Jon-Adrian “JJ” Velazquez

Board Member

“Have a vision. Be demanding.” — Colin Powell

These simple, yet profound words summarize Jon-Adrian “JJ” Velazquez’s life and professional philosophy of demanding nothing short of true justice. With more than 23 years of lived experience, incarcerated for a crime he did not commit, Mr. Velazquez has worked tirelessly to redefine the humanity of men who are or have been incarcerated.

Mr. Velazquez has seized every opportunity to learn, lead, support, and give, which earned him an early release in 2021 via executive clemency—and a trip to the White House to discuss criminal legal reform with President Biden, receiving a public apology on “behalf of society.” True to the terms of his clemency, Mr. Velazquez continues the work he started inside on the outside. He now helps programs surrounding justice by bridging communications with departments of corrections, community partners, and incarcerated populations to achieve ambitious mutual goals in criminal justice policy and reform.

While incarcerated, Mr. Velazquez served as chairman of a liaison committee between the administration and residents of Sing Sing, where he became the voice of the incarcerated population. He established a unique rapport of trust with the prison’s administration and implemented a host of programs to improve his life and the lives of those around him. He also served his community by organizing philanthropic fundraisers, donation drives, and events–and in 2014, Mr. Velazquez curated the first TEDx Event held inside a New York State prison. While organizing his second TEDx Event at Sing Sing, he delivered a powerful talk titled, The CHOICES Connection.

Mr. Velazquez was also employed as a program assistant at Hudson Link for Higher Education in Prison, a nonprofit organization that partners with several academic institutions to provide college education, life skills and re-entry support to incarcerated and formerly incarcerated men and women. He holds a Bachelor of Science Degree from Mercy College, where he majored in Behavioral Science, graduated with honors, and has since been a Teacher Fellow of Columbia University, where he works closely with the Center for Justice.

Mr. Velazquez’s passion is to help others who have been wrongfully convicted by researching and contributing to their case development. As an independent consultant and certified paralegal, he has helped several innocent men obtain exonerations. His legendary partnership with Dateline NBC producer Dan Slepian, led to the chart-topping NBC News Studios podcast: Letters From Sing Sing. Currently, Mr. Velazquez works with Mr. Slepian and many others on multiple projects crafting impactful calls- to-action.

In 2013, Mr. Velazquez formed Voices From Within, a multimedia educational initiative with works produced under a public domain license currently used by politicians as a tool to approach issues of gun violence in New York City. The success of the program led Mr. Velazquez to create a series of workshops called CHOICES (Choosing Healthier Options In Confronting Every Situation) about creating healthy communities through healthy decision making. These workshops empower young people impacted by crime and incarceration to realize the significance of making better life choices.