December is the last month of fellowship for our current cohort of Robert “Elder” Freeman Policy Fellows. In their time here, fellows Daniella Dane, Nedric Miller, Nateel Sharma, and Bernice Singh have been critical to our policy work, jumping into leadership roles and proactively strengthening relationships and alliances while learning about the intricacies of state policy. Below, the 2025 fellows reflect on their time at LSPC.
Nedric Miller and Bernice Singh
Being a Ronald “Elder” Freeman Policy Fellow has been a life-altering journey. It’s shown us that the movement is about far more than just organizing and policy. It’s about the shared human experience of cycles of poverty and criminalization that dominate marginalized communities, Black, Brown, and Indigenous communities especially. Each interaction we’ve had while organizing and doing outreach provides a moment of reflection, highlighting the sorrow and pain of seeing individuals trapped in devastating circumstances beyond their control. It resonates within our lived experiences, having personally experienced being lost, holding onto mere fragments of hope, which ultimately built the resilience needed to weather the hardship.
The core of the work with LSPC/AOUON is to magnify change by drawing strength and guidance from the willpower of those who came before. Their efforts pave the way for current actions, allowing new and stable foundations to be built for present-day occupants in their fight against the system aligned with society’s blatant confirmation bias. As fellows, we have learned that every measure has a purpose, and even with many forks and obstacles in the road, the pursuit of justice never ends. Genuine progress, carried out with a pure intent for freedom, requires not only sustained effort but also patience and enduring strength.
The movement for justice, which can be aligned with the efforts of AB 1279 (Pathways to Justice/Juvenile Three Strikes), echoes the fundamental need of every person stuck in a system that has rendered them voiceless. The many with lived experience hear their calls. Generations of strength and spirit, living and resting, reinforce and guide us towards our purpose to bring about truth and change. This is what aligns the foundational pillars of both LSPC and AOUON, ultimately serving as a testament to those who have endured to trust that we are coming and we shall never give up.
Nateel Sharma
The policy fellowship has been incredibly fulfilling and transformative for me. Over the past year, I’ve learned so much about the legislative process: how ideas move, how coalitions form and function, and how real change happens when representatives, community members, directly impacted people, and advocates work together. I had the opportunity to collaborate with elected officials, grassroots organizations, and coworkers who share a deep commitment to justice.
Although I’ve had the privilege of contributing to several policy efforts during my time here, one bill in particular stands out to me—AB 1424, our climate-focused legislation aimed at improving conditions for formerly incarcerated people. This policy is especially meaningful to me because it sits at the intersection of two issues that shape my lived experience and my work: climate resilience and the wellbeing of people returning home from incarceration.
AB 1424 addresses the growing threat of extreme heat by expanding access to cooling resources—such as fans, coolers, and basic heat-safety measures—for individuals who often live in older, unventilated housing and face disproportionate health risks. Being able to contribute to a bill that acknowledges these overlapping vulnerabilities and proposes practical solutions has been deeply important to me. It represents the kind of policy work that not only protects public health, but also affirms dignity for people navigating reentry.
Being part of the fight for formerly incarcerated people and so many others was meaningful and motivating for me. I truly love this work—showing up, pushing systems, and tirelessly fighting alongside people who care about change. This experience strengthened my passion for advocacy, sharpened my skills, and deepened my understanding of how policy is built.
Overall, this fellowship shaped me in ways I didn’t expect, and I’m grateful for the growth, the relationships, and the chance to be part of meaningful change.
Daniella Dane
During my Ronald “Elder” Freeman Policy Fellowship, I grew in ways that reshaped not only my understanding of legislative advocacy and policy work, but also in my sense of awareness and confidence. Before joining LSPC, I often questioned my abilities, academically, professionally, and even personally. Now, as I reach the end of the fellowship, I recognize that the work I produce is not only more than adequate, but deeply needed. It is work I create with care, intention, and love, and realizing that has been one of the most meaningful parts of this entire experience.
Because of my lived experiences, my life has always been rooted in principles of both abolition and reproductive justice. My academic work has focused on legal research at the intersections of race, class, and gender. This fellowship has allowed me to bring all of those commitments together, turning them into concrete legislative and community-based actions. From the start, I was challenged to step into policy spaces with confidence, navigate complex statutes, and engage with coalition partners in thoughtful, strategic ways. Being part of LSPC and All of Us or None allowed me to witness firsthand how collective organizing creates real change and how essential it is for people who are both currently and formerly incarcerated as well as their loved ones and system impacted individuals as a whole to create and shape the laws and policies that affect their lives.
Throughout the year, I contributed to multiple legislative efforts researching, drafting, and analyzing policies like ACA 6, AB 923, AB 1279, and others, also learning how to break down complicated legal language into accessible advocacy tools for the community. One of the most meaningful aspects of my work was building the curriculum for the Family Policing Policy Workshop, where I helped design modules on WIC 300, parental rights, and the history of the family policing system with its roots in slavery and colonization.
These experiences deepened my understanding of the intersections between incarceration, family separation, and structural violence, while giving me practical skills in legislative research, writing, facilitation, leadership, and public engagement.
This fellowship clarified for me that my future is in law and community-centered advocacy. It has strengthened my voice as a policy advocate, expanded my capacity to support families impacted by the carceral state, and affirmed my commitment to fight against systematic oppression through both legislative strategy and grassroots organizing. The relationships I built, the skills I developed, and the communities I served will continue to guide my work long after the fellowship ends, and I will forever be grateful that I was chosen to be a Ronald “Elder” Freeman Policy Fellow.
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