Meet Our Staff

Executive Director

Dorsey Nunn

AREAS OF EXPERTISE:
Legal and Policy Advocacy, Racial Justice, Community Organizing, Leadership Development, Fundraising, Campaign Development, Non-Profit Management, Public Speaking. 

Dorsey is a leading expert with over 40 years of professional experience in criminal justice reform. He is the first formerly incarcerated director of a public interest law office in California. Dorsey was sentenced to life in the California Department of Corrections when he was 19 years old. He paroled in 1981 and discharged from parole in 1984. Under his leadership LSPC has made significant advances including the development of the Elder Freeman Policy Fellowship, legal victories including the Ashker lawsuit that ended long term solitary confinement in California, and policy victories including numerous Ban the Box laws passed at the local, state, and federal levels, the end of shackling of pregnant women, and the biggest drug sentencing reform passed by the CA legislature in recent history (SB 180).

Prior to becoming Executive Director, he worked as a paralegal, community organizer, and program manager at LSPC and as a paralegal at the Prison Law Office. Dorsey’s leadership has helped to establish several local and national institutions and movement building projects including All of Us or None, Free at Last, Critical Resistance, California Coalition for Women Prisoners, and the Formerly Incarcerated and Convicted People and Families Movement. His commitment to anti-racist organizing is international. He has visited numerous international prisons including prisons in El Salvador, New Zealand, and South Africa. He has also served on delegations to international conferences including The International Conference on Prison Abolition in Canada and The International Conference on Youth in Cuba.

Dorsey has received federal and local recognition including the White House Champion of Change Award signed by President Obama, Certificate of Special Congressional Recognition by Nancy Pelosi, the Senate Certificate of Recognition by Senator Jackie Speier and Karen Bass, Certificate of Appreciation from the California State Assembly, Certificate of Recognition from the California State Senate, and recognition from the SF Board of Supervisors and Mayor Gavin Newsom.  He is the recipient of numerous awards including the Chief Justice Earl Warren Civil Liberties Award from the ACLU of Northern California,  the Movement Builders Award from A New Way of Life, and the Martin Luther King, Cesar Chavez, Rosa Parks Visiting Professorship from the University of Michigan.

Dorsey has been instrumental to changing the national narrative around formerly incarcerated people and centering people with conviction histories as experts in the field of criminal justice reform. His work has been featured in local and national publications including the LA Times, the SF Chronicle, Sacramento Bee, NY Times, Washington Post, and the Nation. Michelle Alexander wrote about Dorsey and his work with all of Us or None in her best-selling book, The New Jim Crow.  He is a frequently requested speaker at conferences, universities, and in documentaries including Ava DuVernay’s 13th. Since Dorsey was released from prison he has focused on reunifying, restoring, and healing his family. He is a loving father and grandfather who is inspired by his grandchildren and great grandchildren to keeping working to create a better future for all youth.

WORKS:
Formerly incarcerated activist fights to give people a chance to change. L.A. Times, March 13, 2015. 
Ex-inmates behind push for California employers to ‘ban the box’. The Mercury News, October 13, 2017.
Ban the Box Keeps Families and Communities Together. New York Times, April 13, 2016.
Millions of ex-cons still can’t get jobs. Here’s how the White House could help fix that. Washington Post, January 22, 2015.

VIDEO:
Free America – Dorsey. August 30, 2016.
Tim Wise & Dorsey Nunn presented by SURJ Bay Area, April 18, 2017.

(Retired) Administrative Director

Hamdiya Cooks-Abdullah

AREAS OF EXPERTISE:
Ban the Box, Reentry, Incarcerated Parents / Children of Incarcerated Parents, Policy Advocacy, Community Organizing, Leadership Development, Non-Profit Financial Administration.

Hamdiya Cooks-Abdullah has over 30 years of experience working on general issues facing women in prison. She is a former prisoner having served 20 years in the federal prison system and is currently the Administrative Director at Legal Services for Prisoners with Children in San Francisco Ca. Her responsibilities are wide-ranging as she works to eradicate systematic discriminatory practices against formerly incarcerated people. Hamdiya holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Independent Studies from Columbia College, Columbia MO. She spearheaded efforts inside the prison system to bring awareness to the conditions Muslim women face in federal prisons. She also was a key organizer for the Black Culture Workshop in FCI Dublin for over 15 years. Hamdiya continues to advocate on behalf of women inside as well as upon their release. She is one of the founding members of All of Us or None and has published an article on Islam in Prison” in the Prison Legal News and an essay profiling the lives of three women in prison in the book Schooling the Generations in the Politics of Prison.

