Benjamin F. Chavis

Reverend Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr. is an entrepreneur, global business leader, educator, chemist, civil rights leader, NAACP Life Member, syndicated columnist, theologian, and author. He is currently the President and CEO of the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA): The Black Press of America. Dr. Chavis serves on the Board of the National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education (NAFEO).

A lifelong activist, Dr. Chavis overcame racial injustice and wrongful imprisonment to become a vocal leader in the civil rights movement, which pressed for equality between the races. Dr. Chavis is an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ. Dr. Chavis began his career in 1963 as a statewide youth coordinator in NC for the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC).

Dr. Chavis was born in 1948 in Oxford, North Carolina, into a long and distinguished line of preachers. His parents were Benjamin Chavis Sr. and Elisabeth Chavis. He grew up the only son in a family of four children. His great-great-grandfather, John Chavis, is considered to be the first black graduate of Princeton University because he graduated from a New Jersey seminary (religious school) that later became the university. John Chavis, according to Benjamin, was killed in 1838 for teaching slave children to read and write. A native of Oxford, North Carolina, Dr. Chavis received the Bachelor of Arts, BA, in Chemistry from University of North Carolina.

He even earned his Masters of Divinity, M.Div., magna cum laude, from Duke University while serving an unjust 34-year prison sentence as a member of the Wilmington 10, who Amnesty International declared political prisoners, a case that garnered international attention and was pardoned 40 years later. He also received the Doctor of Ministry, from Howard University and Doctor of Philosophy, Ph.D., in systematic theology, from Union Theological Seminary in New York.

From 1993 and 1994, Dr. Chavis served as the Executive Director and CEO of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and remains an active supporter of the NAACP. In 1995, Dr. Chavis was the National Director and organizer of the Million Man March. The 2010 theatrical release of the full-length movie Blood Done Sign My Name distributed by Paladin, directed by Jeb Stuart, starring Ricky Schroder, Nate Parker, and Lela Rochon depicts a true story from Dr. Chavis’ early days in the Civil Rights Movement during the 1960’s and 1970’s. Dr. Chavis has authored books and other publications including An American Political Prisoner Appeals for Human Rights, and Psalms from Prison. His areas of expertise include corporate diversity and inclusion, human rights, climate change, voting rights, bridging the gap between civil rights and hip-hop, and criminal justice reform.

Charles Atkins

While serving as the Associate Minister for Youth Ministry and Missions at the Shiloh Baptist Church in Trenton, NJ, and as the Supervisor Chaplain at Garden State Youth Correctional Facility of the NJ Department of Corrections, Dr. Atkins was able to receive his doctorate in practical theology from the Université de Montréal in Canada. A graduate of Princeton Theological Seminary, he is the author of The Word Confined: Bible Study in an American Prison (Nova Science, 2020).

After the arrival of the COVID-19 global pandemic, Dr. Atkins retired from prison chaplaincy and by the grace of God turned his attention toward helping Black churches adjust their ministries for the pandemic era and toward helping formerly incarcerated people to reintegrate into society. His interest in how Black churches can continue to minister to God’s people in the pandemic era has been centered at the First Baptist Church of Langhorne, Pennsylvania, where he serves as Pastor.

Dr. Atkins’ desire to help returning citizens has found expression through his work as founder and principal researcher of XL Endeavors (http://XtraLenz.com), which uses educational, small business development and artistic platforms to develop human capacities. XL Endeavors has helped him to encourage and empower people who have been incarcerated, while providing institutions with the tools and resources to successfully reintegrate returning citizens to their communities.

Chris Boesel

Chris Boesel is associate professor of Christian theology at Drew Theological School in Madison, New Jersey. His primary research interest is in confessional Christian faith and theology as resource for liberationist visions and commitments. He is the author of Reading Karl Barth (Cascade, 2023) and In Kierkegaard’s Garden with the Poppy Blooms (Lexington/Fortress Academic, 2021).

Douglas Campbell

Douglas Campbell is a Professor of New Testament at the Divinity School at Duke University, where he has co-directed the Prison Program since 2009. He also now co-directs the Prison Engagement Initiative at the Kenan Institute for Ethics at Duke University. He is trained in restorative practices that address harm in an alternative way to current, predominantly punitive, responses. He lectures and publishes on the connections between biblical interpretation, theological paradigms, human affects and emotions, and the advocacy of punishment and incarceration. He has led a retraining program for correctional officers in U.S. Marshals and ICE facilities in Texas and New Mexico. He and his spouse have been personally involved in prison visitation and prisoner support since 2005.

