White Collar Support Group™ Tuesday Speaker Series: Jim McGreevey, Former NJ Governor & Chair of the NJ Reentry Corporation on Zoom, Apr. 16, 2024, 7 pm ET, 4 pm PT. Start Here™.
We are honored to have Gov. Jim McGreevey as the April speaker in our White Collar Support Group™ Tuesday Speaker Series. Open to all!
Jim serves as the Chairman of the New Jersey Reentry Corporation, which provides critically needed services to assist persons returning from incarceration to successfully reintegrate into society. Those services include the integration of addiction treatment, sober housing, employment and training, identification and legal services, and linkage to Medicaid and medical and behavioral healthcare for formerly incarcerated persons.
The NJRC has ten reentry sites, which are Elizabeth, Hackensack, Jersey City, Kearny (Community Resource Center and The Governor’s Reentry Training and Employment Center), Neptune, New Brunswick, Newark, Paterson, and Toms River. The clients of the NJRC have a 19.7 percent recidivism rate, 10 percent incarceration rate, and annualized rate of employment between 58 percent and 62 percent (seasonally adjusted).
Jim previously served as the Executive Director of the Jersey City Employment and Training Program (JCETP), an agency that administers Jersey City’s employment program. JCETP manages the “One-Stop” workforce training center in Jersey City, as well as administers the federal Workforce Investment Opportunity Act monies, which are targeted in support of employment training for single mothers, displaced workers, the historically disadvantaged, court involved, and unemployed persons.
Having pursued seminary education and training at the General Theological Seminary, Jim served his field education working with formerly incarcerated women and men at Exodus Transitional Ministry in Harlem, New York City. He completed his pastoral care at the former Cabrini hospice and long-term healthcare center.
Jim previously served as New Jersey Governor, State Senator, State Assemblyman, and over ten years as Mayor of Woodbridge, one of New Jersey’s largest municipalities. He also served as Regional Manager, Merck and Company; as Executive Director, NJ State Parole Board; with the NJ Assembly Majority Office; and as Assistant Prosecutor in Middlesex County.
Jim received his bachelor’s degree from Columbia College at Columbia University in 1978. He graduated from Georgetown University with a law degree and was admitted to the bar in 1981. He holds a Master’s of Education from Harvard University and a Master’s of Divinity from the General Theological Seminary. Sponsored by Progressive Prison Ministries/White Collar Support Group™. Start Here™. https://prisonist.org
Jeff Grant’s Remarkable Recovery from Addiction and His Return from Federal Prison, to the Life of the Law
NEW YORK, NY, USA, February 23, 2024. After overcoming a personal battle with addiction to prescription opioids and serving nearly fourteen months in a Federal prison for a white-collar crime, Jeff Grant has emerged with a new purpose. He has founded GrantLaw, PLLC, a law firm in New York City that offers private general counsel services to clients facing or who have previously faced white-collar prosecutions and regulatory proceedings, as well as their companies and families.
Grant’s journey to founding GrantLaw, PLLC has been a long and challenging one. After struggling with addiction and serving time in prison, he has emerged with a new perspective and a desire to help others facing similar challenges. After earning a Master of Divinity from Union Theological Seminary in NYC, he co-founded Progressive Prison Ministries, Inc. and the White Collar Support Group (Greenwich, CT), the world’s first support group devoted to people navigating the white collar criminal justice system. He was reinstated to the New York Bar in 2021. With his unique background and experience, Grant is able to provide a level of understanding and empathy that is often lacking in traditional law firms.
