About The Presentation

This presentation will give faith leaders some practical advice on how their congregations can help stop the revolving door of incarceration, release and recidivism. The presentation will begin with an overview of the challenging factors that lead to mass incarceration and the very same factors are a hindrance to individuals once they are released from prison. Throughout the presentation, the attendees will also be given some examples of successful in-prison ministries and ministries that help former offenders successfully re-integrate into society. The presenters will also share what the Colorado Department of Corrections is doing to have a safer prison population and lower the recidivism rate.

About the Presenters

Adrian Miller is a Colorado native, and a lifelong member of Campbell Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Denver. Adrian is a graduate of Stanford University (A.B. ’91) and Georgetown University Law Center (J.D. ’95). After practicing law for a few years in Denver, Adrian served as a special assistant to President Bill Clinton. After his stint in the White House, Adrian returned to Colorado where he worked for the Bell Policy Center—a progressive think tank. Adrian served as the deputy legislative director and a senior policy analyst for Colorado Governor Bill Ritter, Jr. After Gov. Ritter’s first term, Adrian spent the next two years writing Soul Food: The Surprising Story of an American Cuisine, One Plate at a Time which won the 2014 James Beard Foundation Award for Research and Scholarship. Adrian has served as Executive Director of the Colorado Council of Churches since June 2013.

Nicky Marone is the Executive Director of FOCUS Reentry, a local non-profit organization that helps offenders being released from the Boulder County Jail to not recidivate.  She is also a greatly sought-after motivational speaker and author with over 30 years speaking experience.  Her ground-breaking books are highly regarded in the field and have been published in nine languages.  She is a recognized expert on coping positively with change and developing resilience in the face of difficulty:  highly relevant  issues related to successful reentry for offenders. Nicky has been featured as a guest on scores of radio and TV shows, including Oprah and CNN.  She and her work have been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Chicago Tribune, Vogue Magazine, Reader’s Digest and other publications too numerous to mention.  She lives in Boulder, Colorado with a highly opinionated Schnoodle named Sully and hopes to one day hike the Himalayas.

Additional Resources

We recommend that attendees read The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander. This will help people understand the circumstances that have led some to prison and those that affect recidivism.