Dr Baz Dreisinger

Executive Director, Incarceration Nations Network, USA

Dr. Baz Dreisinger is the Founding Executive Director of Incarceration Nations Network, a global network that promotes prison reform and justice reimagining worldwide; a Professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, City University of New York; the founder of John Jay’s groundbreaking Prison-to-College Pipeline program, which provides university-level education and reentry assistance to incarcerated and formerly incarcerated people throughout New York State; the author of the critically acclaimed book Incarceration Nations: A Journey to Justice in Prisons Around the World, named a notable book for 2016 by the Washington Post; and the director of Incarceration Nations: A Global Docuseries, which had its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival 2021. A 2018 Global Fulbright Scholar and current Fulbright Scholar Specialist, Dr. Baz speaks regularly about justice issues on international media and in myriad settings around the world, and is also a journalist who has written and produced for such outlets as The New York Times and National Public Radio (NPR).

Nora Calandra

Subsecretary of Labor and Inclusion, The Province of Buenos Aires, Argentina

Nora Calandra is a formerly incarcerated advocate for women and girls impacted by the justice system in Argentina and worldwide. A 2024 Global Freedom Fellow with Incarceration Nations Network, she is the founder of Movimiento de Trabajadores Excluidos and currently the Sub-secretary for Labor and Inclusion for the Buenos Aires Provincial Government. Nora has traveled to Brazil, Colombia and South Africa in her justice work and launched her organization while still incarcerated in her home country of Argentina.

João Barbosa

Global Coordinator & South America Team Leader , Incarceration Nations Network, Brazil

João Barbosa is a Brazilian human rights activist with a focus on drug policy, justice reform and communication.

As Global Coordinator & South America Team Leader at Incarceration Nations Network (INN), João manages global partnerships and supports INN's Global Freedom Scholars Network initiative, with Brazil as one of its focus. João is also involved in the development of the Global Freedom Fellowship in South Africa and The Writing on the Wall as Enterprise, a global artistic funding project that supports formerly incarcerated entrepreneurs in several countries. João also contributes to INN's grant making and network expansion efforts.

As a member of Youth RISE's international working group, João represents Brazil and Canada in the youth-led network and is part of the International Coalition on Drug Policy Reform and Environmental Justice. In Canada, João is involved with GRIP (Groupe de Recherche et d'Intervention Psychosociale) as a harm reduction supervisor.