Anna is an advocate, artist, and web developer specializing in UI/UX and data visualizations. After graduating from Duke University, she worked for AppDynamics and Cisco systems as a front-end and full-stack software. As a Senior Curriculum Developer for TLM, she strives to make technology more accessible and inspire learners’ creativity in web development.

Anna is passionate about addressing the harms of the prison system by creating new and meaningful opportunities for incarcerated individuals. Anna values community, equity, and empathy in her work and is grateful to be working alongside the fantastic TLM team.

Anthony M. Villalba Joined The Last Mile in 2018 and evolved into a man that refined his dreams and destiny as part of the Ironwood cohort. During his development as a coder, Mr. Villalba learned to leverage his experience in life and inquisitiveness as a programmer towards developing into a leader while gaining proficiencies in several languages & Libraries.
Mr. Villalba is currently enrolled in Justice Through Code – Data Analytics cohort, Google – Data Analytics Program.
Continuing to chase his dreams of becoming a Web Developer, Anthony is determined to manifest this destiny.

Aron first began coding as a participant of The Last Mile in San Quentin. As a coding enthusiast, he enjoys a challenge as an opportunity to use his problem solving skills and love of learning. He is passionate about education, both as a learner and as an instructor. Aron is excited to solve the world’s problems through code! He graduated from San Jose State University with a B.S. in Business Administration, concentration in Corporate Financial Management.

Blake Hansen joined The Last Mile as a student at San Quentin State Prison. There he learned that his hard work and love for education would transition into something greater. Upon release Blake has furthered his own education in ReactJS, and MongoDB and is currently doing freelance work using WordPress. Today he joins The Last Mile as an educator and supporter of those students he left behind. Here he hopes to show all his peers that success is only around the corner.

Dan Tinkler is a lifelong musician whose passion for performance and musical study led him into the world of audio engineering. He has spent the last 11 years working in recording studios and venues in Chicago with artists from all over the country. Dan always had a passion for sharing his knowledge of audio with others and received his masters from Northwestern University in 2018 to pursue teaching in higher education. He began working as an adjunct instructor at Flashpoint College before joining The Last Mile as an Audio Program Specialist. Dan is eager to continue to share his love for audio with students and grow the audio community with passionate engineers.

Dylan Franks is an educator and filmmaker committed to making the tools of video production accessible to storytellers within their communities, regardless of systemic divide. After studying rhetoric and community filmmaking at Bates College, Dylan worked as a teacher and curriculum specialist for the New Orleans Video Access Center (NOVAC) and has been a frequent collaborator on grassroots film projects. Now based in Arizona, Dylan is excited to join the team at The Last Mile and support this integral work.

Gary is a returned citizen who was released in June 2020, after 22 years of incarceration. He learned web development using the MERN stack and is actively engaged in pursuing web development as a career and as an entrepreneurial endeavor. Gary believes that creating jobs and helping individuals become employable are equally important and is passionate about doing his part on both sides of that equation.

Henry is a returned citizen after serving 25 years of incarceration in the Michigan Depatment of Corrections. Henry became a part of the TLM family as a student in the first TLM Michigan classroom where he finished track one of the web development curriculum. Although he was introduced as a student of coding he always showed interest in project management, and with the help of TLM began studying and preparing for a PM career. Henry is now a CAPM certified PM and member of the Project Management Institute.

As a Remote Instructor, Henry is excited to grow his skill set, helping to make the TLM experience better for the students that will follow. Henry believes it’s important for everyone to understand that TLM isn’t just about coding, it’s about people. He takes pride in being in a position to assist with helping people discover themselves and change the lives of families and communities everywhere.

Jacob is a returned citizen who worked as a software engineer prior to joining The Last Mile. He learned how to code while attending The Last Mile program in Indiana. He is a driven philomath, is excited about teaching, and even got a Department of Labor certification in Education & Training. He has a deep interest in blockchain technology – he has been learning many of the languages involved in web3 development and started his own web3 and blockchain services company.

Building on his knowledge of education and his experience as a software engineer, Jacob sought a position at TLM because he wanted to be a part of the organization and process that has changed his life so drastically. He hopes to help others who are striving to make these same changes and considers his job very rewarding.

Jacob Robak is a returned citizen and recent graduate of The Last Mile program in Indiana, where he learned to code using the full MERN stack. He is interested in back-end technologies and is actively working toward his career goal of database management. He is a lifetime learner who is committed to self-improvement and personal responsibility. He is a believer in positive thinking and living your best life under any and all circumstances. He hopes to use his position with The Last Mile to positively impact people and his community, and to show, by example, that success is not only possible but attainable for each of us.

Jason Jones is a full-time disruptor, activist, educator, and software engineer. Jason leads TLM’s conversations with existing and potential partners for TLM’s future with a focus on creating mutually beneficial partnerships that impact TLM’s learners on a high scale. 

