Prison to Promise

Ep. 34 Sharif Brown.: BLESSED to Make it Out

On this episode, I am joined by Brother Sharif Brown. Sharif was born and raised in Queens, NY. He is the youngest of nineteen children. Sharif discusses his work as the Program Manager for North Carolina State Reentry [where they provide post-release services to incarcerated people] and the impact his family and faith have on who he is in his personal and professional life.

Ep. 33 Patrice Sulton: Rebellion: Rethinking the Rules

Check out the latest episode of the Prison to Promise podcast with Attorney Patrice Sulton as she talks about the law, policy reform, and criminal justice matters.

Ep. 32 Kardell Simms: Outgrow What You Were Born Into

Kardell overcame poverty, gangs, and prison to become a National speaker, 6x author, master-certified empowerment coach, host of The Re-Entry Journey Podcast, and business owner.After doing state and federal time, Kardell walked out of prison with a blueprint, a plan he put together while incarcerated. Kardell describes his journey as that of an Inmate to an Inspiration. Tune in as Kardell and I chop-it-up, and he shares valuable information he learned and applied to free himself from self-desruction.

Ep. 31 Joseph Kajy: If I Hide my Story I Hide God’s Glory

When Joseph Kajy took opioids for the first time at 15, he thought he had found his life’s calling. From there, his world altered into a grim whirlwind familiar to many people addicted to drugs. He woke up every morning with either one of two questions on his mind: How will I get money for drugs?When will I do drugs? Behind him, he left a trail of destruction that included 37 felonies, two prison sentences, cut family ties, and a rock bottom where suicide seemed like the final solution.Today, Joseph has over 5 years of sobriety under his belt. He is a husband, father, and Founder of Top Fence, a residential and commercial fencing contractor currently generating over 4 Million dollars in sales. He is now on a life mission to share his story as a way to give hope and inspiration to anyone who feels they have demons in their closet and monsters still under the bed.It takes courage, strength, and belief in oneself to escape from the trenches of drug addiction.

Ep. 30 Portia Louder: A Compassionate Journey Through Federal Prison: A Powerful Woman Speaking the Truth

Portia Louder is a formerly incarcerated writer, speaker, photographer, and advocate. Please join Portia and me as she discusses her journey from a life of privilege to serving time in Federal prison. While in prison, Portia describes gaining a greater sense of her self-worth and purpose on earth, and the critical role compassion, grit, and recovery have in helping her [and other incarcerated women] become better versions of the person they were before incarceration.

Ep. 29 Lisa Buscemi: Don’t Ever Count Someone Out

Join Lisa Buscemi and me as she discusses her journey through addiction, incarceration, recovery, relapse, and redemption.Today Lisa is the Director of the Jennifer House, a residence in Rochester, New York, providing post-incarceration hope, healing, and vital support to women returning to the community in Rochester, NY.

Ep. 28 Dante Richardson: We Put All This Together and We Had Nothing

Since emerging from prison, Dante Richardson has been bridging the gap between tech, culture, & community. Dante is a Stanford University award-winning Entrepreneur and a Co-founder of Stooty Technologies, a startup helping creative entrepreneurs and businesses in the creative economy manage their creative assets. Stooty is currently a part of the Launch NY venture development firm’s Founders Go Big program in partnership with JP Morgan.Dante specializes in developing and leading companies as a business strategist focusing on sales development, revenue generation, business commercialization, product management, growth hacking, community building, and Web 3.0 implementation for creative and technology-based companies.

Ep. 27 Divine (aka, Victor Lombard): From Crack to Rap to Tech

Divine describes himself as an Innovative Visionary, Leader, Hip-Hop/Rap Recording Artist, Urban Entrepreneur, Inspirational & Motivational Speaker, Social & Criminal Justice Reform Advocate & Activist, and Actor.Please join Divine and me as he walks us through his journey from crack-to-rap-to-tech.

Ep. 26 Jeffrey Korzenik: It’s Business not Charity

Jeffrey Korzenik is a Chief Investment Strategist and Economic Explorer with over 30 years of experience in the Investment and Management Business. He is also a Criminal Justice Reform Advocate who teaches the business community why and how to hire people with criminal backgrounds. Jeffrey highlights how the business community will continue losing out in this discussion if they keep overlooking this hidden talent pool. He says hiring people with criminal backgrounds "is an investment, not a cost; it's business, not charity."

Ep. 25 Dr. Keesha Middlemass: Convicted and Condemed

Dr. Keesha Middlemass is an Associate Professor at Howard University. Dr. MIddlemass' work centers around prisoner reentry, policy analysis, and food insecurity. I invite you to join Dr. Middlemass and me as we talk about the history of State policies and Federal laws that exclude citizenship and human rights of predominately Black men with felony convictions.