One of her current accomplishments is becoming a member of the SAFE House Network organized by Susan Burton, Ex. Director of A New Way of Life in Los Angeles, Ca. Hamdiya is the Director of Founding Mother’s Inc., a Safe House for women located in Phoenix, Arizona.

Deputy Director

Paul Briley

Paul Briley is the Deputy 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

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 

Staff Attorney

Debra Slone

I am a Los Angeles native and a graduate of UCLA and UC Hastings College of Law. I grew up in a politically active family. I was in private practice from 1992, primarily as a family law, dependency and criminal defense counsel. I love being here and working for freedom and justice.

Building Maintenance

Earnest Bright

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.

Program Manager

Errol Veron

AREAS OF EXPERTISE:
Reentry Mentoring, Finance, Financial Analysis and Accounting (20+ years experience), Excel, Photography.

Prior to LSPC, Errol was in the Building Opportunities for Self-Sufficiency (BOSS) program, where his interest and passion to help individual and or communities in need were heightened.  Due to his educational background–BS in Business Administration from University of Phoenix–and 20 plus years of work experience in Finance & Accounting, BOSS entrusted him to mentor, teach and or coach formerly incarcerated patrons that were in the program to improve their chances of getting employment. His accomplishments with BOSS lead to being asked to be part of the navigator training program that was facilitated by BOSS and Asian Prisoner Support Committee (APSC). He is the father of two young adult boys, and hopes to be a grandfather sometime soon. In his leisure time Errol enjoys photography and gardening with his wife of 37 years and counting.

WORKS:
All of Us or None – 2017 Community Giveback Photos, December 9, 2017.
LSPC – 2017 Victory Party Photos, October 19, 2017.

All of Us or None Senior Organizer - Sacramento

Henry Ortiz

I am a formerly incarcerated Senior Staff Community Organizer with “All of Us or None” Sacramento. While incarcerated, I co-founded Self-Awareness & Recovery (SAR) in 2005 and wrote the “SAR Model of Transformation” to facilitate healing of multigenerational trauma. I designed it to develop forgiveness, healing, transformation and insight into the causative factors of criminal behavior.   

I expanded our healing curriculum model through my incarcerated peers and organizations like SAR. I have various years of experience teaching evidence-based model programs in prisons, continuation schools, community colleges and universities, country jails and the community.  

In the past 3 years since my release from prison, I’ve been very instrumental in advocating to end the killings and mass incarceration of people of color by addressing police violence, ending felony disenfranchisement, and campaigning against systemic racism in California.  

For the past year, Ive been working on developing our AOUON Sacramento chapter team, as we now have 53 members, 6 staff, 1 volunteer, and an office in South Sacramento.

Development Associate

Hudah Mukiibi

Hudah brings nearly ten years of experience as a Multilingual Coordinator with an international background, primarily serving as a liaison between corporations and employment seekers.

Born and raised in Sweden to Ugandan parents, she moved to the United States by herself immediately after high-school. Hudah received her Bachelor’s Degree in International Relations from San Francisco State University. During her college years, she was an active member of the International Student Association, the Black Student Union, and the Student Body Government.

Hudah remains an active member of the Ugandan-American community of Northern California, where she helps coordinate various cultural functions both locally and nationally. In her spare time, she enjoys creating blog content, reading a good book, traveling, and photography.

Family Unity Project Coordinator

Ivana Cortez

Ivana began as the LSPC Receptionist & Administrative Assistant in August, 2018. Before joining us, Ivana worked as a supervisor for Whole Foods. She’s currently pursuing an A.A. degree in Psychology at Laney College in Oakland as part of her effort to better assist people who have experienced Domestic Violence. Ivana’s two teenage kids are members of the East Oakland All of Us or None chapter, and they all enjoy AOUON outreach and team-building activities.

Policy Analyst

Jeronimo Cuauhtemoc Aguilar

I am honored to have been selected to complete the 2021 Elder Freeman Policy Fellowship. As a Chicano growing up in the bay area and later the Sacramento valley, I experienced the weight of a system that criminalizes black, brown, and low-income communities. 

Losing many family members to the prison industrial complex, as well as my own experience with incarceration as a youth and young adult, I became radicalized and determined to make a difference for not only my people and community, but for humanity as a whole. 

