The Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth is excited to announce the launch of the new podcast “Before They Could Dream”,  a joint project between the Aspen Institute Forum for Community Solutions (AIFCS), the Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth (CFSY), and Green Buzz Agency.

Hosted by the CFSY’s Deputy Director, Abd’Allah Lateef, this seven-episode series explores the history, lived experiences, and lasting impact of youth incarceration in the United States from the perspective of six members of the CFSY’s Incarcerated Children’s Advocacy Network (ICAN), all of whom were given extreme carceral sentences as children.

The first 3 episodes will be available on March 10th; subsequent episodes will be released on Tuesdays, through April 7th. Subscribe and listen wherever you get your podcasts: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2598463/follow

Featured Podcast Guests

  • Abd’Allah Lateef, Podcast Host, Deputy Director, CFSY
  • Episode 2: Donnell Drinks, Leadership and Development Engagement Coordinator, CFSY
  • Episode 3: Catherine Jones, Co-Director of Outreach and Partnership Development, CFSY
  • Episode 4: Eddie Ellis, Co-Director of Outreach and Member Services, CFSY
  • Episode 5: April Barber Scales, Founder, Fenced In: Fighting for Freedom Advocacy
  • Episode 6: James Carpenter, Co-Executive Director, Neighbors for Justice DC

Additional Experts include:

  • Eduardo Bocanegra, Interim Executive Director of the Noah’s Arc Foundation and former Senior Advisor at the Office of the Attorney General for the Department of Justice of the United States
  • Dr. Robert Kinscherff, Executive Director of the Center for Law, Brain and Behavior 
  • Marsha Levick, co-founder and former chief legal officer of the Juvenile Law Center
  • ayoola mitchell, founder of the National Healing Collective, mom, and survivor
  • Joshua Rovner, Senior Research Analyst at The Sentencing Project, a research and advocacy organization working to advance effective and humane responses to crime that minimize imprisonment and criminalization of youth and adults by promoting racial, ethnic, economic, and gender justice
  • Yasmin Vafa, co-founder and Executive Director of Rights4Girls, an advocacy organization working for the dignity and rights of young women and girls so that every girl can be safe and live a life free of violence and exploitation