Become a Ready for Reentry Partner
Two days in Boulder and online. Hear directly from people who know reentry, see the Partnership in action, and decide whether to get involved.
Thousands of people in prisons across the country are working through the Ready for Reentry course — examining their choices, setting goals, and making plans for life after release. The Partnership connects that preparation with people and practical help on the outside. At this conference, you can see how it works and learn what joining involves.
Why this matters now
People are preparing for release while they are still inside. The Partnership connects that work with help on the outside.
Through more than 180 course exercises, men and women inside are taking a hard look at their character, their choices, and the life they want next.
Housing, work, transportation, paperwork, health, family, supervision, and loneliness can collide at once. A coordinated team can respond without asking one volunteer or congregation to do everything.
At the conference, you will see how the Partnership works and practice two basic skills. Full training, screening, role preparation, and matching happen afterward.
Meet Carlos – from our Ready for Reentry Course
“Rock bottom was the only way up.”
Carlos Vasquez came home determined to stay free. Hear what he had to change and who helped him along the way.
From coast to coast
People in facilities across the country are preparing their reentry plans right now.
They are doing their part inside. They will also need prepared people on the outside when they come home.
Who this is for
If you want people coming home from prison to make it, you belong here.
Churches, synagogues, mosques, temples, and spiritual communities of every tradition. Seasoned reentry professionals. Returning community members and their families. Neighbors who simply want to help.
You don’t need experience, credentials, or a team behind you. Bring your questions and your willingness to listen. You’ll learn about the roles and decide whether one makes sense for you.
Faith communities
Come alone or bring a few people from your congregation. See what a supported faith-community partnership can offer without making belonging depend on conversion or church participation.
Reentry professionals
You’ve seen what happens when volunteers mean well but do not understand their role. Help shape a Partnership that coordinates with professional work instead of working around it.
Returning community members & families
We need your experience in the room. Come share what actually helps and learn practical ways to support a loved one through reentry.
Individual volunteers
No church membership required. Explore correspondence, video conversations, visits, transportation, mentoring, outreach, or another supported way to contribute.
Your presenters
Learn from returning community members, ministry leaders, and reentry partners.
Every session is led by people who know this work firsthand.
Sister Mary Sean Hodges
Sister Mary founded PREP, the Partnership for Re-Entry Program, and has spent decades helping people prepare for parole and walking beside them when they come home. She will speak about what people need before and after release.
Richard Miles
Richard rebuilt his life after wrongful incarceration. Through Miles of Freedom, he now helps others do the same. He will speak about rebuilding after prison and helping others return home.
Carlos Vasquez
Carlos hit rock bottom before he found his way up. Through How to Battle, he shares stories and tools for resilience, purpose, and personal transformation. His story is featured in the Ready for Reentry course; at the conference, he will speak about what he changed and who helped him stay free.
Rob Smith
Rob works with the Center for Employment Opportunities (CEO), which supports people returning from incarceration as they build career and financial stability. He teaches teams how to define volunteer roles, set limits, and support people without taking over.
Rey Aguilar
Rey works directly with people returning from incarceration. He will speak about how support is received in daily life and what earns trust.
Amanda Weitman
Amanda volunteers at San Quentin. She will talk about what volunteers can offer inside prison, what they cannot, and why consistency matters.
David Fowler
David leads Embraced:Fully and has spent years connecting people inside prison with communities ready to welcome them home. He will explain why Embraced:Fully built the Partnership and what it needs next.
Gabriel Serafini
Gabriel builds the Ready for Reentry course, platform, and tools used to connect participants with people on the outside.
Troy Spann
Troy’s story is featured throughout the Ready for Reentry course. After rebuilding his life following incarceration, he speaks candidly about identity, discipline, financial responsibility, and the everyday freedoms many people take for granted. At the conference, he will share what helped him change direction and build a stable life after release.
Ruben Davis
Ruben Davis spent 38 years incarcerated and had to learn how to build a life from scratch when he came home. His high-energy storytelling anchors several Ready for Reentry lessons on identity, recovery, employment, and rebuilding family trust. At the conference, Ruben will speak candidly about transformation, the support that matters after release, and giving yourself a real chance to succeed.
Letty Lorona
Letty Lorona rebuilt her life from scratch after coming home from prison. She now serves as a case manager with Restoring Citizens and teaches practical Ready for Reentry lessons on daily structure, safe housing, job preparation, and building a healthy support network. At the conference, Letty will bring a grounded returning-woman perspective to the conversation.
George Chappel
George Chappel is CEO of Restoring Citizens, a San Diego reentry organization built around lived experience. He helps provide compassionate, practical support for people transitioning from prison to the community. At the conference, George will bring that frontline perspective to the first 72 hours after release and show how housing, partnerships, and coordinated follow-through can help people rebuild.
Al Cruz
Al Cruz spent more than 28 years in prison and has now spent a decade rebuilding his life in freedom. He brings a reflective, direct voice to Ready for Reentry lessons on grounding, emotional regulation, recovery, health, and practical stability. At the conference, Al will speak about the inner work that made sobriety, independence, and a different future possible.
