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Here are the profiles of some of our members
Adesina Ayokunle Ahmed
Nigeria
Adesina Ayokunle Ahmed is an In-Prison Project Coordinator at the Centre for Legal Support and Inmate Rehabilitation (CELSIR). He holds a degree in History from the University of Ilorin, Nigeria and is currently pursuing a second degree in English Education at the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) through a scholarship he received while incarcerated. With professional experience as a logistics manager for various organisations in Nigeria, Adesina’s true passion lies in education and empowerment of justice-impacted persons. Despite being incarcerated for five years, he served as head teacher, overseeing Correctional education programs in Nigeria. Since his discharge and acquittal, he has coordinated communities of formerly incarcerated scholars, coordinating healing circles, internships, and employment opportunities. He also manages mobile library and supervises education in both Juvenile and Adult correctional centres. His impact has led him to represent the Nigeria chapter of Global Freedom Scholars (GFS) with INN at its 2024 global launch in Brazil. Recently, he was selected by Penal Reform International (PRI) as the first Nigerian and West African representative.
“For me, a fair and effective criminal justice system is one that treats people with dignity and fairness while focusing on rehabilitation, not just punishment. It should give every justice-involved person access to education, skills, and legal support to rebuild their lives. A truly fair system removes stigma, addresses inequality, and ensures that people have real second chances to reintegrate into society as productive and valued citizens. ”
Akosua Akuffo
Lusaka, Zambia
Kaumba Akosua Akuffo is a passionate and enthusiastic human rights advocate who focuses on the reintegration of formerly incarcerated women.
Her passion is derived from her own imprisonment, as she spent months in a correctional facility because of a drug addiction she had for over 10 years. She is the Co-founder and Chief executive officer of an organisation called Tithandizane Comfort Homes that was registered to create agricultural entrepreneurship skills training for formerly imprisoned women as well as advocate for positive change in the justice system. She currently facilitated the training of twelve formerly imprisoned women in digital literacy, entrepreneurship and poultry farming. The outstanding participants are given seed grants. She is also the lead in an Advocacy Campaign called Free her, advancing alongside other CSO’s for women with minor cases to be given non custodial sentences through community service for five years and below sentences. She is also part of the International Network of Formerly Incarcerated Women where she is part of the economic empowerment and changing the narrative work team, which works to source funding for all the organisations in there network.She is currently working to set up a network called Zambia network of people who use drugs in order to help reduce the harm created by abusing substances and prevent women from entering correctional facilities. She is also one of the founders of Formerly Incarcerated Women Africa, working too improve the justice system for women in Africa.
“To me a fair and effective criminal justice system is one that has quick and effective access to justice, and has imprisonment as a last and not a first resort. A society that does not discriminate against formerly incarcerated people but helps them live with dignity and accords them a second chance to start their lives over. ”
Alina Sheyan
Kazakhstan
My professional background is mainly focused on business development, strategic planning and customer service. Life is truly amazing and sometimes the twists and turns of fate are very unexpected, but I believe that every stage of life deserves gratitude for the experience and knowledge gained. Difficult moments teach us to separate important things from the routine and to highlight what needs to be preserved and developed and I guess for a strategist this is a very good skill. I am very enthusiastic about the possibilities of online reality, which nowadays opens up a whole world. Today, at the age of 42, I think that each of us, regardless of age and past mistakes, has many new achievements and paths waiting at our fingertips.
“For me, a fair and effective criminal justice system looks first and foremost like an environment that allows a person to realise their mistake and fundamentally change the attitude towards coexistence with others in the community. It cannot be limited to punishment alone, it will never be effective enough without positive motivation. The system should be about improving the person, but not making them worse, which unfortunately is often the case. Society will not benefit if people come back from imprisonment with a fractured spirit or heightened resentment. It is difficult and it does not always seem fair, but society should also care for those citizens who have made a mistake. ”
Alexei Lakhov
Germany
Alexei brings over 15 years of lived and professional experience in harm reduction, HIV and viral hepatitis prevention, and civil society leadership. Convicted as a young adult for non-violent drug-related offences, he leveraged this firsthand experience to build a career transforming drug policy and supporting communities affected by criminalisation. He has worked with the E.V.A. Network of Women Living with HIV, United Against Hepatitis, and Humanitarian Action, holding roles from communications officer to Director of Development. Since 2020, he has consulted for UNODC, developing initiatives like web outreach for people who use drugs and delivering EECA HIV prevention trainings. Alexei co-founded “Yellow Fence” in 2020-2021 to support professionals working with incarcerated populations. From 2022–2024, he served as NGO Europe Delegate to the UNAIDS Programme Coordinating Board, advocating on issues of criminalisation and incarceration.
