Meet Our Staff

Executive Director

Paul Briley

Paul Briley is the Executive Director of Legal Services for Prisoners with Children. Paul focuses on fines & fees among other legal monetary sanctions that burden formerly incarcerated individuals and disproportionately impact low-income people and communities of color. He grew up in the Bayview-Hunters Point district of San Francisco, a community that has seen its fair share of social problems over the years. 

As a child Paul was displaced by the foster care system and subsequently fell into a deep cycle of recidivism. The juvenile dependency court deployed him to a military boarding school for troubled youth. This instilled a great deal of consciousness and respect for different people and different places, but it also sparked an immense amount of curiosity and concern within. The majority of individuals confined were impacted by public policy. 

After aging out of foster care Paul became politicized through Project Rebound and learned how to use his carceral experience as a catalyst for change in social justice. He attended San Francisco State University and became an advocate for system impacted students on campus. He transferred to the University of California, Berkeley and became a student ambassador for the Berkeley Underground Scholars, a student-led organization of formerly incarcerated students on campus working to expand the prison to school pipeline. During undergrad, Paul noticed significant differences that distinguish one community from another and how social programs, public policy laws, and monetary allocations create these community distinctions. He explored how multiple areas of study intersect with one another and majored in interdisciplinary studies with a specific goal in mind, ​utilize the inside knowledge of institutions and systems currently in place to help people from marginalized groups. 

All of Us or None presented an opportunity in 2019 to become a Ronald Elder Freeman Policy Fellow. He was trained to become a community organizer and policy advocate for formerly incarcerated and convicted people as well as their families. During his fellowship, Paul helped draft the language for ACA 6 which restored the right to vote to 50,000 people on parole in California. He also helped lead the People over Profits campaign in San Francisco, an ordinance change that required the City and its vendors to stop generating revenue from incarcerated people and their loved ones. San Francisco became the first city in the nation to make jail phone calls free and end the markup of commissary items in the county Jail. The victory in San Francisco permeated throughout California influencing larger legislation cosponsored by LSPC making phone calls free inside of all CA state prisons. 

The People over Profits ordinance was an important change but it didn’t help people who still lacked the funds to purchase from the commissary. To go a step further, Paul created the Commissary Allowance Program in San Francisco, which allows incarcerated people who lack financial support to receive a small monthly allowance to pay for basic necessities. This is the first program of its kind in the country.

Paul extends his efforts to those who have fallen victim to social forces and will work to reconstruct the policies that have allowed this to happen. Unbound by the institutions of previous order, he is creating an alternative discourse independently of the dominant social group. Paul has an insatiable appetite for resilient truth, obtaining knowledge that produces solutions, and creating ways to sustain institutional change. 

Managing Director

Dr. Tanisha Cannon

[Tah knee sh A] She/Her

Dr. Tanisha Cannon is a dedicated and compassionate advocate for social justice, committed to making a lasting impact on the lives of prisoners and their children. As the Managing Director of Legal Services for Prisoners with Children, she brings a wealth of knowledge and experience in the fields of education, sociology, criminal justice, and public administration.

Dr. Cannon earned her Doctorate in Educational Leadership with a focus on social justice from California State East Bay in May 2023. Prior to that, she pursued her undergraduate studies in sociology and completed a Master’s in Public Administration. Her academic background has provided her with a comprehensive understanding of the complex issues surrounding underserved communities and the criminal justice system.

Dr. Cannon’s passion for creating positive change stems from her personal experiences. Having witnessed firsthand the effects of the criminal justice system on her own family, with her mother, brothers, and grandfather all experiencing incarceration, she is deeply committed to challenging the status quo. As a juvenile, she also faced direct impacts from the system, giving her a unique perspective and a sense of urgency to work towards systemic reform.

Throughout her career, Dr. Cannon has actively engaged with underserved communities. She dedicated her time and expertise at the Oakland Housing Authority, where she worked tirelessly to address the needs of marginalized populations. Additionally, her role as a Cultural Strategist with the City of Oakland allowed her to collaborate with government officials and community leaders to develop initiatives promoting equity and inclusion.

