After serving more than 25 years in prison, Jermaine Williams who entered the criminal justice system at 17, now uses his prison experience as director of Freedom Project East to help others reintegrate into area communities. Jermaine was born into poverty in the “real ghetto” of Chicago. At 17 he was sentenced to 36 years in prison, but was granted an early release after serving 25 years. While in prison, he started volunteering with Freedom Project WA. A week after his release in May 2020 in Spokane, he continued volunteering with the project, eventually creating Freedom Project East. Jermaine has also served on the Washington Supreme Court Racial Justice Consortium to bring a racial equity lens to the justice system. Jermaine’s philosophy is that we are better than our past mistakes: “I made some bad choices, but I grew and reformed. I’m not an exception. Each of us is amazing. Some need to be cultivated so they keep dreaming, rather than letting others stomp on their dreams.”