Now as a man of faith and conviction I feel my calling is to continue to advocate for those incarcerated and impacted by a system that profits off of people’s suffering. I’m looking forward to learning and growing and maximizing this opportunity for the greater good.

In-custody Program Coordinator

Jesse Burleson

Jesse is the In-custody Program Coordinator at LSPC and an AOUON organizer. Born to Black and Native/Mexican parents, he grew up in the Tenderloin District of San Francisco, a drug-infested community filled with poverty and despair. He spent much of his youth in and out of juvenile detention facilities before being sent to adult prison with a life sentence in 1987 where he was held from ages 18 – 49. 

During his imprisonment Jesse went on a personal journey of learning and development through rigorous studies of histories, laws, religions, philosophies, governments, sciences, and war. Jesse was released in 2018 through the compassionate actions from the children of the man he killed, who came to his hearing with forgiveness in their hearts and an open acknowledgment for his personal growth and maturation.

Jesse says that while inside prison he discovered that prisons really are designed government-run “slave quarters”. Although “integrated” Jesse believes that the prison system itself was purposely designed to “manage” large segments of this country’s former slave population, mainly its Black male population, after the Civil War. Jesse believes the U.S. government sent Black people from slavery (poverty) to segregation (poverty) to integration (but still poverty), and that instead of giving the former slave population land and wealth upon their “freedom”, the U.S. government decided to subject the former slaves to discrimination, poverty, poor education, access to drugs, guns, disenfranchisement, and then “criminalization” and the eventual “return” to the plantation; i.e. prisons. 

Jesse believes that Moral & Political Literacy and Political Engagement is vital in the struggle for human rights and access to meaningful resources, and that there is vision and meaningful leadership amongst the formerly incarcerated.

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.

Receptionist / Administrative Assistant

Kamryn Johnson

Kamryn was born and raised in Oakland, CA. She studied in the Law & Social Justice Pathway all four years at Oakland High School, completing her Senior Project on how many laws are designed and/or enforced to oppress Black and Brown communities. “The system isn’t broken,” she says, “it’s working as planned to negatively impact us. Living in Oakland I saw this first hand and it sparked my interest in working for justice.”

Kamryn discovered LSPC when her class came to visit for a field trip. Now, a few years later, she’s excited to be part of the team. “It’s too easy for Black and Brown people to become a statistic,” she says. “It inspires me to inspire others and show that we can be the ones to make the change. You have to push hard, though.”

When Kamryn is not working to uplift her community, she enjoys time by herself, listening to music and journaling.

Staff Attorney

Kellie Walters

My name is Kellie and I am from Chicago. I graduated from DePaul University in 2001 and then spent two years working as a domestic violence counselor in an emergency shelter. I began my legal education at The John Marshall Law School in January 2003. During that time, I was an intern at The Fair Housing Legal Clinic for four semesters and spent several semesters employed as a legal research assistant. 

In 2006, I obtained my Juris Doctor degree and was admitted to the Illinois Bar. Later that year, I enrolled in Northwestern Lewis and Clark Law School in Portland, Oregon, seeking an LL.M. in Environmental and Natural Resources Law. During that time, I wrote my LL.M. thesis on the oil drilling in southeast Nigeria, its effect on the Ogoni tribe, and the ongoing litigation. During that time, I also taught seminars at the Portland Community College about the relationship between Environmental Law and Human Rights. 

Upon returning to Chicago, I worked with the Civil Rights Center litigating cases involving police misconduct until they closed their doors in 2009. After which, I started in private practice, focusing on criminal defense and civil rights cases. From 2015 through 2020, I was a supervising attorney for the housing section at UIC – The John Marshall Law School Domestic Violence and Family Law Clinic. In 2021, I began working as a Staff Attorney with LSPC and I’m really excited to work on the policy side of civil rights matters.

Communications Manager

TaSin Sabir

TaSin Sabir is an artist with a message and is most driven when she can use all her artistic skills (photography and graphic design) towards a cause that she is passionate about. In 2004 TaSin graduated from California College of Arts and Crafts, where she received a BFA in Fine Arts Photography. Born and raised in Oakland California TaSin’s artwork has been exhibited all around the Bay Area and Nation. A natural born journalist, TaSin has contributed regularly to the San Francisco Bay View Newspaper and YO! Youth Outlook. TaSin is community focused and at one point opened a community gathering space called The OakPod. During its time it was a vibrant place where people could come and experience local art and entertainment. Since its closure TaSin has focused on her freelance business, working with businesses and nonprofits to elevate their brand and public message.