She believes in the power of civic engagement and community organizing to drive meaningful change. Her dedication to empowering individuals and creating systemic solutions sets her apart as a leader in her field.

Dr. Cannon firmly believes that her works at LSPC should be organized around principles of caring, compassion, love, and humanity. Drawing inspiration from the concept of Ubuntu—a Zulu South African philosophy of humanism—she recognizes that while individuals have diverse lived experiences, their shared humanity is the foundation for affirming and validating their voices. She strives to prioritize the human element in her work, placing greater emphasis on the stories, experiences, and perspectives of individuals rather than reducing them to mere numbers and charts.

By incorporating these principles into her role as Managing Director, Dr. Cannon ensures that her work is guided by empathy, respect, and a commitment to amplifying marginalized voices. She seeks to create a space that recognizes and values the inherent dignity and worth of every individual, fostering an environment that promotes equity, justice, and positive change.

Dr. Cannon will continue to champion the cause of justice and support the families impacted by incarceration. Her tireless efforts, combined with her extensive knowledge and personal experiences, make her a compassionate and effective advocate for systems change.

AREAS OF EXPERTISE: Community Engagement, Organizational Structure, Intimate Inquiry (Qualitative Data), and Strategic Planning 

Director of Development & Communications

Gillian Henry

(She/Her)

Gillian, pronounced like gills on a fish, is a small person with a big personality. As the new Director of Development & Communications, she brings to LSPC a strategy-oriented mindset and a diverse portfolio, from securing multi-million dollar government grants for an education nonprofit to grassroots fundraising and event planning at an economic justice organization in the East Bay. She also helps run her dad’s movement business and is on the board of Community Women’s Orchestra in Oakland. 
A mixed-race, queer, first-generation immigrant and college graduate, she is passionate about gender equity, work-life balance, disability rights, the Asian American experience, and all things carbs. Gillian loves to read and write in both her personal and professional lives, and relishes a beautifully crafted sentence. Some of her many pursuits include dancing, cooking, gardening, doing Pilates, organizing by color, sewing, fostering cats, and reading memoirs.

Staff Attorney

Eric Sapp

Eric C. Sapp spent his youth in New Jersey. He received a Bachelor of Arts with Highest Honors from the University of Virginia as well as a Juris Doctor from Yale Law School, where he focused on constitutional law, jurisprudence, and international human rights, and where he also worked on asylum in the immigration law clinic. In the private practice of law, he represented defendants in protest-related civil and criminal misdemeanor cases, among other areas of law. He has done extensive graduate studies (ABD) at Stanford University’s Program in Modern Thought and Literature, where his dissertation research focused on the juridical structure of the so-called War on Terror during the Bush II and Obama eras, including regarding issues of arbitrary detention, torture, extrajudicial killing, and expansive criminalization based on terrorism-related designations. Additionally, he has published articles on the comparative history of philosophy. 
As an activist, he has been especially involved in the (overlapping) anti-imperialist and peace movements. Eric believes that all prisoners are political prisoners.

Development Manager

Bruno de Sousa

Bruno de Sousa is the Development Manager at Legal Services for Prisoners with Children. A purpose-driven leader, Bruno brings over four years of nonprofit development experience across a range of human services organizations. His philanthropic journey began during his undergraduate years at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, where he held leadership roles in both a fraternity and a dance marathon organization supporting local children’s hospitals.

Bruno’s expertise lies in a strategic approach to donor stewardship, data analytics, and nonprofit financial strategy—skills he continues to hone as he pursues an MBA in Business Analytics at the University of San Francisco. He is passionate about using data and technology to drive equity-focused impact and long-term social change.

A first-generation immigrant from Brazil, Bruno’s leadership is rooted in resilience, service, and a deep commitment to creating pathways for underrepresented communities. Outside of work, Bruno finds joy in dancing, music, and movies. During the week, he unwinds with solo walks and home-cooked meals; on weekends, he embraces the “work hard, play hard” mantra by hosting dinner parties, attending concerts, and gathering with friends. At his core, Bruno is guided by strong values around family, community, care, and connection.