Relocated to Germany in 2023, he is now Executive Director of EuroNPUD, promoting dignity, justice, and meaningful participation of people with lived experience in drug policy reform.
“I envision a criminal justice system where incarceration is a last resort, prioritizing prevention, care, and reintegration, dismantling stigma, and transforming justice into a process that uplifts rather than destroys.”
Damien Quinn
Ireland
Damien is the founder of Spéire Nua (New Horizon) which is an award-winning social enterprise start-up based on his personal journey through the criminal justice system. He has developed a new Strengths Based Model of Disclosure to support people exiting a life of crime in their search for opportunities and provides educational services to all prisons in Ireland. Damien also works with Galway Rural Development as their Assistant Team Leader on the Social Inclusion Community Activation Programme supporting people experiencing disadvantage. He is also an Assistant Lecturer in The Technological University of The Shannon in areas of Community Development, Social Enterprise and Innovation, Community Youth Work and Not for Profit Theory and Practice.
“An effective criminal justice system would remove the word criminal and focus on justice more broadly – an idea shared by Leader and friend Gethin Jones. It would eradicate the secondary punishment that people have to live with after being convicted. It would work with the community to create appropriate restorative programmes that benefit both the victim and perpetrator of crime in a more holistic way. It would use Community sanctions far more effectively and would provide opportunities for people to become educated, to retrain and be assisted in their efforts to contribute to society post release. ”
Dieter Cantu
Austria / USA
Dieter Cantu is a justice reform advocate, writer, and social entrepreneur who has dedicated his life to transforming systems that impact youth and communities. Drawing from personal experience in the child welfare and juvenile justice systems, he now works nationally to advance coaching-based models of supervision, expand access to opportunity, and build sustainable community solutions.
“A fair and effective criminal justice system is one that treats people with dignity, prioritises healing, and measures success by opportunities created rather than punishments delivered. It is a system rooted in accountability, but not in shame , one where the response to harm strengthens communities instead of breaking them apart. For me fairness means eliminating racial and economic disparities that have long dictated who enters the system and how they are treated. Effectiveness means investing in prevention, education, and rehabilitation, ensuring that individuals can return to their families and communities with real chances to thrive. A just system listens to the voices of those directly impacted, values their expertise, and builds policies that restore rather than destroy.”
Dwayne Antojado
Australia
Dwayne Antojado is a Lecturer in Sociology and Criminology at the University of South Australia (soon to be renamed ‘Adelaide University’) and a leading scholar on ‘lived experience’ within criminology, penology and criminal legal contexts. Grounded in his own experience with Australia’s criminal legal system, his work and scholarship contributes to the emergent field of lived experience criminology by interrogating how lived experience knowledges unsettle orthodox criminological paradigms and foster epistemic justice. His current work examines the methodological, policy, and normative implications of incorporating lived experience expertise into criminological research, professional practice, and institutional policy. In parallel, his work offers a critical appraisal of the ways ‘lived experience’ can be appropriated, commodified, or collapsed into discourses within criminology without meaningfully and radically disrupting entrenched hierarchies of expertise and power. Collectively, his research seeks to reimagine the production of criminological and penological knowledge through the perspectives who have themselves been criminalised. Dwayne is the co-editor of ‘Beyond Autoethnography: Lived Experience Criminology’ (Routledge, 2025), and co-author of ‘The Role of Lived Experience in Criminal Justice Research, Education, Practice and Activism’ (Routledge, 2026).
“Can there ever be a ‘fair and effective’ criminal justice system? I am doubtful. What passes as ‘criminal justice’ functions, in practice, as a legal machinery that consolidates prevailing power rather than distributing redress; hence the more candid term ‘criminal legal system’. The ethical task is decarceration: to curtail the routine resort to imprisonment as an instrument of social exclusion and discrimination, too often cloaked in appeals to ‘safety’ and ‘community wellbeing’. Our orientation should be abolitionist, not as an instantaneous demand but as a guiding light, pursued through what Ruth Wilson Gilmore calls non-reformist reforms: transformations that shrink the reach, resources, and legitimacy of cages while building the social conditions that render them unnecessary.”
