Prison to Promise

Ep. 9 Ruth Utnage: Prison is a Womb or a Tomb

Ruth is a brilliant and resilient transgender woman who was imprisoned for over 10 years in a Washington state prison. During that time, she decided to turn her life around. She loves mathematics, sociology, networking, and public speaking. She’s published many articles on cultural changes on her website, humanme.org, and has helped other writers publish their work as well. Her goal is to educate leaders to recognize, empower and embrace those who have chosen to positively rehabilitate despite incarceration.

Ep. 8 Joshua Kenyon: Adding Value to Myself

Joshua Kenyon spent over half of his life in and out of prison. The last time he was sentenced, the judge served him over 100-years in prison. However, Joshua got his sentence reversed because of his persistent legal maneuvers. While in prison, Joshua began changing how he thought about himself and others. He recognized that his knack for hustling and entrepreneurship could be spun to produce positive outcomes.

Ep. 7 Dellenna Harper: God’s Teardrop

Ms. Harper candidly shares her experiences of enduring and overcoming a life of addiction, prostitution, and incarceration. She provides listeners with a blueprint for escaping the grip of a lifestyle that often has a dramatically tragic ending. 

Ep. 6 Kristie Puckett Williams: Radical Love

After enduring an abusive domestic relationship and being incarcerated while pregnant with twins, Kristie emerged from the belly of the beast to become the Deputy Director for Engagement and Mobilization for the American Civil Liberties Union of North Carolina. Kristie is a fierce freedom fighter who presents a clear and articulate voice demanding freedom, justice, and equality for incarcerated, marginalized, and forgotten people.

Ep. 5 Tanaine Jenkins

After serving two years of incarceration and eight years of community supervision, Ms. Tanaine Jenkins has risen to become an entrepreneur and an instrumental voice and presence to help formerly incarcerated people make good on their Second Chance.

Ep. 4 Connie Chisolm--I flipped all my illegal skills into positive ones

Ms. Connie Chisolm wrote in her biography that she used to be a  career criminal who was allowed to turn her life around after her last arrest on 11/6/2003 thru drug court. She got sent to a long-term residential program (i.e., Liberty Manor) and connected with the Healthy Sisters Soup and Bean works. Connie “flipped all my illegal skills into positive ones” and noted that “these programs gave me confidence and self-esteem.” After 20 years of using drugs and going to jail multiple times, Connie says she learned to be a productive member of society. She became a member of Narcotics Anonymous, held a service position in H&I (hospitals and Institutions), and was able to go back into the jails to carry a message of hope. Once she got hired at Spiritus Christi Prison Outreach, she was able to go into the jails and get PAID for going to jail. Unfortunately, Connie’s addiction spilled over into her family, resulting in her children being incarcerated. Today she has a relationship with all of her family. Her job at the Jennifer House allows her to give women the tools to be successful, where they provide housing and support for all the women that come through the Jennifer House. Today Connie runs a program for housing for the men and women that come through the Jennifer House program. The program provides case management to program participants, even after they move into their apartments, as well as helping with subsidies for their rent.

Ep. 3 I Made it in the Hood (Not Out of the Hood)

Carl "Cee Scott" Scott came up in the streets of Rochester, New York. After serving two prison sentences, he began using Higher Education to understand himself better and help change his life's course. Today Cee works to help young fathers and other men traveling a similar road he once traversed to find their way.

Ep. 2 Path2Redemption

In 1991, at the age of 19, Mr. Young was convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after serving 20 years. On May 15, 2014, after serving 22 years and 5 months in prison, Mr. Young was released on parole. One year after his release, he established his non-profit organization, Path2Redemption. Listen to the practical and spiritual wisdom and insight brother Lester Young has to share about personal transformation and what it takes for successful post-incarceration community reentry.

Ep.1 Dr. Waleed’s Story

Dr. Waleed shares his personal account about the elements that contributed to his incarceration in New York State prison and the steps he took by pursuing Higher Education to turn his life around.

Prison to Promise: Introduction

This segment is an introduction to the soon-to-be-released podcast Prison to Promise. A podcast about creating successful lives after getting out of prison.