Our Team

David Cowan

David is the Founding Director of Bonafide. David has been helping to support the justice-impacted community post-release since 2012 shortly after he was released from incarceration himself in 2011. He was an Aircraft Armament Systems Specialist in the U.S. Air Force. He earned an associate degree from Patten University through the Prison University Project, (now Mt. Tamalpais College). He continued his education at San Francisco State University earning a B.A. in Criminal Justice Studies. For the last ten years, he has served as the director of operations for Mount Tamalpais College, where he is responsible for the organization’s audit readiness and key systems. David is a recipient of the 2019 Uncommon Hero’s Award.

Clinton Martin

Clinton’s professional journey is distinguished by a unique trajectory, evolving from youth incarceration to adulthood with a commitment to community service. His fervent dedication to societal betterment began within prison, where he founded the San Quentin Diabetes Program. Post-release, Clinton remains actively involved, notably as a volunteer youth mentor at Restorative Justice for Oakland Youth (RJOY) in the “Black Male Circle.” Additionally, he played a pivotal role as one of Bonafide’s inaugural welcome home drivers at San Quentin, finding genuine joy in facilitating positive transitions for others.

Clinton’s narrative reflects resilience and an unwavering commitment to community welfare, illustrating the transformative power of redemption. His diverse engagements underscore the importance of mentorship and community support in catalyzing positive change, portraying a story of personal growth and meaningful societal contribution within the justice-impacted community.

Becca Carter

Becca has professional experience in strategic planning and data analysis from her work as a former McKinsey consultant and as a Data Scientist at eBay and the cloud-based payroll and HR platform, Gusto. Becca earned her doctorate from UC Berkeley in 2009. During her graduate studies and beyond, she was a volunteer instructor of science and math topics for the Prison University Project (now Mt. Tamalpais College), and also worked with incarcerated men at San Quentin to found a financial literacy program and to help manage the data for  the 70+ rehabilitative programs occurring on grounds. She and David grew what would eventually become Bonafide out of their own experiences reintegrating and helping others reintegrate following long sentences.

Alexis Jones

Hailing from West LA, Alexis is passionate about giving back and assisting others in rebuilding their lives. She has a personal connection to this work, having personally witnessed the impact of incarceration on her family members. For Alexis, Bonafide’s mission is deeply personal, and she is grateful for the chance to contribute. Her aspirations extend to establishing a transitional home for individuals seeking to reintegrate into society, particularly focusing on lifers and women aiming to reunite with their children and families. Alexis also works for the City of Los Angeles and in her leisure moments, she finds joy in riding motorcycles.

John Windham

John Windham is a formerly incarcerated citizen who works as a driver and serves on the Board of Bonafide as a way of giving back to others that which he wanted for himself when he came home: love, respect, dignity, patience, understanding, care, and most importantly empathy. He gives all of this to the people he transports from the prison gate because he believes love changes people. John is also the CEO of the We All We Got JMW Foundation, a California non-profit dedicated to housing the formerly incarcerated.

Marcus Lowe

Marcus grew up in Central Los Angeles. Presently, he has attained mastery in the art of mechanics and is skilled in constructing cars and Harley-Davidsons. As a devoted family man, Marcus cherishes his time with his four children and finds joy in fishing, particularly when catching halibut and white sea bass. His journey to Bonafide is fueled by a desire to contribute and support the reintegration of returning community members.

Zarinah Agnew

Zarinah is a scientist by training and now runs two non-profits. One dedicated to the study of social science in the wild, and one dedicated to engineering experimental spaces where humans can ‘be otherwise’. Together these allow Zarinah to both prefigured new social configurations, as well as study them. These experimental spaces projects range from radical reading rooms, co-living spaces, to prison abolition and The Alternative Justices Project. The Second Life Project is a community centered around the needs and wisdoms of returning citizens, that centers collective emancipation and stewarded autonomy at its core. They have recently helped to start two intentional community houses centered around the experience of returning citizens. Zarinah stewards Haight Street Commons, a Bay Area organization that brings together people from different co-living spaces and helps them cross-pollinate, collaborate and create a parallel economy. Together all of these diverse endeavours fall into the realm of helping humans be and live otherwise.