Grant recently was interviewed on the JustPod, the American Bar Association’s Criminal Justice Podcast hosted by lawyers Justin Danilewitz and Geonard Butler. “It takes about 3 hours to drive from Greenwich, Connecticut to the Federal Correctional Institution, Allenwood Low in Pennsylvania. Jeffrey D. Grant knows this because he took that drive on an Easter Sunday in 2006. A lawyer whose life has taken a wrong turn on the road to addiction, Jeff Grant left the upscale life he had cultivated in Connecticut to enter what would be his new home for the duration of his 18-month Federal criminal sentence,” stated Danilewitz. He added, ” Jeff was released from custody in 2007 and was able to recover from addiction, obtain a divinity degree, co-found the world’s first White Collar Support Group and found GrantLaw, PLLC, a law firm providing general counsel services to people navigation the white collar criminal justice system and their families and businesses…”
GrantLaw, PLLC is not your typical law firm. It offers a holistic approach to legal services, taking into account the personal and emotional toll that white-collar prosecutions and regulatory proceedings can have on individuals and their families. The firm also offers support and guidance for companies facing these types of legal challenges, recognizing the impact they can have on the entire organization.
According to New Yorker Staff Reporter Evan Osnos, “Jeff Grant is the real deal… I can’t imagine there is a lawyer in this country more qualified to consider the complex issues facing people prosecuted for white collar crimes and their families.”
Grant’s ultimate goal with GrantLaw, PLLC is to help individuals and companies navigate the complex legal landscape of white-collar crime and regulatory proceedings with compassion and understanding. He hopes to use his personal experience to not only provide legal counsel, but also to inspire and support others who may be going through similar struggles.
Grant is member of the American Bar Association, the New York State Bar Association, the New York City Bar Association, the Federal Bar Association, the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and the Social Impact Entertainment Society. He is also on the Board of Directors of the Legal Action Center (NYC), is Co-Chair of the American Bar Association Criminal Justice Section Reentry & Collateral Consequences Committee, and is a member of the American Bar Association Advisory Committee on Legal Assistance Programs.
For more information on GrantLaw, PLLC and the services they offer, please visit their website at www.grantlaw.com. Grant is also available for interviews and speaking engagements to share his story and discuss the unique approach of his law firm.
White Collar Week Tuesday Speaker Series: Brent Cassity, Author, Public Speaker, Host of Nightmare Success Podcast on Zoom, Mar. 19, 2024, 7 pm ET, 4 pm PT.
We were honored to have Brent Cassity as the March speaker in our White Collar Support Group™ Tuesday Speaker Series. Open to all!
Brent Cassity is an engaging storyteller that has a real-life transformational story. Everyone has built up prisons in their minds. Brent loves speaking to audiences about the 5 strategies he used to survive prison. These tools are excellent to use for your life and business!
Brent is the author of the Book Nightmare Success: Loyalty, Betrayal, Life Behind Bars, Adapting, And Finally Breaking Free: A Memoir. He is the host of the popular podcast Nightmare Success In and Out. He is energized about his new Non-Profit Reentry Company, Nightmare Success Solutions. Brent was a CEO of Forever Enterprises, a national family company, which he grew from a regional company to operating in 22 states. He has been recognized by the national media; TIME, CNN, FORTUNE, Forbes, WALL STREET JOURNAL, cover story of ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT to name a few. HBO even did a documentary The Young and the Dead that spawned the popular HBO Series Six Feet Under.
Just when he thought he had it all, he lost it all and found himself standing at the Gates of Leavenworth to serve a 5-year sentence. What happens when your worst fear becomes your reality? He has coined the phrase “Nightmare Success” because everything you want is on the other side of fear. How did the one thing that Brent most feared…the one thing he said would never happen to him…happen?
White Collar Support Group™ 400th Meeting, Mon. Feb. 19, 2024, 7 pm ET, 4 pm PT. Info at Http://prisonist.org
We highly recommend Brent Cassity’s podcast, Nightmare Success, in which he interviews justice-impacted people from all walks of life. He is a White Collar Support Group member with a mission to be of service to our community. Please check it out on Spotify at or on your favorite podcast platform.
Watch Our New Start Here™ Video. White Collar Support Group™ 400th Meeting, Mon., Feb. 19, 2024, 7 pm ET, 4 pm PT
Progressive Prison Ministries, Inc., the world’s first ministry devoted to serving people prosecuted for white collar crimes and their families, will hold its 400th weekly White Collar Support Group™ meeting online on Zoom this Monday, February 19, 2024, 7 pm ET, 4 pm PT. It is open to those directly justice-impacted only. Newcomers should register at prisonist.org/contact.
