We did it! Below is a recap of the our program's inaugural storytelling and commencement event, with more to come out when we get photos back (which requires prison pre-approval). Like those of you who attended, we are still processing the day, but here are some highlights (as shared by our team and comments from audience members)—
After walking through various security checkpoints, entering the chapel filled with festive live music performed by over a dozen talented incarcerated musicians. “I was nervous entering the prison but then it felt like a celebration,” was a common sentiment we heard. 300+ community and incarcerated guests sat together as one audience.
In addition to the diverse audience members at the local, county, and state level, the audience also included family members of incarcerated graduates. Some had not seen their family in years. We even got to see/meet Juan Haines’ brother!
Opening remarks by Jenny Espinoza, Michael Callahan, and Juan Haines. Michael shared his experience in the program, initially as a participant, including sharing the complicated significance of the beautiful oak tree in front of his childhood home.
Welcome from Advisory Board Member W. Kamau Bell, including touching and humorous anecdotes about visiting San Quentin, as well as words about why he got involved in Back to the Start.
Storyshare Group 1: Spotlight on Racism, Drugs, and the Inner City. Jessie Milo got us started with his powerful poem, “Changing the Future”, followed by another piece about him mother’s heroin addiction.
Shoryshare Group 2: Spotlight on Foster Care, Abuse, and Education. Included a reading from Alex Ross about the shame he felt in school and the trouble he got into because he was secretly illiterate, culminating in the poem he wrote (with a drum accompaniment), “Illiteracy Trauma”. Alex still has difficulty reading and seeing him in front of the large audience overcome his fears and insecurities was just indescribable.
Seeing the cute baby/childhood photos of our participants (which served as the backdrop during the story shares).
Health panel and overview of the impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and trauma on individuals and communities. The health panel was consisted of the below panelists. Included Assemblymember Mia Bontareflecting on the stories from the morning and sharing some of her own ACEs as a child.
Jeff Grant, MD – Physician and Surgeon at San Quentin Rehabilitation Center
Palav Babaria, MD, MS – Chief Quality Officer and Deputy Director Population Health Management, Department of Health Care Services (DHCS)
Assemblymember Mia Bonta – California’s 18th District representative (East Bay) and Chair of the Assembly Health Committee
Kristine Madsen, MD, MPH – Pediatrician and Research Scientist at UC Berkeley’s School of Public Health
Lunch Break. Sandwiches from D’s. Conversations in the chapel, hall ,and courtyard between incarcerated individuals, policy makers, and community members. Live music.
Storyshare Group 3: Spotlight on Spanish Speakers and Inclusion (monolingual Spanish speaking group and immigration stories). After introduction by our bilingual facilitator and program co-founder Edwin Chavez, each reader told their story in Spanish (while the audience read the English translations). Edwin putting his hand on Tranquillano Figueroa’s shoulder to offer encouragement (and the audience cheering him on) as he became emotional speaking about some of the cruelty he experienced as a young boy growing up in Mexico.
“Who among us” by Jessie Milo. This piece underscored our common humanity and that everyone in the room has experienced being “in a cage” whether physical or metaphorical.
Shoryshare Group 4: Spotlight on Family Relationships. Closed out with a powerful testimonial and emotional poem by Jason Jackson (with a bass accompaniment).
Reviewing the breakdown of how much it costs to incarcerate our event speakers. Imagine if we spent even a fraction of this on interventions and support their earliest years of life?
Policy Panel, moderated by W. Kamau Bell. Panelists provided professional and personal lessons. Including Assemblymember Dr. Arambula’s comments in Spanish for our monolingual Spanish Speaking incarcerated audience members.
Assemblymember Dr. Joaquin Arambula – California’s 31st Assembly District representative in Fresno County
Chesa Boudin – Executive Director of UC Berkeley's Criminal Law & Justice Center (and former San Francisco District Attorney)
Eric Morrison-Smith— Executive Director of Alliance for Boys and Men of Color (ABMOC)
Assemblymember Sharon Quirk-Silva – California’s 67th Assembly District representative in Orange County
Passing out of certificates provided by Assemblymember Damon Connolly (represents Marin/Sonoma), ending in a standing ovation from the audience.
Filming by Sundance and Emmy Award winning filmmaker Jacob Kornbluth…who hired Back to the Start co-founder and facilitator (now paroled) Brian Asey Gonsoulin to be part of his film crew for the event!
Although it will take a while for the event photos from the event to get approved by the public information officer, we will post them here and on our social media when we get them. In the meantime, we are sharing the baby childhood photos below that we collected that served as the backdrops for our story shares.

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