Yaphette Geiger

A Sacramento native, Yaphette exudes energy, spontaneity, and a caring spirit. Personally impacted by incarceration, she channels her experiences into her work at Bonafide, aiming to support others as they steer their lives away from negativity and guide them towards transformative paths despite challenges. Committed to making a positive impact, she embraces her role with dedication, aspiring to contribute to the journeys of those seeking to turn their lives around. She dreams of owning a ranch to raise horses. Yaphette is passionate about fishing and finds joy in moments by the water as well as crafting culinary delights.

Terah Lawyer-Harper

Terah joined CROP in January 2022. She is the former Associate Director of Impact Justice’s groundbreaking reentry program – The Homecoming Project – a $3.5M housing innovation that matches eligible returning citizens with rooms for rent with compatible hosts. Over three years, she developed and led the program which has received national and state awards and provided nearly 70 formerly incarcerated individuals with sustainable housing in the Bay Area.

Terah brings deep program development experience, reentry housing expertise and a passion for investing in people. Her lived experiences as a formerly incarcerated woman who spent 15 years in prison informs her work and approach to rehabilitation and reentry. She has received multiple fellowships and scholarships, and over the last ten years has launched programs and organizations that invest in the leadership development of justice-involved professionals in all trades and careers.

While incarcerated, Terah became a certified peer health educator, a drug and alcohol counselor and earned two associate degrees. She developed the Offender Responsibility program, which is still offered at Central California Women’s Facility. Terah also developed the program curriculum to launch a nonprofit, CORE (Criminal Offender Reform Establishment), which provides rehabilitative correspondent courses nationwide to people incarcerated in prison. The organization has served 2500 students since 2012. From 2012-2013, she was the elected chairperson of the Beyond Incarceration Panel and led an organization of 20 members to gain certifications as Congressionally Recognized Youth Diversion Specialists.

After returning home in 2017, Terah has dedicated her life to her community. She is the spokeswoman for the Drop the Life Without the Possibility of Parole campaign and has been featured in A New Way of Life testimonial series. Her work has been profiled in major media outlets such as NPR, CNN Great Big Story, The New York Times, The Atlantic and Mother Jones. Terah is a Young Professional of Color Fellow with the National Institute for Criminal Justice Reform and was a 201X Next Generations Fellow with the Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice.

Terah is a San Francisco State University graduate and holds three undergraduate degrees in business administration, management, and social and behavioral sciences.

De’jon Joy

De’jon, a dedicated father and husband, is currently enrolled at SF State University, where he finds purpose in providing assistance to individuals during their most challenging moments. On the basketball court or immersed in design projects on his computer, De’jon channels his energy towards both physical and creative pursuits. His commitment to helping others is not only a personal passion but a guiding principle that shapes his academic and professional endeavors. With a focus on empathy and creativity, De’jon navigates his roles as a student, family man, and individual who seeks to make a positive impact in the lives of those around him.

Marvin Mutch

Marvin Mutch is a formerly incarcerated prison reform activist and co-founder of the Men’s Advisory Council, a prisoner advocacy group first established inside San Quentin to represent the collective needs and grievances of California’s prisoners. Mr. Mutch served 41 years of an indeterminate seven-year to life sentence for a wrongful conviction suffered in 1975. He was freed in 2016 due wholly to the tireless efforts of Professor Heidi Rummel of the USC Post Conviction Justice Project, Professor Emerita Susan Rutberg from the Golden Gate University Innocence Project, and attorney Michael Snedeker of Snedeker & Short. Marvin has addressed the United Nations’s Open-ended Working Group on Ageing on multiple occasions to speak about aging in prisons.

Taribu Cooper

Born in San Bernardino to young parents, Taribu brings a unique journey to the table. Living in Compton and Watts starting at the age of four, his formative years were shaped amidst the complexities of urban life, leading to socialization in gangs. Amid soul-searching in incarceration’s dark places, Taribu transitioned from a gangster lifestyle to a more enlightened path, embracing Islam in 1991 and adopting progressive thinking.

Taribu is passionate about working with youth and justice-impacted individuals and has achieved significant milestones such as obtaining a passport, overcoming parole, and actively helping others. His personal experience allows him to empathize with the challenges of reintegration. As a proud member of the Bonafide team, Taribu finds fulfillment in welcoming people home, supporting them as they navigate the transition from incarceration to freedom, and serving as a living example of success.

William Amir Anderson

William (Amir) was involved in many healing-related programs while he was incarcerated. He was a member of Kid CAT (Creating Awareness Together), Restorative Justice, and Criminal Gangs Anonymous and was a facilitator and mentor for the Diabetic Class in San Quentin. Bonafide met Amir at the gate when he was paroled in 2018, and now he is a welcome driver for Bonafide. He is a welcome driver because he likes to encourage people and let them know that they can be successful even though they have been incarcerated.

