Topeka K. Sam
Topeka K. Sam is the founder and executive director of the Ladies of Hope Ministries (LOHM), co-founder of HOPE HOUSE NYC, president of TKS Ventures LLC, and Faces & Voices Inc. She serves on the board of directors for Grassroots Leadership, Coalition for Public Safety, and The Marshall Project. Since her release from federal prison in 2015, Topeka has been awarded many fellowships and scholarships, such as the 2015 Beyond the Bars Fellow and a 2016 Justice-In-Education Scholar, both from Columbia University. A guest on a variety of national TV and radio shows, she is also an executive producer of 44 Blue Productions, where she is developing a scripted and unscripted series inspired by her experiences with female incarceration. She continues to work selflessly and relentlessly in her fight for the dignity, decriminalization, and decarceration of women and girls.