WEST PALM BEACH, FL, February 13th: Progressive Prison Ministries, Inc., the world’s first ministry devoted to serving people prosecuted for white collar crimes and their families, will hold its 400th weekly White Collar Support Group™ meeting online on Zoom this Monday, February 19, 2024, 7 pm ET, 4 pm PT. It is open to those directly justice-impacted only. Newcomers should register at prisonist.org/contact.
Co-founded by husband and wife, ordained minister and white collar attorney, Jeff Grant (Jeffrey D. Grant, Esq.) and Lynn Springer in Greenwich, CT, the White Collar Support Group™ held its first meeting online in 2016. Since then, over the past 8 years, the support group has had over 900 participants from the United States, Canada, Mexico, Europe, Israel, South America and the Caribbean.
Progressive Prison Ministries’ goal is to provide practical information, and spiritual and emotional support, to those who are feeling alone, isolated, and hopeless while navigating the white collar criminal justice system. Its objective is to provide guidance in finding a path to a healthy, reinvented life on the other side of what may seem like insurmountable problems.
Meetings are held online weekly on Mondays on Zoom beginning at 7 pm ET, 4 pm PT and last approximately 75 minutes. Each meeting is centered on a relevant topic such as preparing for prison, family issues, finances, careers after prison, conquering fear, mental health and substance abuse, etc. Members are given the opportunity to reflect on and share their experiences, to ask questions, and are encouraged to embrace group newcomers. The support group continues to grow with each weekly gathering.
“The White Collar Support Group™ ’s purpose is bring people out of the isolation that is destroying them, and into a supportive community that provides solutions. At the end of the day, if we can help people untangle themselves from their myriad problems and find a clear path to a successful, productive and joyous life, that’s a success story,” said Grant. “We have found that things go much easier, and better outcomes can be reached, when people with white collar criminal justice issues reach out to us early in their journeys – when they make us their first call – before they’ve made too many mistakes and used up too much of their precious resources. It’s the reason why, to celebrate our 400th meeting and the beginning of our ninth year, our new outreach initiative is called, ‘Start Here™’,” Grant added.
White Collar Support Group™ Deputy Director William Livolsi (Bill) agrees. Livolsi pointed out, “we don’t give advice; we share our collective experience. We have hundreds of support group members who give of themselves freely and share their time and resources with each other. It’s a beautiful, and extremely helpful, way to learn, grow, and get through the most difficult times of families’ lives.”
The support group and community have been featured in many national and regional media, including the New Yorker, Entrepreneur,Reuters, Forbes and Greenwich Magazine, as well as major podcasts such as The Rich Roll Podcast. Grant has also been a Main Stage presenter at prestigious conferences such as The Nantucket Project. In addition to being a popular interviewee, Grant has helped thousands of his community members navigate their past and push towards re-establishing themselves as productive contributors to society.
With both Law and Master of Divinity degrees, Grant provides a unique perspective of understanding about what community members are coping with and facing ahead of them. Grant himself spent almost 14 months in a Federal prison for a white collar crime he committed in 2001. In 2021, Grant’s law license was reinstated by the New York Supreme Court (GrantLaw.com).
According to Evan Osnos, writer/reporter for The New Yorker, “Jeff Grant is the real deal… I can’t imagine there is a lawyer in this country more qualified to consider the complex issues facing people prosecuted for white collar crimes and their families.”
Former Philadelphia District Attorney Seth Williams, who served time in a Federal prison and is a member of the White Collar Support Group™ , said, “the group is a network of welcoming, non-judgmental, and understanding men and women who share their similar experiences in an open and nurturing environment.”
Complementing the weekly meetings is a blog on the ministry’s widely regarded site, prisonist.org, where materials are published for community members to learn more about white collar criminal justice issues. Its White Collar Week podcast has also become a critical source for this community, providing a platform for sector experts and for those that have gone through the journey. Guests have included current and former politicians, financial executives, white collar criminal defense attorneys, federal agents, judges, Hollywood producers and more.
