JustUs Speaks Podcast

Ruby Welch (Leading with Conviction™ 2023) works with Sheriff Eric Higgins in the Pulaski County, Arkansas, jail system. They sat down with us to discuss the Unlocked: A Jail Experiment docuseries now streaming on Netflix!

She spent five years in prison and says she was angry at how women were treated behind the walls. She's now a fierce advocate for reentry and prison reform in Louisiana. She's also the author of the best-selling book Perfectly Flawed: Uncovering Your Greatest Purpose. Kristy Laschober (Leading with Conviction™ 2023) joins the JustUs Speaks Podcast!

He was sentenced to life without parole as a juvenile and spent 40 years behind bars. She stood by him and fought for his release for all four decades. Now they are a powerhouse husband-wife team working for criminal justice reform in Michigan. Ronnie Waters and Felecia Tyson-Waters (Leading with Conviction™ 2023) join the JustUs Speaks Podcast!

As a teacher, she allowed boundaries to become blurred, which led to her incarceration. She lost her career, her home, and was forced to start all over again. Today, she is using those educator skills again by helping families of incarcerated loved ones with reentry. Jessica Snow (Leading with Conviction™ 2023) joins the JustUs Speaks Podcast!

He went to federal prison for financial fraud charges, and it changed his life forever. He has since received a presidential pardon and committed himself to criminal justice reform. He now hosts the Redemption Radio faith-based podcast. Thad Bereday joins the JustUs Speaks Podcast!

She was always interested and engaged in politics and fundraising, but her personal experience with the criminal justice system is what put her on the path that she is on now, helping others like her participate in advocacy around reform. ⁠Simone Price⁠ joins the JustUs Speaks Podcast!

For 35 years, she has provided housing and other direct and supportive services to those reintegrating into society upon release from incarceration. Well before criminal justice was a “sexy” topic, she spoke up against injustices in the depths of South Mississippi. Pauline Rogers joins the JustUs Speaks Podcast!

After 23 years incarcerated, he took the skill he learned while in prison and started a Braille transcription business as an entrepreneur. He is also a pioneer as the first justice-impacted Forensic Peer Mentor Trainer and Liaison in the state of Georgia. Ladji Ruffin joins the JustUs Speaks Podcast!

After four times in prison, she went to the sober living facility for women that she is currently the director of now. As a directly impacted speaker for the Mississippi Poor People's Campaign is where she found her voice. Emilee Shell (Leading with Conviction™ 2023) joins the JustUs Speaks Podcast!

He spent 22 years in prison, living every year like it might be his last. He got released when he was 47, and he's found a new purpose as a criminal justice reformer in Muskegan, Michigan. Terry Johnson joins the JustUs Speaks Podcast!

She was sentenced to 48 years, and miraculously only served three years behind bars. She now serves as a triple state commissioner in Colorado, working on criminal justice reform. Candice Bailey (Leading with Conviction™ 2023) joins the JustUs Speaks Podcast!

He went to prison for the first time at age 18. Beto O'Rourke gave him his first chance to do communications work, and he's gone on to work in D.C., on drug policy, and now as director of communications for the nation's largest reentry employment provider. Matt Sutton joins the JustUs Speaks Podcast!

She's been recognized by the Little Rock NAACP for her community service, and now she's setting her sights on a network of transitional “safe houses” across Arkansas for women returning home after incarceration. Ruby Welch (Leading with Conviction™ 2023) joins the JustUs Speaks Podcast!

He's been recognized as a grassroots leader in the Louisville, Kentucky, community, and he's making a huge impact statewide. Savvy Shabazz (Leading with Conviction™ 2023) joins the JustUs Speaks Podcast!

This special episode is part two of a livestream event that was recorded in February in honor of Black History Month with leaders who are making history now through their work to dismantle the legacy of Jim Crow.JLUSA President and CEO DeAnna Hoskins hosts a conversation with guests — Jay Jordan, CEO of Alliance for Safety and Justice and co-founder and National Director of #TimeDone; Kesha Hamilton, co-founder and co-chair of Racing 4 Equity; and Kyle D. Bacon, criminal legal reform activist and JustUS Coordinating Council steering committee member — on how they're making history now as directly impacted leaders working to dismantle racist and oppressive systems.

