BOP Community Relations

Today I had the privilege of serving as the keynote speaker at the Community Relations Board meeting at FCC Victorville. I am deeply grateful to Wardens Christian Lepe, Eli Ricolcol, and Veronica Araiza-Ramirez for welcoming me to their institutions and for giving me the opportunity to introduce our program, Preparing for Success after Prison.

This meeting brought together leaders from across San Bernardino County. The purpose was to show how community partnerships and innovative steps can strengthen outcomes inside federal prisons. By hosting this event, the wardens not only highlighted their commitment to positive change but also demonstrated the courage it takes to welcome outside voices like mine into the conversation.

Why Advocacy Requires All Stakeholders

Making presentations like this one is central to my advocacy work. If we want to change the culture of confinement, we must first build alignment:

• Staff Members need to see the profound role they play in shaping the outcomes of the people they supervise.
  
  
• Community Members must be engaged to support and encourage prison leadership in driving reforms.
  
  
• People in Prison need to recognize their responsibility in documenting the deliberate steps they take to prepare for success after release.
  
  

When all three groups buy into this vision, we create the conditions for meaningful reform.

My Message to the Community

During my keynote, I shared how my own journey of change began. While I was in solitary housing, an officer brought me a stack of books. Those books changed my way of thinking. Once my mindset changed, I was able to pursue a deliberate adjustment while serving my sentence.

That lesson continues to guide my work today: change always begins with what we think, and then it extends outward through what we do.

I reminded the audience that it also takes courage for leaders in the Bureau of Prisons to open their doors and allow someone like me to contribute. That courage matters. It signals to the incarcerated population, to staff, and to the community that the BOP is serious about innovation and accountability.

Toward Systemic Change

The goal of Preparing for Success after Prison is bigger than any single event. My hope is that these conversations will advance a larger movement:

• When people in prison work toward self-directed reentry plans, they build a documented record of preparation.
  
  
• When staff members support those efforts, they contribute to a culture of rehabilitation.
  
  
• When policymakers see the evidence, it becomes easier to advance reforms that reward preparation with higher levels of liberty.
  
  

Step by step, this is how we can break intergenerational cycles of recidivism and replace them with pathways to success.

Closing Reflection

I left FCC Victorville today with gratitude—for the wardens who extended the invitation, for the community leaders who showed up to listen, and for the people inside who will benefit from this growing movement.

Every time I speak at events like this, I am reminded that change is possible. By working together, we can create a system that doesn’t just confine people but prepares them to return as law-abiding, contributing citizens. That’s the future I’m striving for, and I’m grateful to everyone who is helping to make it a reality.

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