut (later rebranded The GEO Group), the private prison corporation, believing that people who went to prison were “bad people.” That was until she found herself being sentenced to 27 months for her own choices while struggling with substance abuse disorder.

Ashley admits she struggles to see herself as a leader, because of experiencing imposter syndrome post-incarceration. Co-host Lana Mendis shares her own personal experience, as well. Ashley also shares what her dream would be.

Paul Rothschild (Leading with Conviction™ 2024) talks about taking his skills from 25 years of experience in the corporate world—in technology, business, and healthcare—and transferring them to his current work in social justice, serving with the Illinois Coalition to End Permanent Punishments (ENDPP.ORG).

Paul served a 10-year mandatory minimum sentence in federal prison, and his passion for criminal justice reform work is deeply rooted in witnessing the disproportionate impact of incarceration on Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC), and his own experience of privilege in the reentry process.

He also shares some Buddhist philosophy and wisdom that has guided him and his work in the criminal justice reform space.

Crystal Voight (Leading with Conviction™ 2024) grew up in a household of domestic violence, which led her to running away and spending time on the streets, getting involved with drugs, gangs, and crime at a young age.

After spending time in prison, a judge gave her another chance, and she took it and ran with it. Starting out with no experience as an entry-level flagger while on house arrest, Crystal now serves in a management position with a large construction company.

She shares her powerful personal story and her vision for helping others with reentry, navigating the system, finding jobs, and more.

After spending multiple stretches in solitary confinement as a result of standing for human rights, Marcus Kelley (Leading with Conviction™ 2024) was diagnosed with PTSD and, once freed after nine long years in prison, he had a hard time adjusting to society. He learned that he suffered from Post Incarceration Syndrome (PICS) as a result of his prison experience.

He talks about his work with The Change Up to end the legal slavery exception clause in the 13th Amendment, and his goal to restore voting rights for federal elections to anyone in prison.

Melissa Ludin (Leading with Conviction™ 2024) talks about balancing her work with the ACLU of Wisconsin and being a partner and mother of four boys—especially during the challenging political landscape we are living in right now.

She shares about entering prison at age 19, and how she was transformed by her experience of incarceration.

Kyle Giddings (Leading with Conviction™ 2024) says it was a conversation with another person while incarcerated that helped him realize how many people believed they were ineligible to vote in Colorado because of a felony conviction—when it fact they could still vote after reentry.

Currently serving as Deputy Director of the Colorado Criminal Justice Reform Coalition (CCJRC), Kyle hopes to work toward developing programs and implementing policies that help justice-involved people have a voice in their communities.