Director of Finance & Operations

Mei Lia Storelee

My name is Mei Lia. I was born and raised in the Bay Area. I am formerly incarcerated, and before working at LSPC I worked at Insight Gardening Program. As a woman whose family and children were deeply affected by my being in and out of incarceration, I am passionate about being a part of a movement that directly helps people who are or were incarcerated. 

I know the struggles of the revolving door of the judicial system and strongly believe that re-placing jails and prisons with programs to help people regardless of their past will help our society and next generation to have a life without being constantly shadowed by their past.

AOUON Outreach Organizer

John Cannon

John is an organizer and policy advocate working to change the injustices that he and his family have experienced in the criminal justice system. As a young person who was charged as an adult at the age of 16, John has experienced the brutality of the system first hand. After being incarcerated for nine years, he is now committed to working with other formerly incarcerated leaders and policymakers to ending mass incarceration and creating more support and resources for people coming home from prison.

In his role as a Policy Fellow at LSPC, John is responsible for tracking bills, drafting policy memorandums, working with statewide coalitions on legislative efforts, and developing impactful campaigns. He is also an organizer with All of Us or None where he recruits new members and engages them in the chapter’s local work. John was raised in and around the Bay Area and comes from a large and loving family of 7 sisters and 4 brothers who have all been impacted by incarceration.

Re-Entry Coordinator

Alissa Moore

Alissa has been directly impacted since her youth, having served over 23 years in state prison on a 15 to life sentence handed down as a juvenile. She came to this work from the Earth Island Institute where she interned for Greenlife: her primary focus was working with formerly incarcerated peoples navigating the return to a world that had changed significantly in our absence with an emphasis on environmental impact.

She’s honored to have been selected as a 2022 Elder Freeman Policy Fellow because she feels LSPC is more in alignment with her passion for working with and on behalf of currently incarcerated folks. 

Regional Advocacy and Organizing Associate

Lawrence Cox

(He/Him)

Lawrence Cox was born in Oakland, CA and at an early age was not privileged to socio-economic permanency. This was simply “not available to me” according to Lawrence.

Like many youth growing up in the Bay Area, he was exposed to obscenities, drugs, addictions, and violence. Before the age of 7 he became a ward of Alameda County touring California’s anemic foster care system. However this did not deter him and as a teenager he began advocating for policy reforms for youth in the system through community organizing. 

Nearing emancipation Lawrence describes that things began to spiral, “This time I had slipped at my own doing, becoming a product of my environment and a replica of my troubled parents. I lost focus of my goals and I became a victim to social, economic, and psychological degradation.” 

This time Lawrence would become a ward of the State of California for almost seventeen years.  This adversity, although bleak and monstrous, changed his life. This experience that he had to endure challenged him and stripped him down and exposed him to the darkness and hopelessness only incarceration does. Lawrence persevered despite everything, becoming the man he is today. 

Lawrence joins Legal Services for Prisoners with Children committed to creating change for those affected by the prison system. After almost 17 years of triumphs, struggles, introspection, growth, and education, Lawrence’s prominent focus is finding ways to reverse systematic disenfranchisement and the infrastructures that perpetuate these inequalities.

Family Unity Policy Analyst

Ari Craig Vazquez

(They/Them)

Ari Vazquez is the Family Unity Policy Analyst at LSPC. They are motivated by their families’ experiences of the family policing system and the prison industrial complex. Before coming to LSPC, they were a fellow on the Gender Sexuality and Reproductive Justice team at ACLU of Northern California where they expanded the teams powerbuilding with directly impacted communities and helped launch their family policing work, including the establishment and coordination of the coalition Reimagine Child Safety Bay Area and Beyond.

They have a masters in social work, from Portland State University where they focused on methods of abolitionist social work. They utilize their degree to advance the abolitionist movement, expand change making power for marginalized individuals, and increase equity of all systems, especially in the creation and implementation of social policy. They are a white-passing Puerto Rican from rural Missouri that has made California’s Bay Area their home. They pride themselves in their ability to facilitate community with people from all walks of life and adore the transformative power community holds. They have held jobs in food service, direct support of disabled communities, youth development, community engagement, and policy advocacy, all providing skills they use on a daily basis.

