Shannon served 17 years in prison in the Wisconsin prison system from the ages of 19 to 36. He created The Community in 2014 with the invaluable help of friends and family while finishing his bachelor’s degree in business administration. He is also a graduate student at UW-Milwaukee’s Masters in Sustainable Peacebuilding program, a fellow with the Wisconsin Decarceration Platform, a mentor with Prisons to Professionals, and co-owner of a transportation company. To learn more about his speaking engagements and innovative consulting agency (Paradigm Shyft: Reentry Strategies and Consulting), visit his LinkedIn page below.

Ann is a retired newspaper reporter and Vice President of the Uptown Crossing Neighborhood Association and manages a community garden in Milwaukee.

Jim is a graphic artist, editor, and overall polymath with multiple degrees who spent seven years in the Wisconsin prison system.

Roy is a public speaker, advocate for “juvenile lifers” in the Wisconsin prison system, and an associate of the Wisconsin Alliance For Youth Justice (WAYJ). Roy has over two decades of experience mentoring and counseling youth during his 28 years in prison from the age of 16. He is a graduate of the Madison Area Technical College and certified in Entry Level IT training at the New Horizons Computer Learning Center in Milwaukee and CompTIA ITF. And he also serves as a musician at the Progressive Baptist Church.