Crime Survivors Speak

In this episode of Crime Survivors Speak, host Aswad Thomas speaks with Marlee Liss—survivor, restorative justice advocate, somatic educator, and founder of Survivors 4 Justice Reform. After becoming the first sexual assault survivor in North America to have her case resolved through a court-mandated restorative justice process, Marlee has become a leading voice in reimagining how we respond to ha...

In this episode of Crime Survivors Speak, host Aswad Thomas sits down with Sommer Alexander, Texas Chapter Coordinator for TimeDone and a Reentry Peer Support Specialist with the Texas Harm Reduction Alliance. Drawing from her own lived experience with victimization, incarceration, and reentry, Sommer shares how gaps in support for survivors can too often become pathways into criminalization—what...

In this episode of the Crime Survivors Speak podcast, host Aswad Thomas sits down with Juan Pablo Chavez, Organizing Director at Crime Survivors Speak and a longtime community organizer whose work bridges faith, culture, and survivor-led advocacy.   Juan Pablo shares how surviving violence shaped his calling to justice work—and why so many survivors, particularly in Latino and immigrant communitie...

In this episode of Crime Survivors Speak, Aswad Thomas sits down with restorative justice leader Ghani Songster, who spent 30 years in prison after being sentenced to life without parole as a teenager and has since become one of the nation’s most visionary voices on healing and accountability. Ghani reflects on why hope is not a luxury but a necessity, and how restorative justice creates what our...

In this episode of Crime Survivors Speak, Aswad Thomas sits down with California-based advocate Enako Jefferson, a survivor, mentor, and co-CEO of the Jireh Shalom Foundation. Enako’s story is one of deep faith, loss, and transformation—a journey that has shaped her life’s mission to bring healing to both survivors of violence and those who have caused harm. Drawing from her personal experience an...

In this episode of Crime Survivors Speak, survivor advocate and community leader Elle Travis joins Aswad Thomas for a powerful conversation about survival, systemic failure, and the urgent need for change. A survivor of sexual violence, Elle shares how her own experience—compounded by the Detroit rape kit backlog and harmful biases within the justice system—led her to found Hands on Healing Detroi...

Survivors have a unique perspective that can drive meaningful change in policy. In this episode of Crime Survivors Speak, host Aswad Thomas speaks with Dion Green, a survivor of the Dayton mass shooting that claimed his father's life. Dion shares his journey from trauma to advocacy, discussing the importance of survivor resources, community healing, and the establishment of the Fudge Foundation in...

In this powerful episode, Callie Greer, a longtime grassroots organizer and community navigator for Alabama Appleseed, shares how her personal loss led her to fight for the right to heal—a vision of justice that prioritizes healing, accountability, and investment in community safety.   Callie recounts advocating for a more compassionate sentence for the young man who took her son’s life, recognizi...

In this episode, we sit down with Rafiah Muhammad-McCormick to discuss the need for restorative forms of justice that center healing for survivors. Rafiah shares how the tragic loss of her son inspired her to create Rodney’s Village, a nonprofit dedicated to preventing violence and supporting teenage parents. While reflecting on the power of storytelling as advocacy, Aswad and Rafiah recount a pow...

In this episode, Ingrid Archie, the Organizing Director for TimeDone, shares her journey from a childhood shaped by the War on Drugs in LA to becoming a fierce advocate for formerly incarcerated women. As a mother and domestic violence survivor, Ingrid endured years of trauma that led to her cycling in and out of prisons and losing custody of her children. But thanks to Ingrid’s tireless advocacy,...

In this episode, Anthony DiMartino dives into his journey into criminal justice reform, highlighting the transformative power of survivor stories to drive policy change. He reveals the secrets to building strong relationships with legislators through shared values, active listening, and showing up consistently. By centering the voices of those most impacted, Anthony shares effective strategies for...

In this episode, we get to talk to Danny Montes, the Organizing Director for Crime Survivors for Safety and Justice about the power of political advocacy and relationship-building with legislators. Danny shares his personal journey, explaining how pivotal moments in his life led him to champion public safety and reforming the criminal justice system. He lifts up the Heal the Vote campaign, which m...