On September 25, 2018, Jason was released after 13 ½ years incarcerated, during which time he graduated from The Last Mile’s inaugural coding class. Three weeks before his release, Jason became the first person from his cohort to sign a work agreement with a tech company as a software engineer. Jason was also the first justice-involved person to be accepted into the Lightspeed fellowship with a team from Stanford. Jason has gone on to graduate from the Koch Associate Program. Jason currently sits on the board of Rosecrans Ventures an organization that focuses on mentoring opportunity youth from marginalized communities. He is passionate about creating more opportunities for representation in tech and mentoring youth, which inspired him to continue to tutor and teach opportunity youth computer coding. Outside of his work with TLM he runs his own tech consulting company called Disrupt 2 innovate (D2i) where he consults companies on integrating MBM and technology to amplify their impact. #createChange #Disrupt2innovate

Jesse is the Curriculum Manager at The Last Mile. As a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer with five years of classroom teaching experience in the Bay Area and abroad, Jesse brings his pedagogic expertise to serve TLM’s diverse range of learners. He is a boot-camp graduate and has worked in coding instruction to help students and professionals of varying proficiencies bring their dreams to life by writing full-stack applications.

Collaborating closely with TLM’s curriculum developers to implement new lessons and the facilitator team to effectively deliver curriculum, Jesse leads TLM’s effort to provide all program participants the skills they need to find work and build projects outside of prison.

John was one of the students selected to the Last Miles’s inaugural cohort in Michigan. He spoke on behalf of the class during its grand opening and was the first to graduate both Track 1 and Track 2. His love and understanding of coding, and his love for teaching allowed him to become a student worker after the second week of class and a tutor upon completion of the program. Now working for The Last Mile, John is afforded the ability to incorporate most of his dreams as one single pursuit: his love of coding, advocacy, teaching, learning, creativity and growth.

Joseph started his coding career in the inaugural cohort at the Putnamville facility in Indiana. He never expected that a program he completed in prison could have such a drastic impact on his life. Today, he’s enrolled in a coding boot camp and studying to further expand upon the skills that The Last Mile taught him. He is extremely grateful for the opportunity to give back to the program that has helped change his life, and the life of so many others.

I am a former TLM student who developed a deep passion for coding and reignited her love of teaching. Upon my release I wanted to further pursue my education in coding with the Justice Through Code program. I am looking forward to working closely with TLM students as web development education apprentice. I am thrilled to merge both my passions coding and teaching into one.

Molly is a graduate of The Last Mile program at Indiana Women’s Prison. She is passionate about helping returned citizens as a Returned Citizen Advocate in the Reentry Department. Molly strongly believes in The Last Mile and in the power of supporting others through their reentry journey.

I first joined The Last Mile as a student in 2017 at Ironwood where I learned HTML5, CSS3 and JavaScript. With a foundation set in programming I then went on to General Assembly’s fully immersive software engineering bootcamp in 2020 where I learned full stack software development with technologies such as Mongoose, Express, React.js, Node.js and MongoDB through project based curriculums. My desire is to utilize my knowledge in programming to make a positive social impact in my community and the world.

Sarah Brown is a citizen of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma. She attended the University of Oklahoma and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Information Studies and went on to receive her Master’s in Library and Information Studies. She also received her Certification in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the Workplace from the University of South Florida. Sarah recently worked as a public librarian for six years where she brought her passion for E.D.I., leadership, and advocacy into her work building relationships with community organizations and working with at-risk and underrepresented communities. Outside of work, Sarah is a mother of two, an avid reader, and a proud member of Matriarch, a local non-profit that focuses on educating and empowering indigenous women and Two-Spirit relatives.

Terrell joined The Last Mile in 2016 as a student in Ironwood State Prison. Released in February 2020, he immediately pursued his passion for Web Development and enrolled in General Assembly’s Software Engineering Immersive. Focused on his passion to be a Full-Stack Developer, he enrolled as a student at Cal State Fullerton University, where he is majoring in Computer Software Engineering. He is proficient in HTML, CSS, JavaScript, Mongoose/MongoDb, Express, React, NodeJS, Python, Command Line, Git, and C++.

Walker is an educator and musician from Ojai, California. After graduating from UC Santa Cruz in 2010, Walker spent several years in various education roles, developing a special interest in working with youth from disadvantaged backgrounds. It was in pursuit of this interest that he joined The Last Mile in 2020 as Classroom Facilitator for the coding program at Ventura Youth Correctional Facility. The opportunity to combine his passions for music and education arose when he transitioned into the role of Audio Program Specialist in order to develop the pilot for TLM’s Audio and Video Production (AVP) Program. Walker now serves as AVP Manager, and takes great joy from seeing students engage with this new and quickly growing educational program.

Zee has been a non-profit fundraising professional for over a decade. She’s always gravitated towards mission-driven organizations that promote social justice, equality, and sustainability. She has a dual degree in English and Women’s Gender Studies from Santa Clara University which allows her to analyze and articulate complex issues into a palatable narrative. She’s taken her alma mater to heart and deeply believes in the idea to leave the world a better place for the next generation. This guiding commitment led her to The Last Mile, where she will help uplift others through the life-changing power of education.