About Progressive Prison Ministries: Established in 2013 in Greenwich, CT, Progressive Prison Ministries is the world’s first ministry devoted to serving people prosecuted for white collar crimes and their families. More information is available on its website at prisonist.org. Start Here™.
In this insightful episode of The Lawyer Millionaire Podcast, host Darren Wurz sits down with Jeff Grant, a remarkable figure in the legal field who has turned his tumultuous journey into a beacon of hope for others.
Beyond his personal struggles in the past- a past riddled with opioid addiction, financial turmoil, and professional misconduct, Jeff shares how he was able to launch a renewed law practice that’s not only thriving but helping individuals navigate the daunting waters of white-collar prosecution.
Jeff’s story is not just a testament to personal resilience; it’s an incredibly relevant narrative for law firm owners on structuring a business that aligns with their values and the modern world’s demands.
Jeff Grant is on a mission. After a hiatus from practicing law, Jeff has founded the law firm of GrantLaw, PLLC, is once again in private practice in New York City and is committed to using his legal expertise and life experience to benefit others.
GrantLaw, PLLC, is a new type of law firm providing private general counsel services to clients facing, who have previously faced, or who could possibly be facing white collar prosecutions and/or regulatory proceedings, and their companies and families. In this role, Jeff and his team assist clients in making critical and timely business and family decisions, and in executing on them, so that they have the best chance to come out the other side with lives of purpose, meaning and success.
He also provides a broad range of legal services, all in a highly attentive, personalized manner. These include private general counsel, white collar crisis management, strategy and team building, services to family-owned and closely-held businesses, and support to special situation and pro bono clients. He practices in New York and on authorized Federal matters, and works with local co-counsel and criminal defense counsel to represent clients throughout country.
For more than 20 years, Jeff served as managing attorney of a 20+ employee law firm headquartered in New York City and then Westchester County, New York. The firm’s practice areas included representing family-owned and closely-held businesses and their owners, business and real estate transactions, trusts and estates, and litigation. Jeff also served as outside general counsel to large family-owned real estate equities and management and brokerage organizations.
Jeff is admitted to practice law in the State of New York, and in the Federal District Courts for the Southern District of New York and the Eastern District of New York. He is a member of the American Bar Association, the New York State Bar Association, the New York City Bar Association, the Federal Bar Association and the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.
Guiding people forward in their lives
After an addiction to prescription opioids and serving almost 14 months in Federal prison (2006–07) for a white collar crime he committed in 2001, Jeff started his own reentry. He earned a Master of Divinity from Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York, majoring in Social Ethics. After graduating, Jeff was called to serve at an inner city church in Bridgeport, CT as Associate Minister and Director of Prison Ministries. He then co-founded Progressive Prison Ministries, Inc. (Greenwich, CT), the world’s first ministry devoted to serving the white collar justice community. On August 10, 2023, Jeff celebrated 21 years of sobriety.
An ordained minister, Jeff has more than three decades of experience in crisis management, business, law, reentry, recovery (clean & sober 20+ years), plus executive and religious leadership. He works frequently with people prosecuted for white collar crimes (and their families) who want to emerge from isolation and join a supportive community. In this role he helps them navigate their journey through the criminal justice system to new, ethical, productive, joyful lives on the other side of their issues.
Sometimes referred to in the press as “The Minister to Hedge Funders,” Jeff regularly uses his experience and background to guide people forward in their lives, relationships, careers, and business opportunities — and help them avoid making the kinds of decisions that resulted in loss, suffering, and shame.
Service and more service
A verified Psychology Today professional, he also serves on the ministry team at St. Joseph Mission Church (Cliffside Park, NJ) and as Chaplain to the Woodbury Fire Department (Woodbury, CT).
