Events

Ayana Thomas, founder of the Ayana Thomas Initiative and creator of Grieving Back to Life and Grief Behind the Gavel, has been invited to speak at Alcatraz Island as part of the Formerly Incarcerated Speakers Series.

In a space historically rooted in incarceration and now dedicated to public dialogue, Ayana will lead a powerful conversation on grief, trauma, and healing within justice impacted communities. Her work centers the lived experiences of women navigating loss connected to incarceration, identity, and survival.

This event was a full-attendance abolition symposium held in San Francisco on April 10, 2026. The symposium was organized by a formerly incarcerated law student, a formerly incarcerated scholar, and the Journal of Race and Economic Justice at UC Law San Francisco.

The gathering created a shared space that bridged academic scholarship with on-the-ground experience. Participants included scholars, students, educators, organizers, practitioners, advocates, and people systemically targeted by the criminal legal system.

The goal of the symposium was to exchange ideas, share strategies, and advance abolitionist thought and practice. Together, participants explored how abolition can be taught, practiced, and sustained across communities and institutions, centering voices and experiences that have historically been excluded from traditional academic and policy conversations.

This private event took place during the Women With a Plan Women’s Empowerment Lunch. Ayana Thomas was invited to speak about her lived experience and perspectives on the justice system, as well as the process of finding strength, confidence, and self-trust after justice involvement or when supporting a loved one who is incarcerated.

The conversation centered on overcoming obstacles associated with justice system involvement and reclaiming personal power in the face of adversity. Attendees were invited to reflect on resilience, healing, and the ways women can support one another through shared understanding and community.

This was a private speaking engagement focused on empowerment, storytelling, and creating space for honest dialogue among women navigating complex life experiences.

This grant was awarded by the Center for Justice at Columbia University to The Ayana Thomas Initiative in support of The Grief Behind the Gavel™ project. The funding recognizes and invests in community-based, grief-informed work grounded in justice, healing, and public engagement.

The grant is intended to support the continuation and expansion of community-centered efforts, including campaigns, social or community events, town halls, panel discussions, and creative or artistic group activities. This work places a strong emphasis on serving women, girls, and gender-expansive people, particularly those impacted by trauma, incarceration, and systemic harm.

This funding strengthens the capacity to deepen local impact, expand access to grief-informed spaces, and sustain work that centers dignity, storytelling, and collective healing within the community.

12th Annual Transformative Justice & Abolition Criminology ConferenceJoin scholars, practitioners, organizers, and community members for a powerful day of learning, dialogue, and reimagining justice. This conference centers transformative justice, abolition, lived experience, and collective pathways toward healing and accountability beyond punishment.

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Come ready to listen, learn, challenge, and imagine new futures rooted in justice, dignity, and care.

A Healing Conversation

Grief is hard.
But finding language, connection, and support for your healing journey doesn’t have to be.

The Grieving Back to Life Book Club is an intimate and transformative space created for women navigating grief in all its forms—especially those impacted by incarceration, reentry, loss, and major life transitions.

Led by Ayana Thomas, this experience is rooted in AYANA’s Grief Method™, offering a guided and compassionate approach to exploring the layers of grief that often go unspoken.

This is more than a book discussion.

This is a space for truth.
This is a space for reflection.
This is a space for healing.