In this special episode of the Crime Survivors Speak Podcast, we take a moment to turn the microphone towards our own producer, Annie Nichol, whose personal journey is rooted in the very foundation of survivor advocacy and storytelling. As a survivor of a high-profile crime that reshaped the national conversation on justice, Annie brings a unique perspective to the sensationalism often found in me...

This week’s episode focuses on the incredible story of Kojo Mensah, a former professional basketball player who turned a personal tragedy into his inspiration to help revitalize an entire community.   Born in Ghana and raised in the United States, Kojo's promising basketball career was tragically cut short by gun violence at his college campus, an event that not only left him and his teammates phy...

In a profoundly moving episode, we sit down with Vanessa Martinez, an Arizonian survivor leader who turned tragedy into advocacy. Vanessa opens up about the harrowing day she suffered a gunshot wound to the head in a domestic violence incident that was tragically witnessed by one of her children. As she grappled with the physical and emotional aftermath, an already dire situation was made worse by...

Bertha Purnell is a tireless advocate, founder of Mothers On A Mission 28, and the Chicago Chapter Coordinator for Crime Survivors for Safety and Justice. Driven by the tragic loss of her son Maurice to gun violence, Bertha has dedicated herself to creating a network of support and services for survivors and their families in Illinois. In this episode, Bertha opens up about the motivation behind s...

Aswad Thomas is a familiar voice in advocating for survivors–and a familiar voice on this podcast. But not everyone knows the profound journey that brought Aswad to be the National Director for Crime Survivors for Safety and Justice. In this episode, guest interviewer Jonathon Lewis flips the script to ask Aswad about his survivor story and path to leadership. From growing up in communities marked...

 Yolanda Jennings is an organizer from Philadelphia, where she works to support survivors recovering from domestic violence. Having lost multiple family members to domestic violence and being a survivor of DV herself, Yolanda has seen where the system fails to help people trying to escape intimate partner abuse and is co-creating the solutions that allow people to rebuild their lives after violenc...

Alex Abboud is a licensed social worker and victims advocate who has spent her professional life finding new ways to provide services and support for victims and survivors recovering from harm. From developing the first social work response model for the city of Detroit to becoming CSSJ's Statewide Manager of Pennsylvania, Alex has extensive experience both providing direct services to survivors i...

Jonathon Lewis has spent his career organizing folks from marginalized communities to demand a greater voice in policy making. From working on the Obama campaign in Ohio to advocating for teachers and educational equality in his home state of Texas, Jonathon is now the National Training Director for CSSJ, where he works to provide survivors leaders with the tools to build a new movement of safety,...

Priscilla Bordayo is a survivor of sexual abuse and incest who has turned her story of healing into a transformative tool for change. Priscilla was born into a large family that had been shaped by generations of abuse. After becoming a victim of that cycle of harm, Priscilla became the change that broke the cycle. She learned to heal, to forgive, to sit with victims in their darkest moments, and t...

Tricia Forbes has been working in the movement for economic, social and racial justice for over 25 years. She has held many leadership positions at policy advocacy organizations across Texas to promote healing over retribution. Tricia is also one of many people who attended her first Survivors Speak event and immediately immersed herself in the movement to lift up survivors. Today Tricia leads CSS...

Victim Compensation is one of the few programs designed to provide direct reimbursement for victims of crime and violence, and yet too many victims do not receive support from Victim Compensation and are left to struggle alone after a tragedy. Today’s guest, India Brown, is here to speak about her own difficulties getting the support she needed after experiencing the loss of a loved one to violenc...

In the United States, 1 in 3 people will experience domestic violence in their lives, but very few victims receive the support or resources they need to heal. The guests on our podcast today, Kimesha Coleman and Shari Ware, are two leaders who are stepping forward to interrupt cycles of harm and destigmatize the shame of domestic violence by providing much-needed support for victims. In this episo...

For victims of crime and violence, there are many pathways to recovery. Tune-in to hear a conversation between three crime survivors about how organizing for change offered them opportunities for healing. Crime Survivors for Safety and Justice leaders, David Guizar and Megan Hobson join Aswad to discuss organizing and the model of "healing through action."