From 2016–2019, Jeff served as Executive Director of Family ReEntry, Inc. (Bridgeport, CT), a 100+ person criminal justice organization with offices and programs in eight Connecticut cities. Jeff is the first person in the United States formerly incarcerated for a white collar crime to be appointed Executive Director of a major criminal justice nonprofit.
Jeff has served on numerous criminal justice-related Boards. They include the Legal Action Center (New York, NY), Co-Chair, American Bar Association Criminal Justice Section Reentry & Collateral Consequences Committee, (Washington, DC), American Bar Association Lawyers Assistance Programs Advisory Commission (Chicago, IL) , Co-Chair, Mayor’s Advisory Council on Reentry Affairs (Bridgeport, CT), Family ReEntry (Bridgeport, CT), Community Partners in Action (formerly the Connecticut Prison Association, Hartford, CT), and Healing Communities Network (New York, NY). He has also served on the Advisory Boards of Creative Projects Group (Los Angeles, CA) and Reentry Survivors (Bridgeport, CT).
Recognition and more recognition
Jeff was twice selected a Nantucket Project Scholar (2012, 2014) and was recognized by JustLeadershipUSA as one of 15 Inaugural National Leaders in Criminal Justice (2015). He was selected a Keepers of the Commons Fellow (2017) and a Keepers of the Commons Senior Fellow (2018). Jeff has been the recipient of the Elizabeth Bush Award for Volunteerism (2011), received the Bridgeport Reentry Collaborative Advocate of the Year Award (2013, 2014, 2015), and was selected the Bridgeport Reentry Collaborative Professional of the Year (2016, 2017, 2018, 2019). He has also been recognized by the Connecticut Coalition Against Domestic Violence (2017) and by the Connecticut NAACP (2017), and was selected a 2019 Collegeville Institute Writing Fellow.
A Professional Member of the National Speakers Association, Jeff is an in-demand keynote speaker, panelist, moderator, and guest preacher. Speaking venues include Main Stage Presenter at The Nantucket Project (Nantucket, MA), American Bar Association Criminal Justice Conference (Washington, DC), Association of Certified Fraud Examiners Webinar (December 2022), the Greenwich Leadership Forum (Greenwich, CT), the Corrections Ministries and Chaplains Association (CMCA) Correctional Ministry Summit (Wheaton College, IL and Philadelphia, PA), Delaware Trust Conference (Wilmington, DE), Salons at Stowe — Harriet Beecher Stowe Center (Hartford, CT), Community Health Network of Connecticut Social Determinants of Health Summit (Wallingford, CT), The Neighborhood Project (Greenwich, CT), U.S. Small Business Administration Conference (Fairfield, CT), Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York (NY, NY), Yale Divinity School (New Haven, CT).
Jeff has also spoken at many universities, colleges, and religious institutions across the country. For information or to book Jeff to speak, guest preach, or for a panel or other presentation, please see his e-speakers profile here.
Magazines, radio, television, podcasts, books
Jeff has authored, been the subject of, or been prominently mentioned in many national and regional publications. They include The New Yorker (Aug. 2021), Entrepreneur (Sept. 2021 & Apr. 2020), Bloomberg Law (Oct. 2021), Wells Street with CNBC’s Jane Wells (Oct. 2021), Reuters (May 2021), American Bar Association Criminal Justice Magazine (Spring 2021), Business Insider (July 2021), Forbes (July 2020), Philadelphia Inquirer (Oct. 2020), Vanity Fair (Aug. 2019), Greenwich Magazine (Mar. 2018), Law360, Inc., Medium, The Huffington Post, Absolute Return/HedgeFund Intelligence, Institutional Investor, CFO Dive, New York Magazine, Real Men Real Faith Magazine (cover story), Fairfield County Business Journal, Nonprofit Quarterly, Reentry Central, The Vision (the newspaper of the United Methodist Church NY Conference), Weston Magazine Group, Weston Forum, Hartford Courant, New Haven Register, New Haven Independent, Inner City News, Connecticut Post, Greenwich Sentinel, Greenwich Time, Greenwich Free Press, The Hour and others. Jeff authored a chapter in the book, Suicide and Its Impact on the Criminal Justice System (2021), served on the Editorial Board of the book The Justice Imperative: How Hyper-Incarceration has Hijacked the American Dream (2014), and was prominently mentioned/quoted in the books Wildland: The Making of America’s Fury (2021), Trusted White Collar Offenders: Global Case Studies of Crime Convenience (2021) and the Teal Book of Wisdom (2022).
