Parole Project’s Impacted Leaders Initiative was born from a simple idea – formerly incarcerated people with leadership potential should have the tools and resources to grow and lead efforts for social change. This year’s inaugural cohort wraps up at the end of 2025 and over the past 11 months, Charles, Christi, Demetricy (Dee), Deidre, and Patrick progressed further into their leadership journeys, bringing lived experience, wisdom, and dedication to each step along the way.
Each fellow received a monthly stipend, ongoing mentorship and support, and participated in an externship with other nonprofits around the country through a grant from the Public Welfare Foundation. But the real currency was connection – building relationships, sharing stories, and imagining futures once thought impossible.
Christi and Dee went to New York in October to work with New Hour for Women and Children, a reentry program led by formerly incarcerated women, enhancing the work Christi currently does with Parole Project and preparing Dee for her new role as a reentry specialist. Their experience offered a powerful sense of belonging.
“We were so welcomed,” Dee said. “We felt immediate belonging and acceptance and a sense of purpose. This gave me a wider perspective – looking at the basic needs of people returning home – housing and healthcare – the things we need to succeed. Reentry begins way before you come home.”
Christi said, “It gave me a deeper appreciation for how far we have come collectively.”
Deidre, a legal mind with a deep dedication for justice, spent a week immersed in the work of the Equal Justice Initiative in Montgomery, Ala. The visit offered community service work, historical education about the legacy of slavery in the U.S., and legal training. Deidre distributed food in an under-resourced Alabama community through EJI’s food justice program and shared her wisdom and experience with young students at a local school.
“It was the best trip I could have gone on,” she said. “So educational. So much history. I traced my family line back to enslavement. It did something for the depths of my soul. I see things differently now. Everything we see now has ties and roots to the past. People don’t want to talk about it, but we have to reckon with our past.”
Charles traveled to Los Angeles to work with the Anti-Recidivism Coalition where he engaged in a mutual exchange of learning and sharing his work experience as an organizer with Voice of the Experienced (VOTE).
“What influenced me is to know this struggle of mass incarceration isn’t just a local issue, it’s nationwide,” he said. “Seeing the similarities and parallels makes me want to dig deeper, fight harder, it’s in California just like it’s in Louisiana.”
He shared his experience of being incarcerated at the Louisiana State Penitentiary and saw how grassroots organizing in the South is leading the way. “This experience also enabled me to see how far we’ve come in our work here.”
Patrick, in lieu of an externship, is preparing to earn his paralegal certificate from Loyola University next year through his role with the Jesuit School Research Institute. He is also preparing to use those skills with the Light of Justice Initiative, providing support to incarcerated people representing themselves in post-conviction proceedings.
Hannah Rose Groedel manages the Impacted Leaders Initiative.
“One of the most powerful lessons this year was witnessing the shift from post-carceral isolation to community rooted in shared values and goals,” Groedel said. “The fellows came from prison environments where they were surrounded by their peers and then stepped into a society that often leaves formerly incarcerated folks unsupported as they navigate transitioning home long term. Through this initiative, they found each other, built trust and mutual support, and collectively imagined visionary futures beyond survival. We experienced the value of play, creativity, and shared purpose. It reminded us that leadership requires relationships, justice requires healing, and that visionary work starts with seeing how far we’ve already come.”
Their biggest takeaway? That healing and leadership are collective pursuits.
“They learned that they could go further together,” Groedel said. The fellows are now shaping next year’s approach, adapting the model according to lessons learned, and preparing to celebrate their graduation in Miami this December.
The Impacted Leaders Initiative isn’t just a program – it’s a movement and community. And Charles, Christi, Dee, Deidre, and Patrick are just getting started.
