Phoenix Arise and UCI Underground Scholars present "Voices of Redemption: Amplifying the Voices of Second Chances," a special conference that offers the chance to hear directly from formerly incarcerated speakers as they share their journeys. The goal of this event is to shed light on the stories of those who often remain unheard and drowned out by stigma and misconceptions and create a platform for redemption, growth, and resilience where every individual is loved, seen, and heard.
The keynote speaker is Franky Carrillo, who was exonerated after being wrongfully convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison. Carrillo is a father, a community leader, and a justice advocate fighting to reform the broken systems that are failing regular people in our neighborhoods. He is also chief policy advisor for the Los Angeles Innocence Project at Cal State L.A. and a candidate for California state Assembly District 52.
The presentation LWOP & Lifers, “From the Streets to Degrees: The Transformative Power of Higher Education” includes among its speakers Steven A. Green, a UCI Ph.D. student in criminology, law and society with a unique perspective shaped by 28 years of lived experience with the carceral system. This journey has fueled his commitment to humanizing and reforming the carceral system. He joined the CLS doctoral program in Fall 2023 after earning a bachelor's in criminal justice from Cal State Fullerton, where he was part of research programs such as the McNair Scholars and a research fellow at Cal State Long Beach's Project Rebound Research Lab Consortium. This work, including his book chapter "Surviving Death by Incarceration: Life Without Parole (LWOP),” led to publications and conference presentations. Green is also a National LWOP Leadership Council member at Human Rights Watch and serves on the CARE Grant Steering Committee at the Board of State and Community Corrections. "My mission is to bring humanity and reform to the correctional system, and I am always eager to connect with professionals who share this vision," he says.
Joining Green as speakers for the LWOP & Lifers portion of the "Voice of Redemption" event are Dara Yin, Allen Burnett and Raymond Sheppard.
The event also includes these presentations:
- "Second Chance" Photography with Cynthia "MIA" Wilkerson
- "Freedom & Redemption: Incarcerated Women Survivors" with Rosa Zamora, Diana Greer, Angie Garcia, Niki Martinez, Nikki Carroll and Ranza Marshall
- "Breaking the Silence: Overcoming Suicide & Mental Health" with Francisco Palacios, Janet Caravan, Fred Griffin and Vicky Sandoval
- Alberto Lule
- "Changing the Narrative Through the Power of Art" with Megan Joy Nakazawa, "Faces of Mass Incarceration"
Learn more about "Voices of Redemption: Amplifying the Voices of Second Chances" at https://www.phoenixariseoc.org/partners-1