He has been featured or interviewed on many radio shows, televisions segments and podcasts. They include the Rich Roll Podcast (# 644 November 2021, #440 May 2019), The Confessional with Nadia Bolz-Weber (May 2021), The Sydcast (October 2021), Newsy (October 2021), Business Talk with Jim Campbell (June 2021), Tha Yard Hangout (June 2021), the Colin McEnroe Show on WNPR (October 2019), The Same 24 Hours podcast with Meredith Atwood (March 2020), the Fraud Stories podcast (September 2020), the Taxgirl Podcast (July 2020), Landmark Recovery Radio (November 2020), Clara CFO podcast with Hanna Smolinski (January 2021), and Founders Focus podcast with Scott Case (April 2021), among others.
Jeff is also editor of the important, widely-read website and blog prisonist.org, for which he authors, edits, and curates content around national and international criminal justice advocacy/ministry issues. He also co-hosts the Criminal Justice Insider podcast, hosts the White Collar Week podcast, and leads a weekly online confidential White Collar Support Group (the first in the country). The group, which has had more than 650 participants, held its 350th weekly online meeting in March 2023.
White Collar Week Tuesday Speaker Series: Miriam Baer, Author of the Book, “Myths and Misunderstandings in White Collar Crime”, on Zoom, Dec. 12, 2023, 7 pm ET, 4 pm PT.
We are honored to have Miriam Baer as the December speaker in our White Collar Support Group Tuesday Speaker Series. Open to all!
Myths and Misunderstandings in White Collar Crime uses real world examples to explore the pathologies that hamper our ability to understand and redress white-collar crime. The book argues that several misinterpretations about white-collar crime continue to impede its enforcement, including: its failure to be classified according to degrees of severity in many jurisdictions; its failure to statutorily parse groups of defendants into major and minor players; and the failure of statutes to effectively define crimes, leading to the prosecution of ‘unwritten’ crimes. Miriam Baer offers a step-by-step framework, informed by theories of institutional design and behavioral psychology, for redressing these misunderstandings through ‘code design,’ or paying greater attention to how we write, frame, and lay out our federal criminal code, as a roadmap to more coherent and useful laws. A clearer, subdivided criminal code paves the way for a discussion of white-collar crime unmarred by myths and misunderstandings.
Miriam Baer is the Vice Dean and a Centennial Professor of Law at Brooklyn Law School. During the 2021-22 academic year, she was a Visiting Fellow at Harvard University’s Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics, where she worked on her forthcoming book, Myths and Misunderstandings of White-Collar Crime (Cambridge University Press, forthcoming).
Dean Baer writes and teaches at the intersection of business and criminal law. She is an elected member of the American Law Institute, where she served as an Adviser on the ALI’s Principles of the Law of Compliance, Enforcement and Risk Management. Before academia, Dean Baer served as an assistant general counsel for compliance with Verizon and was also an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Criminal Division of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York.
Baer is often quoted by major media outlets on issues of federal and white-collar crime. She has published widely, including in the Columbia Law Review, Virginia Law Review, Texas Law Review, Michigan Law Review, Minnesota Law Review, and the Yale Law Journal Forum. She is also a co-editor of a leading white-collar crime casebook and has had her work featured and cited by several federal appellate courts.
In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her family and her mini-labradoodle, Lucy.
We held a lunch and learning session with the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and the U.S. Pardon Attorney to raise awareness about the impact of restitution, share how restitution for many is a “life sentence,” and advocate for commutation of restitution. After our session with the NACDL, the NACDL contacted attorney David B. Smith, Esq. (a recent White Collar Week speaker) based on our recommendations.
