Our Team
Hailey
Executive Director (she/her/hers)
hailey@beyondthesewallslgbt.org
Beyond These Walls is an organization that knows that people most affected must be the people leading the work – I myself am an Alaskan Native (Tlingit), Transgender Woman that was incarcerated for 12 years, 3 months, and 2 weeks in a Washington state Men’s prison. It was during that time that I, and many of the Trans Women I was incarcerated with, received assistance from BTW. I was first introduced to BTW in 2016, while I was incarcerated at Airway Heights C.C. in Eastern Washington: I reached out to them looking for a Pen-Pal. In November of 2020 I joined the Board of Directors, however had to step down in March of 2021 due to time constraints. I later became a staff member in order to continue assisting those still incarcerated to successfully return to their communities.
Beyond These Walls provides much needed: Advocacy, resources, financial assistance, and training to all LGBTQ+ individuals regardless of where they are – Because we also know that no one is defined by their worst decision.
I am proud of the work we do, and I am honored to be a part of the Beyond These Walls family.
Biff
Deputy Director (they/them/theirs) biff@beyondthesewallslgbt.org
I am a cofounder of Beyond These Walls. I believe deeply in the work we do. I have built relationships with queer people in prison for over a decade and have learned that criminal justice is so much more complicated than we want it to be. Even people who cause serious harm to others are capable of healing and accountability, and I believe we are all safer when the systems of accountability actually work. For that to happen, we have to care for all members of our community, even the ones who have caused harm. Not just because everyone is better than their worst decision, but because we are all safer when people who have caused harm are equipped with the tools to succeed. With that said, 90% of people who have committed “crimes” do not need to be in prison. It does not serve them and it does not serve us. Abolition is not about eliminating systems of justice. Abolition is about replacing those systems with effective, proven ways to achieve healing and accountability for everyone.
I am a queer parent, artist, activist, and lover of coffee and cats.
I oversee Oregon-based programming, communications, and fundraising.
Jeremy
WA Case Manager (he/him/his) jeremy@beyondthesewallslgbt.org
As a formerly incarcerated gay man who navigated the prison system and the release process with a lot of outside support, I felt obligated to assist the people coming out behind me in finding reentry resources. What began as service to my friends became an organic progression to becoming the Washington Case Manager for Beyond These Walls.
My mission is to make sure everyone in our LGBTQ+ community has the support they need to reenter society. I work with people who have a variety of needs, from legal advocacy, to housing and medical advocacy, to clothing. I connect people with supportive communities, and I make sure they know that I’m only a text away.
Resources are scarce. Many Washington counties have no support. Beyond These Walls will continue to seek out practical resources that make reentering society successful for our LGBTQ+ family members behind bars.
There is no one size fits all approach to providing the kind of support people will need in order to be successful. My job involves thinking outside the box, networking, and making connections with other like-minded people. I look forward to continuing the charge to help our incarcerated LGBTQ+ family lead happy, healthy lives.
Havana
OR Case Manager (all pronouns) havana@beyondthesewallslgbt.org
My name is Havana. I was born and raised in Portland and I am the Oregon case manager for Beyond these Walls.
Growing up there were many members of my family including my father who faced incarceration. I saw the struggles incarceration created in my family and how big of an adjustment it was to be released. My father having been incarcerated and suffering racial discrimination in and out of prison taught me a lot about the system. I was taught prisons don’t rehabilitate, and that it’s not the way to help and heal someone. I wanted to change the system which takes a lifetime. So I did meaningful things that directly helped my community in the meantime like providing protest supplies and direct mutual aid. As a lesbian of color I try to lead a queer centered life and prioritize the wellbeing of my queer and BIPOC community. In my search for opportunities that served my community, I found BTW I knew it was perfect! My goal at BTW is to ensure my LGBTQ2SIA+ community is heard and taken care of. We only have ourselves and should strive to take care of each other regardless of our differences.
Paul
Care Closet Coordinator (he/him/his) info@beyondthesewallslgbt.org
If you told me five years ago that I would be volunteering 20-30 hours a week to help people currently and previously incarcerated I would not have believed you. I, like many, was taught to fear people who have been incarcerated. As a child I was taught “stranger danger” and used terms such as “bad guy”. All of this changed when the love of my life (Hailey) told me about her 12 years, 3 months and 2 weeks incarcerated.
On our one month anniversary I went to a DOC office for the first time. I accompanied Hailey to her appointment so our relationship could be approved by her CCO. My wife, as well as her friends she met in prison, have opened my eyes to see that making a mistake doesn't mean you are a bad person. Some of the nicest people I have met have spent time in prison.
There are so many hoops people reentering into society have to jump through just to live their truth. When Hailey started working with BTW as a case manager she had this amazing idea to send release packages into the prisons so transgender individuals can release in gender affirming clothing. I took this idea and ran with it. I converted a bedroom in our home into the care closet. Not only do we send release packages into institutions we also make care packages that we either mail out or hand deliver. Our care closet is stocked primarily by donations. Thank you to all whose donations have made the care closet possible.
I have learned from my lovely wife that a lot of people transition in prison. I came out in a mental health institution so I feel I can relate a bit. I spent 10 years in mental health institutions and being in that environment as a trans man comes with a whole host of challenges.
I was lost before I met Hailey and started down this rewarding path of helping the most marginalized individuals in society. Now I have a purpose and a family with the BTW team.