Dr. Seemay Chou

Dr. Seemay Chou has a longstanding interest in finding ways to increase access to opportunity. She is the Chief of Strategy at Astera Institute, a non-profit foundation that funds and operationalizes a broad range of projects that accelerate societal progress. Dr. Chou is also the co-founder and CEO of Arcadia Science, a research and development company focused on leveraging biological diversity for technological innovation. A scientist herself, Dr. Chou is a Pew Scholar, former Assistant Professor in Biochemistry and Biophysics at UCSF, and received a PhD in Molecular Cell Biology from UC Berkeley. 

Wendy Royston

Wendy comes to Bonafide with extensive knowledge and experience working with databases, office management, payroll, and accounting. Previously she worked at a public school system in North Carolina for more than 15 years before deciding to move to San Francisco to be closer to her son and his family. Wendy has long been an advocate for social justice and is excited to join the Bonafide team supporting back-end operations as the organization builds lives together.

Autumn Kruse

Autumn Kruse is a Certified Financial Planner™️ at her firm, Kruse Financial Strategy, where she specializes in Socially Responsible Investing and works with individuals on an hourly and per-project basis. She grew up in a family that believes strongly in social justice and has followed her father’s interest in helping people who are working against the United State’s barriers to reentry after incarceration. Previously, she helped develop and volunteered for a financial literacy ILTAG group at San Quentin State Prison.

Sam Johnson Sr.

Mr. Sam W. Johnson Sr. was born in Charleston, South Carolina. He grew up with four other siblings, two brothers and two sisters. Sam grew up as a Baptist and a follower of the teaching of Jesus Christ. He started working at Churches Chicken at seventeen, was promoted to manager, and eventually transferred to Oakland, California, managing 40 people. In Mr. Johnson’s former position as the Men’s Advisory Council (MAC) Representative, he worked tirelessly to “speed up the momentum for justice reform” for thousands of incarcerated men at San Quentin State Prison.

More recently, as a Program Coordinator at Arsola’s Reentry Program, he passionately shows a desire to gain homes for formerly incarcerated people to aid in their transition to society, combat the homeless crisis in the Bay Area, and reduce recidivism by assisting in a job opportunity, education, and other positive program resources available through Impact Justice. His 26 years of experience within the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation serves as his daily motivation to support, encourage, and improve the chances of success of reentry for those formerly incarcerated. He knows that his participation is crucial to doing this well while also rebuilding trusting relationships in our communities.

Samantha Epstein

Sam’s passion lies in helping individuals navigate critical transitions as a compassionate and steady compass. Whether those transitions are rooted in higher education, career development or reentry, she is committed to designing reciprocal support systems and relationships that help marginalized individuals navigate change so they know they’re never alone in their journey.

Sam has continued her work in reentry by building mentorship communities at San Quentin State Prison since 2010. She currently works as a People Business Partner at Hazel Health, a healthcare start-up focused on bringing mental and physical healthcare to schools so kids who need to be seen and cared for don’t lose valuable time in schools in the process! Formerly, she was the People Operations Manager at Landed and Head of People, Culture & Operations at Root & Rebound, a criminal justice and legal aid and advocacy organization committed to restoring power and resources to the families and communities most harmed by mass incarceration. 

Sam received her BA from the University of Michigan and her MBA at the Lorry I. Lokey School of Business and Public Policy at Mills College. She is a proud Evanston, Illinois native who can be seen playing competitive soccer and trying to live every day with balance alongside her partner and two fierce daughters.

Eric Muhammad

Eric Muhammad graduated from with a BA in Psychology. Successfully discharged parole. Co-founded Project PEACE for at-risk offenders.

LaQuisha Holley

LaQuisha Holley is a mother of two who has been in customer service for 16 years. Her experience includes call centers and retail. She was recently a bus operator for Metro in Los Angeles. She loves to meet new people and share information that leads to success as people take the next steps in their lives.

Katie Belflower

Katie has a passion for training dogs and helping others. Very shortly after earning her release from the Central California Women’s Facility after serving almost 20 years, she began volunteering with Bonafide to “pay it forward” to others starting their journey to rebuild their lives. Katie has trained service dogs for the last five years through a partnership with Little Angels Service Dogs, called the Puppies Uplifting Prisoners Spirits (P.U.P.S.) program. She also earned a Bachelor of Arts degree with an emphasis on General Business and plans to continue to work with dogs and eventually start her own dog training board and training business.