David Smith and Jim Felman drafted the Fairness in Restitution Act. The NACDL Board approved the FIR Act. Two weeks ago, we received the final version (now available for review). Our supporters are currently the NACDL, The Federal Defenders, and Progressive Prison Ministries.
I am the legislative committee chairwoman of the campaign and have worked extensively with David Smith and the NACDL. Elise Roper is the Remission Now chairwoman. Cassandra Cean-Owens and Roxanne Jackson are invaluable members of the legislative committee.
We are all members of the Remission Now Campaign, and we are serving a “life sentence” due to oppressive and unfair restitution requirements.”
Bios:
Tanya R. Pierce, MBA: is a co-Founder of the RemissionNow campaign and was appointed by Dr. Topeka K. Sam, Founder of The Ladies of Hope Ministries (LOHM), to lead the strategic and legislative planning. Tanya is the Founder of Life Unbolted, which supports people impacted by the federal carceral system. She created the Young Adult Initiative (YAI), a peer-led training, mentoring, coaching, and accountability cohort-style training for federally impacted individuals aged 18-24. The program collaborates with the U.S. District Court – Eastern District of New York (EDNY) Special Options Services (SOS) Program. In 2022, she received the Department of Justice (DOJ) Token for participating as a credible messenger in the U.S. Attorney Office EDNY Inaugural Reentry Simulations and Federal Bureau of Prisons (FBOP) contracted Residential Reentry Center (RRC) Forum. She was a contributing Stakeholder of the Coordination to Reduce Barriers to Reentry: Lessons Learned from COVID-19 and Beyond: Report to Congress from the Reentry Coordination Council: April 2022.
Tanya has over 20 years of experience in real estate development. She holds a certificate in paralegal studies from CUNY Queens College, a certificate in JTC: Python Coding 3.9 from Columbia Business School. She is a NY Certified Peer Specialist. Tanya is a vocal federal criminal justice reformist.
Roxane Jackson: Roxanne is a dynamic and accomplished professional with a vibrant, engaging personality. She received her formative education in the Chicago Public Schools. She earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from National Louis University in Evanston, Illinois, and obtained her law degree from The John Marshall Law School in Chicago, Illinois. Ms. Jackson has amassed over (30) years of senior management and human resources experience with numerous not-for-profits and Fortune 500 companies, such as FOX, L’Oreal USA, Mars Inc., and Omar Medical Supplies.
Her engaging demeanor gives her the ability to captivate, teach, and entertain audiences with her infectious enthusiasm, unique delivery, and thought-provoking content. Roxanne is currently the Midwest Regional Director of a national organization. Roxanne is building coalitions in the Midwest to address legislative changes needed to provide true second chances to those impacted by the criminal justice system.
Elise Dixon-Roper: a co-founder of the RemissionNow campaign, was a managing partner in a small minority law firm in Chicago when she was indicted in 2012 for mail fraud. Prior to her sentencing, Elise had practiced law for 20 years. In 2015, Elise was sentenced to 15 months, serving 9 months in Lexington, KY. In 2021, Elise reached out to Dr. Topeka K. Sam, Founder of the Ladies of Hope Ministries (LOHM) to see how she could help her and several of her friends with restitution. The Fairness in Restitution (FIR Act) is a result of this group’s perseverance in trying to help the thousands of people who are stuck in a life sentence due to restitution. Elise is currently an Operations Manager for a consulting/insurance firm in Chicago. Her main goal now is to obtain remission and to help pass the FIR Act.
