Surviving The System

Amy is a graduate of Grinnell College and the University of Nebraska College of Law. Since 1999, Amy has guided the legal work of the ACLU. She is a frequent lecturer on civil rights and liberties for the Nebraska Bar Association, law schools and general audiences. She has served on the boards of Nebraskans for Alternatives to the Death Penalty, Disability Rights Nebraska and the Nebraska Innocence Project.

Amy recently won a significant Nebraska Supreme Court victory striking down Nebraska’s ban on gay and lesbian foster parents as well as a historic win for marriage equality in federal court. She practices in state and federal court on issues as diverse as the free speech rights of a man seeking to hand out Christian religious pamphlets to the rights of an African American family subjected to excessive force.
https://survivingthesystem.org/

Marie is a representative from a non profit organization Nebraskans Unafraid. Nebraskans Unafraid (NU) is a grass-roots organization that works to make our communities safer. We believe the right to safety extends to Registered Citizens and their loved ones. They work to change the draconian laws that deprive Registered Citizens of their jobs, homes and family life. They educate the public about the low rate of re-offense among those convicted of sex offenses.

https://nebraskansunafraid.org/
https://survivingthesystem.org/

Jim serves as the Executive Director of the Community Justice Center (CJC). CJC is a non-traditional restorative justice and public safety organization. CJC addresses the needs of crime victims, offenders, and their communities. In October 1989, Jim was arrested for robbery and served a 3 to 5 year sentence in the Nebraska State Penitentiary. Jim was released in 1992 and enrolled in college shortly after. Jim went on to earn two AAs; one in Drug & Alcohol Counseling and the other in Youth Specialization.

In 1995, Jim began working at the Lincoln Action Program (LAP) with President Clinton’s National Service Corporation, and AmeriCorps. During his time at LAP, Jim was taught an existing restorative justice prison program. This experience gave Jim an idea to create a unique restorative justice program. This program is called the Victims First Team. Jim has served on numerous committees and boards in the Lincoln area, since the creation of CJC and The Victims First Team. Some of these committees and boards include: Mayor’s Community Cabinet, Youth Attention Center Advisory Committee, and Lincoln Lancaster Drug Project Board. In 1997, the Victims First Team received the Nebraska First Lady’s Award for beinig an outstanding community service group. Jim was also appointed by Governor Ben Nelson to the state’s Juvenile Justice Task Force in 1998. He has presented both programs at local conferences, and various restorative justice conferences around the country.

Jim recieved several awards in 2001 including; the Good Persons Award from the Family Violence Council, the Washington Times Foundation Award for restorative justice, and the Citizens Certificate of Merit from the Lincoln Police Department (LPD). Jim was also awarded the Sertoma National Service To Mankind Award in 2009. CJC and the Victims First Team addresses the needs of victims, offenders and our communities in a meaningful way that benefits us all.

https://communityjusticecenter.org

Andy Chambers is a loving and devoted father, working 4 jobs to provide for his daughter Belle. Until 2018, when CPS showed up at his door to inform him they had taken his daughter from school and he was to show up at family court the next day. Since that day, Andy and Belle have only seen each other a handful of times, and Belle is now living with the mother who abandoned her years earlier. Andy and Belle are victims of a highly corrupt branch of the system and, sadly, is only one of the growing number of parents that share this horrific experience. Please listen and help us spread this story.

https://www.gofundme.com/f/v64xdu-bring-belle-home

Steven J. Lefler attended law school and graduated from the University of Nebraska Lincoln College of Law in 1977. Steven Lefler began practicing law in 1977.

Steven Lefler is an attorney at Lefler, Kuehl, and Burns, helping people with Criminal Defense issues. Lefler, Kuehl, and Burns have an office in Omaha, Nebraska, serving the local community.

Steven Lefler was selected to Super Lawyers for 2014, 2018 - 2019. Super Lawyers is an exclusive list of top-rated attorneys in specific practice areas who were chosen after a thorough evaluation of numerous criteria.

"Shawn Bina is a one of a kind individual and a good friend of the show. He spent quite a few years in and out of prison, and most recently finished up a 16 year sentence in Nebraska. He used this last time to completely transform himself, and learn how to change the lives of others. He was a founding member of "The 7 Habits On The Inside" and a peer mentor to countless incarcerated individuals who were looking for an opportunity to become better men.

He talks to me on this episode about what led him to change his life, some significant events he witnessed while inside, and a first hand account of what an out-of-control bureaucracy looks like. He has recently re-entered the community and is experiencing the fruits of his hard work. This is the start of a new chapter of his story, and we are here to witness the beginning."

Born and raised in the Midwest to a very conservative, faith-based, working-class family, he observed early on, first just intrigued, then puzzled and eventually dumbfounded, by the inconsistencies and down-right contradictions of those in authority in terms of “what-they-said” vs. “what-they-did”, and particularly, “what-they-said-they-knew”. He was fortunate to have had several key “influencers” during this time who were patient with his development. Some were healthily demanding, others were masterful at the Socratic method.
Following my under-grad and graduate work in Psychology, I taught Psychology at a small, private college, and soon after transitioned into industry and worked as a Production Supervisor. Several years later, he transitioned into Health Care, in the Human Resources arena. During these years he was introduced to “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” (Stephen Covey) and became a certified facilitator, presenting this program to businesses, schools, churches and jails.
He now volunteers with a variety of organizations focusing on optimizing healthy, effective human development. The 7 Habits are his template for the design, implementation, and assessment of those strategies. Of course, it is a lifelong process.

“This bio would be disastrously incomplete if not for the mention (better the highlighting) of the immeasurable influence my wife of over 50 years, 4 grown “kids” and the joy of 10 grandchildren. It is a gift beyond words to hear, from even the youngest of these, the seeds of the questions that will, and rightly so, take a lifetime to explore and live out.”

Part 2 of Alex Rahe's experience with the system and what it's like to deal with the courts and more!!!

Alexander Rahe is a formerly confined author, activist, and scholar. Prior to his incarceration, he studied at the University of Nebraska and, while inside, he became a certified paralegal and worked in the Law Library as well as participated in several literary workshops and college-level courses. Having returned to society with a fresh perspective from inside the walls, he advocates for literacy programs as a means of rehabilitating offenders. Mr. Rahe is a graduate, peer mentor, and volunteer with the RISE Prison Re-entry program and wants to pursue a law degree.

Alexander Rahe is a formerly confined author, activist, and scholar. Prior to his incarceration, he studied at the University of Nebraska and, while inside, he became a certified paralegal and worked in the Law Library as well as participated in several literary workshops and college-level courses. Having returned to society with a fresh perspective from inside the walls, he advocates for literacy programs as a means of rehabilitating offenders. Mr. Rahe is a graduate, peer mentor, and volunteer with the RISE Prison Re-entry program and wants to pursue a law degree.

Jeremy currently serves RISE as the Founder and CEO. Prior to joining RISE, he served for 7 years as Associate Vice President of Development at Creighton University. Jeremy has 17 years of leadership experience in higher education and non-profit organizations in New York City, Baltimore and Omaha. He earned a BA in Communications from Susquehanna University in Pennsylvania and a master of science in leadership from Creighton University.