By Christina Gray
Eight men and two women stepped up to a microphone on Alcatraz Island on June 27 to share their stories of post-prison redemption as students in the Archdiocese of San Francisco’s Excell Network. The poignant event marked the program’s fifth anniversary and the latest in the historic prison’s Formerly Incarcerated Speaker Series.
It’s just a few miles across the choppy waters of San Francisco Bay from San Quentin State Prison where some of the speakers spent years of their adult lives. Today, as students of the Excell Network, John Schoppe-Rico, John Cunningham Jr., Alexia Saavedra, Mariah Cenea, Thomas Wynn, Clinton Moore, Billie Le, Bo Sengsavang, Louis Calvin, and Wayne Jordan have the tools and support to live meaningful lives outside prison walls with hope and dignity.
A program of the archdiocese’s Restorative Justice Ministry within the Office of Human Life and Dignity, the Excell Network aims to help those
leaving prison re-enter society with new skills and goals. It offers scholarship stipends, accompaniment, and an ongoing, supportive community that can make all the difference in preventing recidivism. The Excell Network is supported in part by a bi‑monthly breakfast held at local Catholic churches where scholarship recipients share their stories with other Excell students, mentors and donors.
“Being invited to speak as a group at this historic venue is a meaningful milestone for our students and a beautiful affirmation of the ministry we have built together over these five years,” said Julio Escobar, restorative justice ministry coordinator and founder of the Excell Network.
Thomas Wynn spent nearly 40 years in prison for a violent crime as a young man. “Time gave me the opportunity to reflect, but purpose is what gives my life meaning today, to serve, to advocate and to help restore dignity where it was lost,” he said. Today after committing himself to education and self-growth, he is a certified substance abuse counselor.
“Education opened my eyes to who I could become, not who I used to be,” said John Schoppe-Rico. Released after years in high‑security prisons, he set his sights on education and personal growth. He lives in transitional housing supported by his family and the Excell Network community while he pursues a business degree.
Clinton Moore had a childhood marked by instability that led to a long prison sentence at age 23. Education has been the cornerstone of his post-prison life and personal evolution. He’s a certified substance abuse counselor and begins studies at San Francisco State University this fall hoping to deepen his ability to offer trauma-informed care to others.
“I’m all in for honest healing and for the life God is helping me build,” said Moore.
Escobar was invited by the National Park Service to bring Excell students to speak in the same wind-battered building where Alcatraz inmates once labored before the former federal penitentiary closed in 1963. The building is now a historical interpretive center that “invites visitors to examine justice and common humanity” through its facilities and events. The park service provided 50 complimentary passes to the event enabling family members and supporters to attend. The event was also open to all Alcatraz visitors.
“As one of the only parks that interprets incarceration, we want to use parks as a spot for dialogue where people can reflect on these things,” said Ranger Ashley Borrego in her introductions. She took a moment to pay tribute to the life of Stanford Chatfield, a former Excell Network member. After 35 years in prison, Chatfield became an historical interpreter and tour guide at Alcatraz whose experience on the inside informed his tours and endeared him to staff and visitors alike. He coordinated the speaker series until his passing in 2025.
In a short question-and-answer period after the speaker presentations, a man who only identified himself as a visitor from Australia stood up to express his respect to the speakers and to the park service for hosting the event.
“I am lucky to have chanced upon this impressive event, thank you,” he said. “I wish we had something like this in my country.”
About the Restorative Justice Ministry
The Restorative Justice Ministry is a ministry of presence, healing, and hope rooted in the Catholic belief in mercy and the dignity of every human person.
“We envision a community where every person — especially those impacted by crime, incarceration, and violence — encounters the healing love of Christ. We strive for a society transformed by mercy, where relationships are restored, dignity is honored, and hope is renewed. Guided by the Holy Spirit, we seek a future in which justice is rooted in compassion, reconciliation is possible, and all people can flourish in peace.”
Visit sfarch/excellnetwork for more information about the Excell Network.