Cassandra Cean-Owens: a co-founder of the RemissionNow Campaign and former litigation, transactional, and managing attorney was sentenced to 87 months in federal prison, resulting in her disbarment by the New York State Bar. Her release to home detention in May 2020 amidst the COVID pandemic ignited her passion for criminal justice reform. Cassandra, now under federal supervision, is deeply committed to contributing positively to society. During her time at Danbury Federal Prison Camp, she instructed legal research and writing classes, founded the prison’s law library, and crafted the curriculum for the United States Department of Labor Legal Secretary Apprenticeship Program. Cassandra’s multifaceted life includes serving as a licensed practical nurse on weekends, a Sunday School Bible Teacher for adults, and a former chaplain for the New York City Police Department. She co-designed Columbia Law School’s Paralegal Pathway Program and serves as its program Ambassador, reflecting her unwavering commitment to making a meaningful difference in the world. Cassandra resides in New York with her husband Isaih R. Owens, Esq., and nine-year-old daughter.
Background Restitution is intended to be a compensatory, not punitive, component of a defendant’s sentence after a conviction. Too often, however, the restitution imposed is unfairly onerous, disproportionate to the harm actually caused by the person, and unsupported by evidence. Even after a person has served their prison sentence, many restitution orders make it difficult for a person to start their life again, to care for their family and dependents, and even to make the required restitution. Many people who have served short sentences for crimes are burdened years and even decades later by restitution requirements. Restitution can become a “life sentence.”
Summary The FIR Act would improve federal restitution law by: Ensuring fairness, proportionality, and accuracy in the amount of restitution owed.
Require that the Government show actual loss sustained by a victim as a direct and proximate result of the defendant’s actions.
Eliminate joint and several liability and ensure that defendants are only responsible for compensating harms they themselves caused.
Hold an evidentiary hearing for proving or disproving the amounts included in a restitution order. Preventing restitution obligations from becoming overly onerous or lengthy.
Change the statutory period of liability to pay a fine from 20 years to 10 years and preventing extensions, which current law does not allow for but were sometimes permitted by courts.
Allow courts to consider the economic circumstances of a defendant so that defendants are not burdened with unfair and unrealistic burdens.
Prevent the seizing or garnishing of wages, benefits, or certain other amounts if it would leave the defendant assets that would qualify them for the appointment of counsel under federal guidelines.
Allow defendants to petition for a change in their restitution order if their economic circumstances change.
Allow defendants to keep small amounts of money made outside of wages and benefits, such as small gifts or inheritances. Helping victims recover while also helping defendants avoid burdensome debts.
Require that any amounts collected by the Government first go to satisfaction of a restitution order, in cases where both restitution and forfeiture are required.
Allow settlements of outstanding restitution obligations which would guarantee an amount of restitution for victims while removing a burden from the defendant.
Exempt any reduction in restitution amount owed from being counted as income for income tax purposes.
“Join us in this week’s episode as we discuss what he has learned along the way about relationships, work ethic, service, God, addiction, prison, and sobriety. This is a deep dive into how to love, tell your truth, and live a meaningful spiritual life in service to others.”
“Over 20 million people are suffering right now from substance abuse, often in silence. This secrecy around addiction creates shame which then increases the addiction, which then increases the shame.
This vicious cycle can only be broken if we first break the stigma of addiction and the silence and shame that perpetuates it. This week’s guest on the Cracking Open podcast is Jeff Grant, and he’s here to do just that.
After a basketball injury, Jeff was prescribed opioids for the pain and thus began his slippery slope into substance dependency. His growing addiction led Jeff down a path filled with secrecy and lies that ultimately caused the loss of his law firm, a suicide attempt, a felony fraud conviction, and a federal prison sentence.
This cracking open moment radically awakened Jeff’s life and soul. After being released from prison, Jeff earned his Master of Divinity, served at an inner-city church in Bridgeport, Connecticut as Associate Minister and Director of Prison Ministries, and then co-founded Progressive Prison Ministries, Inc. – the world’s first ministry dedicated to serving people navigating the white-collar criminal justice system.
Jeff’s law license has since been reinstated, and he once again founded a private law practice in New York City where he is committed to using his legal expertise and life experience to benefit others. He also recently celebrated his 21st year of sobriety.
Join us in this week’s episode as we discuss what he has learned along the way about relationships, work ethic, service, God, addiction, prison, and sobriety. This is a deep dive into how to love, tell your truth, and live a meaningful spiritual life in service to others.”