Housing Advocate

Taqwaa Bonner

AREAS OF EXPERTISE:
Ban the Box, Reentry, Community Organizing, Policy Advocacy.

Taqwaa Bonner, a proud husband and family man, joined All Of Us Or None as a Housing Advocate in August, 2018. During his 30 years of incarceration, Lee achieved a General Education Development (G.E.D.) and an Associate In Arts Degree in Social Science, became certified in three Electrical trades, a 5-year Electrical Apprenticeship training program, and two in painting programs. Taqwaa also became a certified Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Counselor.On September 10, 2018, Taqwaa officially started an All Of Us Or None East Oakland Youth Chapter in a quest to help rebuild the community which he damaged 32 years ago.

All of Us or None Organizer

Robert Bowden

Meet Robert Floyd Bowden, a San Francisco native who found himself navigating life’s challenges between the vibrant west coast and the impactful civil rights movement in Greensboro, North Carolina. Shaped by the rebellious spirit against an unjust justice system in his community, Robert’s journey took an unexpected turn at the age of twelve when he experienced juvenile hall for the first time.

Over the next twenty-five years, sixteen of which were spent in various forms of incarceration, Robert became what many would label as institutionalized. However, a turning point came when he realized that the fight for equality and true justice needed to extend beyond the walls of correctional institutions. Determined to make a difference, he decided to bring about change from within, aspiring to make freedom a constant in society.

In 1997, upon his release, Robert embarked on a transformative journey. Passionate about assisting both current and former incarcerated individuals in their transition, he founded Homeboyhotline.org, a database of reentry resources—a beacon on the road to redemption. For two decades, Robert has been actively involved in visiting group homes, work release programs, juvenile halls, jails, and prisons.

In 2024, Robert participated in the Ronald “Elder” Freeman policy fellowship program, a remarkable opportunity provided by Legal Services with Children/All of Us or None. This program equipped him with the essential tools to contribute to grassroots organizing, legislative advocacy, and administrative advocacy, so much so, that at the end of the fellowship Robert was offered a position as an All of Us or None Organizer.

Beyond his dedication to justice reform, Robert is a devoted single dad who cherishes spending quality time with his daughter and proudly declares his love for the 49ers.

Building Maintenance

Earnest Bright

Manager of People and Culture

Sarah Jane Mayeda

Sarah Jane is a first-generation graduate from the University of California, Santa Cruz holding a dual Bachelors Degree in Sociology and Legal Studies. Sarah Jane has a variety of administrative and advocacy experiences in her time before joining LSPC, and utilizes those experiences along with her lived experience of growing up system impacted to provide support and creativity to sustain the movement of LSPC and All of Us or None.

Communications Manager

Uma Nagarajan-Swenson

Executive Assistant

Jowanna Khaled

Jowanna Khaled is a proud native of Long Beach, California, and has called Oakland home for the past four years. She embraces her rich cultural heritage—Palestinian, Cambodian, and Chinese—with deep pride, which has given her a unique perspective and a profound appreciation for diverse communities.

Raised by a strong and compassionate mother—a survivor of one of the most devastating genocides in Cambodia—Jowanna grew up grounded in the values of kindness, generosity, and love. Her mother’s resilience became a guiding force in her life, shaping the way she understands the world and the compassion she brings to those around her.

Her early years were also marked by personal challenges, including the incarceration of her Palestinian father when she was just five years old. Yet through these hardships, Jowanna discovered her own resilience and inner strength—qualities that continue to define her journey.

Rooted in her multicultural identity and shaped by both struggle and love, Jowanna remains deeply committed to making a positive impact in the world, drawing from her past to empower her present and future. She is excited to join LSPC as Paul Briley’s Executive Assistant and looks forward to nurturing strong connections, watering the roots, and growing alongside the vibrant community she is now proud to be a part of.  

Internship Program Coordinator

Madison Cassell

Madison Cassell is the Internship Program Coordinator at Legal Services for Prisoners with Children (LSPC). She is deeply committed to dismantling the carceral system and building community-driven alternatives to punishment and incarceration.