Johnny Perez

Johnny Perez is the Director of the National Religious Campaign Against Torture’s U.S. Prisons Program. Johnny is a highly accomplished criminal justice reform advocate, public speaker, and thought leader in the field of ending torture and inhumane treatment in the U.S. prison system. As the Director of NRCAT’s U.S. Prisons Program, he champions an end to solitary confinement and equips faith communities and affected individuals to engage in education and legislative changes nationwide. Johnny represents NRCAT in several collaborative efforts with other organizations, including Unlock the Box, a national campaign to end solitary confinement, and the Federal Anti-Solitary Taskforce (FAST).

Johnny proudly serves on the Board of Directors of the National Multifaith Initiative to End Mass Incarceration, JusticeAid, New York City’s Urban Justice Center, and The Appeal. He is an ambassador for the End The Exception Campaign and serves as an advisory board member for the DC-based Urban Institute’s Prison Research and Innovation Initiative. As a committee member to the ARCH Network Committee at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), he helps advance initiatives to improve the well-being of both incarcerated people and staff.

Johnny is dedicated to mitigating the profound effects of incarceration on individuals and society. His insights, including drawing from lessons learned during 13 years of incarceration, make Johnny a sought-after speaker for law schools and universities across the country, as well as media interviews and op-eds. In addition to his professional achievements, Johnny wears the hats of a devoted father, mentor to formerly incarcerated students at St. Francis College of Brooklyn (his alma mater), and founder of Day 1 Pictures, showcasing his talent in photography.

Lyle C. May

Lyle C. May is an Ohio State University and Adams State University alum, incarcerated journalist, and published author. Some of his work includes Witness, An Insider’s Narrative of the Carceral State (Haymarket Books 2024), The Transformative Journey of Higher Education in Prison: A Class of One (Rutledge Academic Press 2024), and “State of Delay: Are Out-dated Capital Post-Conviction Defense Tactics Undermining Effectiveness and the Attorney-Client Relationship?” Brooklyn Law School’s Journal of Law and Policy (2023). Lyle is a frequent guest speaker at universities, academic conferences, high schools, online forums, and other public venues nationwide. To view more of his work, book him for future events, or contact him, visit LyleCMay.com.

Mark J. Edwards

Mark James Edwards (MDiv and PhD, Princeton Seminary) is a Lecturer in Ethics at The College of New Jersey and a Lecturer in Religion at Princeton University. He has taught inside Garden State Correctional Facility for Princeton Theological Seminary, Nassau Presbyterian Church, and Princeton University. His current work aims to examine the resources of systematic theology and philosophy of religion, especially those great works written by imprisoned authors, on the problems of global incarceration. Mark is the author of Christ Is Time: The Gospel according to Karl Barth (and the Red Hot Chili Peppers). When not in the books, with boot, bike, or belay, he gravitates towards the trails and peaks of whatever wilderness he and his family can find. They live just next door, in Kingston.

Sarah Jobe

The Rev. Dr. Sarah Jobe is the Co-Director of Prison Studies at Duke Divinity School, where she served as the Founding Director of Project TURN, Duke’s in-prison education program. Sarah has 15 years of experience as a prison educator and prison chaplain, and her academic work at the intersection of theology and carceral studies can be found in Sojourners, Christian Century, The Journal of Reformed Theology, Political Theology, Religions, and The Journal of Theological Studies. Her book No Godforsaken Place: Prison Chaplaincy, Karl Barth, and Practicing Life in Prison will be released in September 2025 in the T&T Clark Studies in Social Ethics, Ethnography, and Theologies series.

Tessie Castillo

Tessie Castillo is the co-author and editor of Inside: Voices from Death Row and Crimson Letter: Voices from Death Row, which she co-wrote with four men incarcerated on North Carolina’s Death Row. She is an advocate for the rights of incarcerated people and a frequent public speaker at universities, faith groups, community organizations, and podcasts. She lives in Durham, North Carolina.  

Todd Cioffi

Todd Cioffi is associate professor in the Ministry Leadership Department at Calvin University and Senior Advisor for the Calvin Prison Initiative. He received a B.A. from Hope College, and a M.Div. and Ph.D. from Princeton Theological Seminary. He is an ordained minister of word and sacrament in the PC(USA).