Marvin Galdamez

Marvin Galdamez was born in El Salvador and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area. In 2015, at 24, Marvin committed a felony and was sentenced to 10 years in the California Department of Corrections. After his release from prison in 2013, Marvin dedicated himself to serving his community. He is passionate about advocating for formerly and currently incarcerated persons. He has worked on policies that make it easier for people to transition from prison into the community, using his personal experience and story to inspire other formerly incarcerated individuals. Marvin hopes that through the power of his story, other youth will not fall victim to the carceral injustice system.

Marvin learned of the Safe Return Project (SRP) at Rubicon Programs in Richmond in 2019. At Rubicon, he met Chala, SRP Program Manager, and learned about the Richard Boyd Fellowship (RBF) Program. He applied for the fellowship in 2019 and graduated in 2020. In 2023, Marvin joined the SRP team as a Program Coordinator/ Navigator. 

Today, as a program coordinator at Safe Return, Marvin Assists with planning and coordinating programs, facilitates workshops, gives presentations on Safe Return Project (SRP) programs to potential allies and participants, attends outreach events for SRP to recruit participants for programs, and helps participants navigate programs and their activities. He also does community outreach and presentations on SRP programs.

Marvin is a dedicated father to his three sons. He is an avid bike rider and is active in the community. Marvin serves on the Participant Advisory Board for Rubicon Programs in Richmond and is a member of All Of Us Or None. He also volunteers at other local community organizations.