In 2016 LSPC contacted TaSin to design their annual report. Since then TaSin has continued a professional relationship with LSPC as their go to designer for projects like, building and maintaining the LSPC website and designing marketing materials for campaigns. TaSin is excited to join LSPC as fulltime support and continue to work with an organization that she respects very much.

Communications Associate

Mitra Zarinebaf

“Before LSPC, Mitra was a student organizer and leader at UC Santa Cruz where she majored in Politics and Critical Race and Ethnic Studies. They also served at the UC Student Association as the Vice Chair, lobbying at the Capitol and supporting students for advocating for basic needs. 

Mitra’s passion for social justice is rooted in her childhood in the Midwest, her Iranian identity, and surrounding herself with community and never-ending education. She was first introduced to abolition and AOUON in 2019 when she participated in the Quest for Democracy with the Transitions Collective. The last quarter of her undergrad was life changing, spending it at CTF Soledad for a joint-university class on Transcommunality, led by Dr. John Brown Childs.

Now that she has graduated, Mitra is incredibly devoted to end mass incarceration and all structures of the carceral state to collective liberation!”

Financial Operations Assistant

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.

National Organizer

Oscar Flores

AREAS OF EXPERTISE:
Community Organizing, Policy Advocacy.

Oscar Flores, National Organizer, joined the All of Us or None Family in January of 2018. Oscar has intimate knowledge of the impact of the criminal justice system upon reentry and crimmigration for himself and family. Oscar was a former Director of a Youth Organizing organization in East Palo Alto addressing issues of Environmental Justice and Gentrification. Most recently Oscar was the Coordinator/Facilitator of Contra Costa Racial Justice Coalition, successfully campaigning for the county to return money to families that were unlawfully collected on through the recently banned Juvenile Fines & Fees Statute. Oscar believes that the most effective community organizing involve directly impacted people leading the effort. 

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.

Program Coordinator

Noe Gudino

Noe Gudino is a Program Coordinator with Legal Services for Prisoners with Children, managing the Elder Freeman Policy Fellows and Interns programs. With nearly ten years of nonprofit experience, Noe has excelled at organizing marginalized communities and advocating for policy change at the state and local level. He has worked on numerous campaigns and statewide ballot measures to restore rights empowering currently and formerly incarcerated folks across California.

Born and based in the San Francisco Bay Area, Noe is a proud product of local public schools and jail cells. As a youth growing up, Noe experienced homelessness, gang violence, and recidivism before he began community organizing for rent control and just cause for eviction, which sparked his passion for policy advocacy and higher education. Since then, he has never looked back.

Now, Noe has received his Masters of Arts in Public Administration from San Francisco State University and Bachelor of Arts from Cal State University-East Bay, where he majored in Political Science. During that time, he studied abroad in Northern Ireland at Ulster University learning about restorative justice practices and traveling across Europe. 

Three things everybody knows about Noe: He’s a big foodie, loves talking about current events, and is a major fan of live events. In his off time, Noe is either at a sports game or a music festival.

Family Defense Social Worker

Arielle Reisman

Arielle is a licensed clinical social worker who is deeply committed to family defense. Before joining Legal Services for Prisoners with Children, she worked for five years at East Bay Family Defenders as a defense social worker for parents whose children had been removed by the Department of Children and Family Services in Alameda County. She received her master’s degree in social work from New York University and spent six years working with individuals and families directly impacted by the criminal legal system and mass incarceration. Her commitment to family defense stems from her experience watching the day-to-day absurdity of the Family Regulation System’s claim to help families recover from the very decimation it directly causes through child removals and, historically, through the systematic destruction of poor Black and indigenous families.

Family Defense Attorney

Meredith Wallis

Meredith is a family defense attorney. Before joining Legal Services for Prisoners with Children, she worked for five years at East Bay Family Defenders primarily defending parents whose children had been removed by the Department of Children and Family Services. Prior to this job, she was an academic, teaching law and literature; her Ph.D. is in Modern Thought and Literature from Stanford University. She is committed to family defense because she believes the actual harm caused by the systematic dismantling of families by incarceration and child removal–particularly poor, Black, and indigenous families—is a far greater and longer-lasting threat to vulnerable children than anything those systems claim to be put in place to remedy.