Board of Directors
Amy Wise
Co-Founder, Director of Resource Development
Amy is an author, coach, speaker, writer and editor. She is the author of Believe in Yourself ~ Inspire Others ~ Spread Joy. Believe in Yourself ~ Inspire Others ~ Spread Joy was an Award-Winning Finalist in the Inspiration category of the 2014 National Indie Excellence Book Awards and in the Self-Help: Motivational category of the 2013 USA Best Book Awards by USA Book News. Additionally, Amy is a contributing author in the anthologies Dancing at the Shame Prom and Oil and Water and Other Things That Don’t Mix. She is the creator of The Many Shades of Love blog, where she writes about the ups and downs of being in an interracial marriage and family. She is also a guest writer on various websites and blogs and is a ghostwriter and editor for all genres of writers. Along with her writing, Amy is a motivational speaker for all types of events and groups. Amy is also a Certified Professional Coach who is forever passionate about helping others find their joy, follow their heart and live their dreams!
Jennifer Myers
Co-Founder, Director of Programs
Jennifer is an author, speaker, ghostwriter, federal prison consultant, and advocate for women in prison and youth with incarcerated parents. She founded LA Myers consulting, a prison consulting business that prepares first-time, nonviolent offenders and their families for federal prison, and is co-founder of Voices of UNcarceration; a series of creative storytelling/media production projects that brings to light the impact of incarceration on California families and communities. Her memoir, Trafficking the Good Life, was published by Bettie Youngs Books and was a finalist in the 2014 San Diego Book & Writing awards. Her writing has received an honorable mention in the PEN Prison writing competition and has been published in Salon Magazine, the anthology Razor Wire Women, The Huffington Post, and the online literary journal qarrtsiluni. Jennifer is a panelist speaker with TKF San Diego (stopping youth violence) and speaks to 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th graders about making conscious choices. Jennifer enjoys empowering women and young girls as she writes by the sea in San Diego.
Rise Walter
Board President
Rise Walter has spent her entire adult life working in the not-for-profit arts world, including the San Francisco Symphony and the San Diego Opera. She is responsible for creating BAPTA, a professional association of ticketing professionals in the Bay Area, and the Tessitura Network, which has expanded to include over four hundred arts organizations and twelve hundred people. The creation of these organizations is reflective of Rise’s fervent desire to bring people together and create unity for the greater good. A practicing Nichiren Buddhist for thirty-seven years, Rise is committed to always doing her best to create an environment full of respect, appreciation and opportunity, wherever she is.
Ruth Curran
Board Secretary
With over twenty-eight years of experience as a strategist, business development executive and organizational behaviorist, Ruth Curran has developed a reputation as an exceptional business and personal development coach equally versed in for-profit and nonprofit operations and development. Her current passion is the connection between the brain and daily functioning. Ruth writes about brain-healthy living and has created a series of a photo-based thinking puzzles, games, and Apps. Ruth believes that everyone, no matter the stage of life, has the power to harness and use neuroplasticity to live a richer, deeper and more fully engaged life.
Madge Woods
Board Member
Madge Woods is an artist, writer, blogger, mediator and philanthropist. She is actively involved in a number of organizations located within the Los Angeles community. Madge is currently a board member of POPS (Pain of Prison System), was a board member of ACWIP (Action Committee for Women in Prison), and has given her time to Volunteers in Parole. She coordinated the UCLA 5-hospital program in gastroenterology and has worked with veterans at the VA Hospital. Madge is also an active supporter of the Environmental Working Group. She is passionate about helping others reach their full potential.
Dr. Yolanda Williams-Lewis
Board Member
Upon graduating from high school, Yolanda received an academic scholarship to attend the University of California, San Diego, to study Pre-Med/Biology and to pursue a career in pediatrics. However, after two years Yolanda received her calling to pursue a career in education and transferred to San Diego State University. Yolanda is very passionate about autism, specifically students with autism and inclusive education, and recently received her Doctoral Degree in Educational Leadership with an emphasis in Autism from San Diego State University. She has been an Elementary School Principal and a teacher in the San Diego Unified School District for the past 30 years, as well as serving in several leadership capacities. Yolanda enjoys mentoring, working with youth, and supporting reform efforts within her community.