OUR TEAM
Chris Johnson
Executive Director​
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Chris was the Coach and local President of Success Stories while incarcerated at CTF Soledad. He holds 5 Associates Degrees in multiple disciplines. Chris returned home in May of 2021 and started as a Transformational Coach and Growth Coordinator. He has worked with Success Stories since 2015. In 2023, he became the Executive Director.
Chantal Coudoux
Associate Director​
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Chantal is the Director of Operations of Success Stories and former volunteer community liaison. She went to Scripps College in Claremont, California and graduated with a B.A. in politics and a focus on critical race theory and social movements. In her role at Success Stories, she oversees operations and fundraising and works closely with the Leadership Team and Board on strategic growth.
GRAHAM FINOCHIO
Director of Programs
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Graham was a facilitator at CTF Prison in Soledad, CA. He came home in February of 2019 and joined the staff in July. He is a coach at three prisons in the central valley and multiple reentry programs in Southern California. He focuses on resource development for coaches nationally and identification of new sites to deliver Success Stories.
HUGO GONZALEZ
Director of Public Outreach
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Hugo served as the second President of Success Stories at CTF Prison in Soledad. Prior to that, he was the Vice President and one of the original facilitators. He now works as a coach and Director of Public Outreach.
Trinidad Flores
Co-Manager of Coaching (Cismen)
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Trinidad became an alumni of Success Stories Program in 2016 at CTF. After being found suitable for parole in April 2020, Trinidad was released from CTF in July 2020. Since his release, Trinidad has been a utility guy, sharing all knowledge, being of service, and bringing awareness about toxic masculinity. Trinidad joined Success Stories team in May 2021 and focuses on our correspondence course for those who are incarcerated.
Bleu Watkins
Co-Manager of Coaching (Non-cismen)
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Bleu was Incarcerated for close to 28 years. During their incarceration, Bleu received certificates of completion from The William Glasser Institute and Loyola Marymount University in Choice Theory Psychology. Upon their release in 2017, Bleu joined organizations such as Beyond the Bars, All of Us or None, Time Done, and CCWP to help abolish prison systems. Wanting to support women dealing with the traumas of being incarcerated and coming home, Bleu became the transitional housing coordinator at A New Way of Life Reentry project. They welcomed many formerly incarcerated women into homes where they could begin to heal with understanding, love, support, and the mentoring they needed to start their healing journey as a free woman. April has dedicated herself to giving back and understands that lives can be transformed without punishment.
MARISSA COMMEY
Development and Health and Wellness Manager​
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Indigo Mateo
Communications Associate
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Indigo Mateo (she/her) is a writer, content creator and creative powerhouse who first learned about the work of Success Stories during a prison visit in 2017. She is an artist and singer who is passionate about spreading the work and message of Success Stories through storytelling and media editing. She is also the founder of Soul Showers, a healing space for survivors of sexual violence.
Silas Kanady
Transformational Coach​
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Silas Kanady is a Senior at UC Berkeley, majoring in Social Welfare, minoring in Public Policy, and is a member of the Chancellor’s Advisory Council on Disability and Accessibility Planning. Currently, As a Transformational Coach at Success Stories Program, Silas delivers workshops to incarcerated boys and men, working with them to recognize and address the social maladies that arise from misogyny, patriarchy, and toxic masculinity. Additionally, Silas works for Guiding Rage Into Power (GRIP) in Soledad state prison, delivering workshops to incarcerated men that teach principles of non-violence, mindfulness, emotional intelligence, and victim's impact. Silas spent nearly twelve years in prison, finally being released in 2023. His experiences with the criminal justice system and its frequent entrapment of vulnerable populations have shaped his education, research, and life purpose. Currently, Silas serves on the California Policy Lab's Criminal Justice Research Advisory Board, where he provides guidance to policy analysts on criminal justice-related issues. Silas has interned as a social worker at the Office of the Federal Defender in Sacramento, and he enjoys gardening. Silas volunteers monthly at “City Slicker Farms” in West Oakland, helping to grow and distribute food to those in need in the community. Outside of gardening, Silas enjoys spending time with his wife and 3 children.
ALEX AMAYA
Transformational Coach​
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Alex Amaya has dedicated himself to transformational coaching because of his passion for community and providing opportunities for others to powerfully change their beliefs. Alex was justice involved at the early age of 17, during a time when most of his decision making could be attributed to elements of toxic masculinity and from growing up in patriarchy. After serving 20 years of a 29 year sentence, Alex has dedicated himself to the model "each one teach one" and works in justice-impacted communities in the Bay Area. Today, Alex works with adults and youth to both inspire personal growth, transformation, and drive systemic change.