AmiLynne Carroll
AmiLynne Carroll serves as Embraced:Fully’s National Angel Team Coordinator, helping volunteers build steady, respectful relationships with people who are incarcerated and preparing to come home. At the conference, she will co-lead Saturday’s reflection and serve as the Navigator in the Partnership in Action demonstration, showing how communication, coordination, and follow-through connect people with the right support.
The conference experience
What you will see and practice.
On Friday, hear from people who have lived and worked in reentry. On Saturday, watch the Partnership work through a case, practice two basic skills, and learn what joining involves. This is not a two-day certification. Training, screening, role preparation, matching, and ongoing support happen after the conference.
Why partnership matters
Hear directly from people who have lived reentry and from the communities and professionals who walk beside them.
The work starts inside
See how self-examination, accountability, healing, and practicing free-world character begin before release.
The first 72 hours
Walk through a realistic release journey and see how urgent needs, human relationships, and professional responsibilities connect.
Listening, limits, and warm handoffs
Try listening without fixing, naming one clear limit, and connecting someone directly to the right help.
Partnership in action
Watch one request move through consent, navigation, faith-community relationship, peer support, housing, professional help, and follow-through.
What you can do next
Learn about volunteer, faith-community, professional, peer, organizational, and program-support roles. Then decide whether any of them make sense for you.
The agenda
What the weekend looks like.
Friday focuses on why the Partnership matters. Saturday shows how it works and what joining involves. Online participants join every session live on Zoom. Love Only Grows provides music throughout both days.
What to expect
Firsthand stories, a live Partnership demonstration, guided practice, role conversations, and time for questions. In-person registration includes lunch, coffee, and snacks.
- No marathon lectures
- Returning community members teaching throughout
- Practice without calling a short exercise full training
- Every main session live on Zoom with dedicated online facilitators
- Live music throughout the weekend from Love Only Grows
- Details about training, screening, and next steps after the conference
Traveling in?
Plan to arrive Thursday evening, September 17. Friday begins at 8:15 am and the conference closes Saturday at 4:30 pm. Hotel details appear below.
Why Partnership Matters
Stories, course context, reentry realities, and first practice.
See Yourself in the Partnership
A live demonstration, guided practice, and details on what joining involves.
Registration
Pay what you can. No one is turned away.
Donor support keeps this conference pay-what-you-can so cost does not keep anyone from attending. If you’re able, the suggested amount covers your meals and materials and helps someone else attend for less.
Every registration includes
- The full two-day conference experience
- Stories, demonstrations, guided practice, and role conversations
- Conference materials, case examples, and next-step resources
- Details about training, screening, and role preparation after the conference
- In person: lunch both days, plus coffee and snacks throughout
- Online: every main session live, interactive exercises, and dedicated Zoom facilitators
Coming as a group from your congregation or organization? Register each person at the amount that works for them. You’ll attend the same sessions and can discuss the options together.
Choose how you’ll join us
In-person and online participants attend the same main sessions and receive the same follow-up after the conference.
Help make the conference possible
Sponsorships start at $350. You can also sponsor travel for a speaker or returning community member, or sponsor as a congregation. Every dollar keeps registration pay-what-you-can for everyone.
Venue + hotel
Plan your trip to Boulder.
Williams Village Dining & Community Center
500 30th StreetBoulder, CO 80309Multipurpose Rooms 114–116The conference takes place here September 18–19. Registered attendees will receive parking and arrival details before the gathering.
Traveling in?Plan to arrive Thursday evening, September 17. Friday’s program begins at 8:15 am.
Conference hotel block
We’ve secured a group rate at the Embassy Suites by Hilton Boulder. Book before the August 24, 2026 cutoff to get the conference rate.
Before you make plans
Common questions
Do I need to be part of a church or congregation?
No. Faith communities of every tradition are warmly invited, and so are neighbors with no religious affiliation at all. Support must respect each person’s choice and never depend on conversion or church participation.
Can I really attend online?
Yes. Online participants join every main session live on Zoom, take part in exercises and role conversations, and receive the same follow-up invitation as people in Boulder.
What does it cost?
Whatever you can pay. Suggested registration is $295 in person (meals included) or $125 online — but the amount is up to you, and no one is turned away.
Will I become a Partner at the conference?
No. The conference explains the Partnership and what joining involves. Training, screening, role preparation, matching, and ongoing support happen afterward. Interest does not guarantee a match.
I already work in reentry. What’s here for me?
Come meet faith communities and prospective partners who want to coordinate with your work rather than work around it. Your experience can help shape clear roles and stronger handoffs.
What happens after the weekend?
Everyone receives a summary of what happens next. If you express interest, a team member will contact you about an introductory conversation, training, screening, role preparation, or organizational partnership.
See how the Partnership works. Decide whether to take part.
Join us for two days in Boulder or online. Meet people who know reentry, see the Partnership work through a case, and learn what joining involves.