Madison first joined LSPC as a legal intern, where she responded to hundreds of letters from incarcerated individuals, conducted legal research, and supported parole advocacy efforts. Through this work, she gained a deeper understanding of how the legal system isolates and dehumanizes people—and how grassroots advocacy can push back.

Now, as Internship Program Coordinator, Madison manages a cohort of interns and leads the Prison Letter-Writing Project. She works alongside LSPC staff to refine and expand the project, ensuring that each letter reflects care, dignity, and solidarity. She is also working closely with Alissa to build support for the upcoming parole hearing of Simaima Ohuafi, a friend of Alissa’s and an incarcerated community leader. Through this project, Madison helps coordinate advocacy efforts, amplify Simaima’s story, and engage community members in collective action. She also participates in organizational workgroups focused on strengthening the letter-writing project and advancing LSPC’s mission.

Madison holds a B.A. in Psychology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. In addition to her legal advocacy, she has worked as an ABA therapist and gymnastics coach—roles that have shaped her belief in meeting people where they are and centering their individual needs. She is learning American Sign Language to make her advocacy more inclusive.

Her work is grounded in personal experience with family members impacted by incarceration and a deep belief that no one is disposable.

Advocacy Director

Sonja Tonnesen-Casalegno

Sonja Tonnesen-Casalegno (she/they) is a movement lawyer, nonprofit executive, and lifelong advocate for racial and gender justice who has spent over 15 years working to transform the carceral system. Born and raised outside Milwaukee, WI, Sonja grew up in a family deeply committed to social justice and with loved ones directly impacted by incarceration—experiences that shaped her dedication to liberation work from an early age.

A summa cum laude graduate of the University of Pennsylvania (B.A.) and graduate of UC-Berkeley School of Law (J.D.), Sonja emerged as a leader while still in law school. At Berkeley, she served as a leader in the Queer Caucus and Women’s Association, co-directed Advocates for Youth Justice supporting foster and incarcerated youth, and was an editor of both the California Law Review and the Berkeley Journal of Gender, Law & Justice, where her widely cited 2013 article, “‘Hit It and Quit It’: Responses to Black Girls’ Victimization in School,” explored the intersections of implicit bias, intersectionality, and the school-to-prison pipeline.

After law school, Sonja became the founding Deputy Director of Root & Rebound, a groundbreaking reentry legal advocacy organization. There, she co-founded statewide coalitions that secured landmark victories such as California’s Fair Chance Licensing and Ban the Box in Higher Education laws, opening access to higher education and licensed careers for the eight million Californians with conviction histories. She also initiated high-impact litigation challenging discriminatory licensing practices that barred formerly incarcerated firefighters from EMT certification and holding large corporations accountable for violating Ban the Box employment protections.

Most recently, Sonja served as Policy & Legal Director at Communities United for Restorative Youth Justice (CURYJ), an Oakland-based nonprofit unlocking the leadership of impacted young people to dream beyond bars and borders. She currently serves on the boards of Because Black is Still Beautiful—which builds pathways to liberation for system-impacted Black women and girls—and Kindred Care Collective, a Bay Area network supporting under-resourced parents.

Above all, Sonja is mama to two incredible children, Elio (1) and Loia (4), who inspire her daily to imagine and fight for a more liberated world.

Staff Attorney

Natalie Smith

Natalie Smith is a Staff Attorney at LSPC. She is dedicated to using her personal experiences and legal training in partnership with communities harmed by mass incarceration to intervene in the reproduction of racial and socioeconomic inequity, and instead, support community flourishing. Prior to joining LSPC’s team, Natalie was an Equal Justice Works Fellow at New Haven Legal Assistance Association in New Haven, Connecticut, where she worked with clients, community partners, and government leaders to reduce barriers to reentry and the civil-legal consequences of criminal-legal system involvement. Natalie received her BA in Sociology and Visual Arts from Harvard University and her JD from Yale Law School. She is the proud auntie of two nieces, enjoys hiking and painting, and loves spending time with her human and animal friends.