Jimmy Wu
USA
Jimmy Wu is the Executive Director at InsideOUT Writers (IOW), a nonprofit organisation that has historically taught up to nearly 40 weekly creative writing classes inside the Los Angeles County juvenile halls and 9 adult state prisons. In addition, IOW offers reentry services and a youth diversion program. His firsthand experiences of growing up in California detention facilities between the ages of 16 to 29 years old has resulted in him being an advocate for juvenile justice reform. In March 2019, Jimmy was appointed a Commissioner to the Alternatives to Incarceration Work Group (ATIWG) formed by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors. The mission of the ATIWG was, “To provide the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors a Roadmap, with an action-oriented framework and implementation plan, to scale alternatives to incarceration and diversion so care and services are provided first and jail is a last resort.” Jimmy is also a Lecturer at the University of California Los Angeles where he teaches the course, “Arts-in-Correctional Institutions,” through the Visual and Performing Arts Education Program during the Winter quarter. This course walks students through the history of mass incarceration in the United States of America and the importance of providing arts-based programs to individuals incarcerated. Separate from his work at IOW, Jimmy was also a Re-entry Coordinator with Stanford Law School’s Ride Home Program and traveled throughout the United States picking up over a dozen people granted executive clemency through President Barack Obama’s Clemency Initiative.
“A fair and effective criminal justice system recognises the unique root causes behind each individual’s circumstances and ensures that sentencing, when necessary, is equitable and individualised. From the first point of contact with law enforcement through court proceedings and incarceration, all interactions should be guided by restorative, trauma-informed, and healing-centred practices. During incarceration, rehabilitative and educational opportunities must be readily available to foster growth and accountability, while reentry support is essential for successful reintegration. True public safety is achieved not through punishment alone, but by upholding dignity, investing in healing, and creating pathways for individuals to thrive within their communities.”
Kam Stevens
UK
Kam Stevens, FRSA, is a prison reform advocate, filmmaker and Senior Digital Consultant for Grow Transform Belong, whose journey from imprisonment to leadership exemplifies resilience and transformation. After overcoming challenges during his youth, Kam earned a BA (Hons) in Film and Media Arts Production from University Centre Weston as a mature student, where he was named Higher Education Student of the Year 2023/24 by the Association of Colleges, as well as Creative student of the year 2024 UCW. He has collaborated with senior prison leaders, playing a key role in cultural transformation, The Growth Project. As co-founder and Director of the Growth App, Kam is part of a pioneering team that have created a digital solution that empowers individuals to reintegrate successfully into society. A Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (FRSA), he continues to inspire through advocacy, public speaking, and leadership in digital work programmes.
“A fair and effective criminal justice system prioritises rehabilitation over punishment, addressing the root causes of offending through education, mental health support, and employment opportunities. It involves a whole-system approach, including families and victims, holding institutions accountable while promoting equity and second chances. ”
Toni Tulloch
USA
Toni Tulloch is the International Organiser for the International Network of Formerly Incarcerated Women (INFIW), a global movement founded and led by directly impacted women advancing transformative justice across more than 30+ countries on six continents. In this role she builds coalitions, fosters collaboration, and ensures that women with lived experience are leading the fight to end the incarceration of women and girls worldwide.Her commitment to this work is deeply rooted in her own experience. Originally sentenced to 27 years under US conspiracy laws, Toni spent 16 years in federal prison, separated from her young daughter and enduring harsh conditions that left her with permanent health challenges. Though a legal US resident, she was deported to Jamaica upon release, returning to a country she had left as a child. Instead of allowing her story to end there, she rebuilt her life and turned her experience into purpose.
Toni has become an outspoken advocate, author, and storyteller, dedicated to amplifying the voices of women too often silenced by systems of punishment. Through her writing and work with INFIW, she continues to challenge stigma, expose injustice, and inspire change on a global scale.
“A fair and effective justice system must be rooted in humanity and restoration. My voice was once silenced by incarceration. Today I use it to ensure that women and girls are heard, and never forgotten in the struggle for justice.”