JOSEPH
Transformational Coach​
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Joseph Williams Sr.'s journey is one of resilience, transformation, and dedication to social change. His life took a difficult turn as a youth offender when he was sentenced to a 15-year-to-life term in state prison at the young age of 19. While incarcerated, Joseph engaged in educational and developmental opportunities such as college coursework across various disciplines such as psychology, sociology, health, and business.
Now, sowing seeds as a transformational coach at Success Stories, his firsthand experience with the criminal justice system provides credibility and empathy in his approach to mentoring. In his role as a transformational coach, he has a talent for reaching young individuals, guiding them on a path toward productive and fulfilling lives post-incarceration. Joseph also refined his transformational skills through involvement with the Crop organization, dedicating his efforts to equip others with the tools needed for personal growth and societal contribution. He believes in the power of personal transformation and the potential for each individual to rewrite their story. He advocates for a compassionate approach to mentorship, one that acknowledges the profound challenges faced by youth offenders while providing them with the support and guidance necessary to navigate their new chapters in life.
DANTE
Transformational Coach​
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From a tumultuous childhood to serving 28 years of a life sentence without parole (for a crime committed at age 16), Dante's life has been a testament to resilience and the power of transformation. His experiences ignited a passion to help others overcome "Vacant Esteem"—the debilitating feeling of worthlessness. Guided by faith, honesty, trust, hard work, fairness, and family, Dante connects deeply with those in pain, offering support and advocating for meaningful change. He believes in the power of vulnerability, listening, and forgiveness, and approaches challenges with a logical and team-oriented mindset. Dante is committed to building a brighter future through collaboration and community.
Board of Directors
Angela Me-Gyung Chung
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Angela Me-gyung Chung is a criminal defense attorney, facilitator, and independent consultant based on the unceded territory of the Gabrieleño/Tongva territory. For over two decades, they have been active in the social justice movements for racial justice, gender justice, prison abolition, and transformative justice. They come to this work as a survivor of family violence, a daughter of Korean immigrants, and loved ones with mental health and substance abuse issues. They are a co-founder of the FTP Fund, a community bail fund helping people arrested for resisting police, white supremacy, and poverty in Los Angeles.
Amber-rose Howard
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Amber-Rose Howard is a poet, public speaker and organizer from Pomona, California. Experiencing a felony conviction as a young adult propelled Amber-Rose into a lifetime commitment of organizing against the Prison Industrial Complex and building up the power of Black people and all others impacted by state violence. Amber-Rose holds a BA in Communication Studies concentrated in Public Argumentation & Rhetoric from California State University, San Bernardino. She is a graduate of the Women’s Foundation of California, Women’s Policy Institute fellowship program and a proud member of All of Us Or None and a graduate of the Just Leadership USA, Leading with Conviction Fellowship. Amber-Rose currently serves as Executive Director of Californians United for a Responsible Budget (CURB), a statewide coalition of over 80 grassroots organizations working to reduce the amount of people incarcerated, stop prison and jail construction and expansion, and shift state and local spending from policing and corrections to supportive human services, bridging movements for racial, economic and environmental justice in CA and across the Nation.
Mimi kim
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Mimi Kim is the founder of Creative Interventions and a co-founder of INCITE! Women, Transgender and Gender Non-Conforming People of Color Against Violence. She continues to work on transformative justice and restorative justice responses to gender-based violence. As a second generation Korean American and a long-time activist and advocate, she locates her political work in global solidarity with feminist anti-imperialist struggles, seeking not only the end of oppression but of the creation of liberation here and now. Mimi is also an Associate Professor of social work at California State University, Long Beach.
BOBBY BROWN
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Bobby Brown is a father, a husband, a community leader and entrepreneur. Bobby’s mission in all that he does is to make life a bit easier for others. In 2019 Bobby founded Donuts with Dads, a father’s support group, with the intention of creating a space for fathers to show up for themselves and for each
other. As a father of four Bobby understands the importance of having a supportive community of men that encourage healing, vulnerability and love. Professionally, Bobby has been in the financial services industry for 15 years and has held many roles across many different firms including most recently being a financial advisor with Merrill Lynch in Los Angeles from 2019-2023. In March, Bobby and his family relocated from LA to Northern VA where he is now a manager with Morgan Stanley.
Chantal Coudoux
Roy Duran, Jr.
Chris Johnson