Onward Blog

I’ve been out of prison for fifteen years, but I have been reconvicted over and over again because of my criminal record.

By Susan Mason, #LwC2018

September 20, 2018

Over those years I received multiple job offers, but as soon as the employers did a background check, the offers were rescinded, one by one.

I’m the founder and president of the National Workforce Opportunity Network.

By Jeffrey Abramowitz, #LwC2018

We are a fully integrated workforce development and career placement for-profit agency serving individuals with barriers to gainful employment.

It’s My Mission to Reengage the Faith Community with Returning Citizens on a Nationwide Basis

By Rev. Dr. Chris Kimmenez, #LwC2018

September 13, 2018

To be in a room with 30 other leaders has been literally life changing.

I Consider All of the Children Who Are Living in Detention Facilities, Group Homes, and Foster Care to Be My Siblings

By Jennifer Rodriguez, #LwC2018

The Leading with Conviction training has been a life-changing experience.

I am the National Youth Partnership Strategist for the Youth First Initiative.

By Hernán Carvente, #LwC2018

August 30, 2018

We are committed to ending youth incarceration, closing youth prisons, and investing in community-based programs, services and opportunities.

I was committed to being an asset to my community instead of a liability.

By Donald Perry, #LwC2018

I have worked in human services for many years with the hungry, homeless and formerly incarcerated.

I want to leave a legacy of humanizing this thing called justice.

By Steven “Humble” Mangual

I served 14 years in New York State prisons, and it was while I was incarcerated in the Woodbourne Correctional Facility that I discovered my passion

I Have a Real Sense Each Day That the Things I’m Working on are Actually Going to Result in Meaningful Policy Change

By Douglas Smith, #LwC2018

August 9, 2018

The Leading with Conviction training is reinforcing the importance of building strong partnerships with grassroots leadership.

I Believe in Approaching Things from a Place of Possibility. If We Lose Hope, Then We Have Nothing.

By Quintin Williams, #LwC2018

JustLeadershipUSA and LwC keep me hopeful as well.

I am the Policy Coordinator for the Anti-Recidivism Coalition in Los Angeles.

By Kent Mendoza #LwC2018

May 17, 2018

We provide hundreds of formerly incarcerated people with mentorship, mental health services, supportive housing, access to jobs and education.

Real Reform Means that I Can Tell My 8 Year Old Daughter Miracle that She Doesn’t Have to be Afraid Anymore of Walking While Black

By Shanequa Charles, #LwC2018

May 3, 2018

JLUSA’s Leading with Conviction training compares to nothing I’ve ever been a part of.

Our Life Experiences Have Greater Value and Power than Anyone Else’s in Fighting for Criminal Justice Reform

By Darwin Hamilton, #LwC2018

April 26, 2018

When people wonder why I fight for criminal justice reform I explain that I have been both convicted of crime and a victim of crime.

When You Reach the Edges of Your Imagination, What is it that You Want for Yourself and the People that You Love?

By Grace Gámez, #LwC2018

March 20, 2018

LwC is a space where you don’t have to explain either the pain of shame and stigma or the passion for your work.

I Felt there Was a Missing Element in the Struggle of Young Black Youth, and that was Having a Mentor

By Hakim Crampton, #LwC2018

March 9, 2018

LwC isn’t so much about teaching you about leadership; It’s really about how to conduct yourself as a leader.

No Two Stories are Exactly the Same, But Everyone is Coming to the Table

By Michael King, #LwC2018

February 23, 2018

To say that I was blown away by my first Leading with Conviction forum would be an understatement.

If You’re Tired of the Same and You Wanna Make a Difference, it’s Time to Be the Change

By SaulPaul, #LwC2018

February 20, 2018

I’ve lived long enough to see some cycles repeat and I’ve seen some things change that people probably thought were permanent. But things can change!