Speaker Bios - Barnett Chair Symposium

Full Schedule

Lara Bazelon

Professor
University of San Francisco School of Law

Lara Bazelon is a Professor at the University of San Francisco School of Law where she directs the Criminal & Juvenile and Racial Justice Clinics and holds the Philip and Muriel Barnett Chair in Trial Advocacy.  Since 2022, she has served as the Law School’s Dean of Scholarship.  She is the author of the nonfictions books Rectify: The Power of Restorative Justice After Wrongful Conviction (Beacon Press 2018) and Ambitious Like a Mother (Little Brown 2022) as well as numerous essays, op-eds, and long-form journalism pieces.  Her work has been published in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Atlantic Magazine, and New York Magazine, among other outlets.

Greg Eskridge

Co-Director
Uncuffed Podcast

Greg Eskridge is a founding member and Co-Director of the Uncuffed radio program and podcast. He hosted Season 4 of the podcast and served as Associate Program Director in between the leadership fellowship and his current role as Co-Director. For over a decade in San Quentin, Greg fostered an atmosphere of professionalism and dedication which led to the program producing great content and winning numerous awards. On July 23, 2024, Greg was released from San Quentin prison after serving 30 years and 25 days. He was welcomed by family, friends, and both current and former members of the KALW team. A few months later, Greg began working full-time as Uncuffed’s first Leadership Fellow, preparing him for leadership roles in the program. Greg looks forward to continuing to elevate the voices of system-impacted individuals. 

 

 

 

Jemain Hunter

Founder
Arms Down

Jemain Hunter is the founder of Arms Down, a mutual help group for individuals with firearm-related offenses. Formerly incarcerated at San Quentin State Prison after receiving a 34-to-life sentence in his youth, Hunter brings lived experience to restorative justice - focused discussions on accountability, harm, healing, and violence prevention.

 

 

 

 

 

Brooke Jenkins

District Attorney
San Francisco County

Brooke Jenkins, who is Black and Latina, is the second woman of color to serve as San Francisco District Attorney, joining Vice President Kamala Harris as barrier-breaking prosecutors. She is the first Latina District Attorney in San Francisco’s history. Jenkins brings over 15 years of experience as an attorney, working for years in private practice and serving as the Assistant Director of Enforcement for the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Jenkins has an extensive background as a prosecutor, serving as an Assistant District Attorney in the San Francisco DA’s Office from 2014 to 2021, where she worked her way up, serving in the Misdemeanor and Felonies Units before working as the office’s designated Hate Crimes Prosecutor. She was later promoted to the Sexual Assault Unit and eventually the Homicide Unit.

Jenkins earned her Bachelor of Arts from the University of California, Berkeley, and her Juris Doctorate from the University of Chicago Law School.

 

Angela Johnston

Senior Producer
Uncuffed Podcast

Angela Johnston is the Senior Producer of Uncuffed, where she facilitates podcast and story production and serves as an editor and lead audio storytelling instructor at San Quentin State Rehabilitation Center. She holds a master’s degree in journalism and is a graduate of KALW’s Audio Academy.
Angela has worked at KALW Public Radio in numerous roles, including deputy news director and the health and environment reporter. Her reporting has covered topics from lead poisoning to climate change, and her work has aired on KALW, KQED, Reveal, and The Pulse. Outside of Uncuffed, Angela is an accomplished editor who enjoys mentoring and collaborating with reporters in the KALW newsroom.

 

 

 

Nigel Poor

Nigel Poor is an artist and podcast host whose work explores the ways people leave behind evidence of their existence. In 2011, Nigel got involved with San Quentin State Prison as a volunteer teacher for Mount Tamalpais College (formerly the Prison University Project). In 2017, she co-founded the prison-based podcast Ear Hustle, a Pulitzer Prize finalist and two-time Peabody Award nominee, among numerous other awards. Episodes of the show have been downloaded millions of times by listeners everywhere. Her work as a visual artist has been exhibited nationally and internationally and can be found in museum collections including the SFMOMA, the M.H. deYoung Museum, and the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, D. C. Nigel is a professor of photography at California State University, Sacramento. She’s the author of The San Quentin Project, published by Aperture and co-author of This Is Ear Hustle: Unflinching Stories of Everyday Prison Life, published by Crown Publishing Group, which was the San Francisco Public Library’s One City One Book selection in 2022.

 

 

Earlonne Woods

Earlonne Woods was born and raised in South Central Los Angeles. In 1997, he was sentenced to 31 years to life in prison. While incarcerated, he received his GED, attended Coastline Community College, and completed many vocational trade programs. He also founded CHOOSE1, which aims to repeal the California Three Strikes Law, the statute under which he was sentenced. In 2017, he co-founded the prison-based podcast Ear Hustle, a Pulitzer Prize finalist and two-time Peabody Award nominee, among numerous other awards. Episodes of the show have been downloaded millions of times by listeners everywhere. In November 2018, California Governor Jerry Brown commuted Earlonne’s sentence after 21 years of incarceration. Upon his release, Earlonne was hired by PRX as a full-time producer and co-host for Ear Hustle. He is also the co-author of This Is Ear Hustle: Unflinching Stories of Everyday Prison Life (Crown Publishing), which was the San Francisco Public Library’s One City One Book selection in 2022.