Join the Stanford Prisoner Advocacy and Resources Coalition (SPARC) for a panel highlighting the leadership of formerly incarcerated people in criminal justice reform efforts.

Our speakers:

Daniela Medina grew up in Oakland, California and was incarcerated from the age of 21 to 31 years old. During her incarceration, she completed her GED and later on, her AA. It was in this time that she knew she wanted to both transfer to a University and help formerly incarcerated individuals in their re-entry. Upon her release in 2014, she began doing volunteer work until she was hired as a Case Manger at Community and Youth Outreach in Oakland. In 2015, she was promoted to Case Management Supervisor overseeing a team of five Case Managers who serve young adults at a high risk of violence and or need support overcoming barriers while re-entering society. In 2017, Daniela was admitted to the University of California, Berkeley where she is studying for her Bachelors in Social Welfare and is a member of the Berkeley Underground Scholars.

Rudy Reyes grew up in California’s Central Valley. At fourteen, while incarcerated in the California’s Youth Authority, he dreamed of being a gang leader. He achieved his goal, entering the CDCR system at 18, and winding up in the Security Housing Unit (SHU) at Pelican Bay as a validated leader of the Nuestra Famillia prison gang. After 28 years in prison, 23 in the SHU, Rudy made the decision to turn his life in a different direction. After transitioning out of Corcoran SHU and into Kern Valley State Prison Transitional Housing Unit (THU), he landed back in general population, leading the reform effort at High Desert, one of California’s most racist prisons. He paroled in January 2017 and is focusing his time and efforts in developing rehabilitative programs within CDCR and the Los Angeles area. He is also an active member of Criminals and Gang Members Anonymous (CGA). He is currently a member and mentor on the policy team with the Anti-Recidivism Coalition (ARC) that lobbies the California legislature for just laws in this state especially centered around sentencing and rehabilitation.

Chloe Turner was raised in Southern California. A child of incarcerated parents. She left high school early and spent most of her 20’s addicted and cycling in and out of county jails and prison. After her last release from incarceration in 2008, she entered into a program for women parolees and came face-to-face with the issues that landed her in prison. In 2010, Chloe became a certified Community Health Worker specializing in Post-Prison Release and graduated from Stanford University’s Project ReMade in 2012. In May 2013, she graduated from the University of San Francisco with a Bachelor’s in Organizational Behavior and Leadership. And in the beginning of 2015 she was accepted into the first cohort of Just Leadership USA, a national advocacy program that aims to cut the US prison population in half by 2030 through training formerly incarcerated leaders across the nation to address the issues of the failed criminal justice system. She is currently employed by the San Francisco Sheriff’s Department as a Program Coordinator overseeing multiple programs and developing new programmatic opportunities for the incarcerated population. By blending her past experiences and her passion for change she hopes to help lead the change we want to see in the world.

Lunch will be served. Please RSVP at this link.