This special episode is part one of a livestream event that was recorded in February in honor of Black History Month with leaders who are making history now through their work to dismantle the legacy of Jim Crow.JLUSA President and CEO DeAnna Hoskins hosts a conversation with guests — Jay Jordan, CEO of Alliance for Safety and Justice and co-founder and National Director of #TimeDone; Kesha Hamilton, co-founder and co-chair of Racing 4 Equity; and Kyle D. Bacon, criminal legal reform activist and JustUS Coordinating Council steering committee member — on how they're making history now as directly impacted leaders working to dismantle racist and oppressive systems.

He was a police officer who went to prison and discovered that the people inside the walls were not the “bad people” he imagined they were. Today he is helping formerly incarcerated people like himself with reentry, especially with pursuing higher education. Daniel Bullman joins the #JustUs Speaks Podcast!

He grew up in poverty, got involved with using and selling drugs, and went to prison. But don't get it twisted, he says prison saved his life. “Change Agent” Philip Cooper joins the #JustUs Speaks Podcast!

She was sentenced to life in prison at age 17. Twenty-nine years later she was released. Today she has a global vision for providing reentry services to fellow formerly incarcerated individuals. Kim Woodson joins the #JustUs Speaks Podcast!

He found dignity inside of prison through reading books about others in even more dire circumstances. Today he is helping other justice-impacted individuals in Ohio find dignity and hope. Edwin Fuller joins the #JustUs Speaks Podcast!

Anger used to be her driving force. Today she is motivated by love to tear down the criminal legal system and rebuild something just in its place. Brittany Lovely joins the #JustUs Speaks Podcast!

As a kid, he enjoyed playing in the dirt. Today, as a formerly incarcerated leader, he helps give people in 10 California prisons the experience of gardening through the Insight Garden Program. Andrew Winn joins the #JustUs Speaks Podcast!

She was wrongfully convicted, went to prison believing people behind bars were “bad people,” and found herself lifted from a dark place by the women incarcerated with her who she was taught to fear. Today she is fighting for her fellow women and girls both inside prisons and after re-entry. Avalon Betts-Gaston joins the #JustUs Speaks Podcast. Note: The voting rights legislation Avalon speaks about on the podcast unfortunately did not pass in December, but she is still fighting for it to be passed in 2023! Read her powerful op-ed in the Chicago Sun-Times linked on our website.

He ran his criminal enterprises like a business. So when he got out of prison, he decided to use those same talents for helping others build wealth through home ownership. Tony McCright joins the #JustUs Speaks Podcast.

She thought she was going to die in prison, because of the poor conditions. Today, Maggie Luna is fighting for the lives of her fellow Texans behind bars. She joins the #JustUs Speaks Podcast.

He was one of the nation's top cops. Then he went to prison himself. Derek Matthews sits down with the #JustUs Speaks Podcast.

She went to prison for a crime she didn't commit. Now she's committed to using her legal work to help others who are directly impacted. Keeda Haynes sits down with the #JustUs Speaks Podcast.

She graduated from JLUSA's Leading with Conviction program. Now she's working with JLUSA to grow the work! Lana Mendis sits down with the #JustUs Speaks Podcast.

The JustUs Speaks Podcast, presented by JustLeadershipUSA (JLUSA), amplifies the voices of formerly incarcerated individuals in the U.S. Hosted by JLUSA Movement and Capacity Building Specialists Lester Young and Hakim Crampton, the JustUs Speaks Podcast features interviews with directly impacted people sharing their experience with the criminal justice system and life upon reentering society. To learn more about JustLeadershipUSA and its mission to amplify the power of people who have been directly impacted by the criminal legal system, visit www.JLUSA.org