Ken Brydon

Ken is a skilled writer and published author. He was the first new editor-in-chief of the reinstated San Quentin News after the paper had been out of print for 20 years. Ken was also the San Quentin News Journalism Guild founder and contributor. He graduated from Patten University with an associates of arts degree and from Golden Gate Seminary.

Tim Malone

Tim has served as a hospice volunteer caregiver, a youth mentor, a dog trainer, and a public speaker to the United States Air Force. He has earned several Associate of Arts degrees from Palo Verde College and graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology. Tim accomplished all this while spending over two decades incarcerated as a juvenile serving a life sentence. Through resilience and faith in Christ Jesus, Tim strove to make amends and to help others along the way. The purpose and meaning of his system impact have provided the lived experience to relate, heal, and support others—and he continues to do so as the Program Associate of Bonafide. Tim will further his education by pursuing a Masters in Public Administration.

Laverne Taylor

Laverne Dejohnette Taylor, Founder of Sisters Keeper Dignity Trucks, is a dedicated advocate providing essential services to unhoused women and youth in the Bay Area. Formerly the Assistant Director at Five Keys overseeing homeless housing operations and currently facilitating Victim Offender Dialogues at Mend Collaborative, Laverne’s journey includes 26 years of incarceration, culminating in a sentence commutation. Transitioning from prison to freedom, she grappled with anxiety but found solace in a welcome from a Bonafide Welcome Home Driver. A Welcome Back Pack with supplies and a phone opened a world unknown to her. Now, as a Bonafide Welcome Home Driver herself, Laverne extends care to fragile individuals in their transformative moments, embodying the power of resilience and second chances.

Steven Gonzales

Steven Gonzalez is a passionate advocate for at-risk youth and adult reentry programs. An alumnus of Loyola Marymount University, he continues to further his education. After nearly 29 years of incarceration as a juvenile, Steven has been off parole for over a year and is dedicated to giving back to his community. His personal experiences drive his commitment to helping others overcome challenges. In his free time, he enjoys restoring his vintage 1947 Chevrolet, drawing, and crafting jewelry boxes. Steven’s journey highlights resilience and the power of education and community support.

Precious Johnson

Precious Johnson is a respected mentor, seasoned leader, and passionate advocate for prison reform. Precious has accumulated 15 years of direct experience within the prison system, offering invaluable knowledge and firsthand insights. During her incarceration, she earned an Associate degree in Business Management and played a pivotal role in a youth diversion program, steering young people towards constructive futures. Precious also facilitated self-help classes, earning recognition as a profound mentor within the prison community. Since her release, Precious has continued to champion transformative changes in the system, leveraging her personal journey and professional expertise to advocate for comprehensive reform and support for incarcerated individuals.

Kenyatta Leal

Kenyatta Leal is the Executive Director of Next Chapter, an organization creating pathways for formerly incarcerated individuals into tech careers. His journey of personal transformation fuels his passion for social innovation and second chances. Under Kenyatta’s leadership, Next Chapter has successfully placed numerous apprentices into full-time roles at major tech companies, fundamentally changing lives and reshaping industry perceptions. As a board member of Bonafide, Kenyatta brings expertise in reentry services, workforce development, and building inclusive cultures. His unique perspective and commitment to equity guide Bonafide’s mission to create lasting impact. Kenyatta is also a compelling speaker, sharing insights on resilience, leadership, and social change, inspiring others to challenge the status quo and foster more equitable communities.

Marielle Smith

Marielle Smith is a seasoned People and Talent Leader who specializes in growth-stage technology businesses. Marielle has built and scaled the HR and Talent Acquisition functions at companies like Apigee (acquired by Google), GoodHire (acquired by Checkr), and Narvar. Her professional passions include developing and designing scaling organizations, building a culture of engagement and accountability across distributed teams, mentoring HR/talent professionals, coaching leaders, and building manager support programs. Marielle is a SHRM volunteer member, and has served as the chair of the first US SHRMTech conference, the first Chair of the SHRMNorCal Volunteer Advisory Committee, and an advisor for the SHRMLabs Accelerator Program. In her free time, she enjoys skiing, scuba and making ceramics.

Sharon Fennix