OUR PEOPLE
TAMISHA WALKER
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Tamisha Walker is a founding member and Executive Director of the Safe Return Project, a campaign to secure the freedom and liberation of formerly incarcerated individuals. She has been a Richmond-based community organizer and well-respected advocate on issues related to mass incarceration and racial disparity in the criminal justice system since her release from incarceration in 2009. Tamisha organizes and coordinates the Safe Return Project and its campaigns at the local, state, and federal levels. As a formerly incarcerated woman, she shares a powerful personal story about the journey to healing and successful reentry into society. Tamisha has years of community organizing experience in a city impacted by trauma and economic inequality, including her own personal experience with trauma and poverty growing up in Richmond, California. Her educational credentials include professional training in research and advocacy for the formerly incarcerated and their families, violence prevention strategies, and conflict mediation to reduce urban gun violence.
Contact:
CHALA BONNER
PROGRAMS MANAGER
Chala Bonner is a Civic Engagement Organizer at Safe Return Project. Her passion for helping others in her community shines through her work with SRP. She works hard to level the playing field for formerly incarcerated people of color. Her goal is to build equity in the community by helping folks overcome the obstacles and challenges that come with incarceration and reentry and bring healing to those who have had traumatic and stressful experiences. Her motto is “Don’t let your past dictate your future.”
Contact: (510) 497-1538
CARLOS FERNANDEZ
COMMUNITY ORGANIZER
Carlos Fernandez is a Jr. Organizer and Credible Messenger mentor with the Safe Return Project. Carlos was raised in Richmond, spent most of his teenage life in juvenile hall, and now advocates for the decarceration and healing of young people impacted by the criminal legal system.
Contact: (619) 756-3269
ADEY TESHAGER
COMMUNITY & CIVIC ENGAGEMENT ORGANIZER
Adey advocates for policies, leads campaigns, organizes community actions, facilitates Safe Return's workshops, conducts participatory action research, builds a grassroots base of people on a political, social, and economic level, and guides her community members to resources.
As a formerly incarcerated woman, Adey's barriers included unemployment, access to housing, trauma, and resources. Today, she advocates for policies, leads campaigns, organizes community actions, facilitates Safe Return's workshops, conducts participatory action research, builds a grassroots base of people on a political, social, and economic level, and guides her community members to resources. Adey is a member of the Equity For Black Women and Girls Task Force in Contra Costa County and a voting member of the Contra Costa County Commission for Women and Girls, where she advocates for formerly incarcerated women, girls, and gender non-conforming individuals.
Contact: (510) 775-3060