The story of Ms. Susan Burton is a story of redemption and overcoming the odds. After the loss of her 5-year old son, addiction took hold of Ms. Burton sending her on a decades-long journey of incarceration and recidivism. After six separate stints in prison, Ms. Burton found sobriety and founded her own nonprofit, A New Way of Life, which aims to help other women break the cycle of incarceration.
Through this work, Ms. Burton pushed for reforms that reduced the mass incarceration of African Americans, overcrowding in the state’s prisons, and for those stuck in the cycle to truly get back on their feet. A New Way of Life provides housing, case management, employment, legal services, leadership development, and community organizing on behalf of, and alongside people who struggle to rebuild their lives after incarceration.
In addition to her advocacy work, Ms. Susan Burton is the author of Becoming Ms. Burton: From Prison to Recovery to Leading the Fight for Incarcerated Women, where she shares her own experiences with addiction, incarceration, and trauma.
Susan Burton
Founder, A New Way of Life
Dr. Roxanne Coey
Assistant Deputy Director, Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction, Office of Reentry
Malika Kidd
Program Director for Workforce Development, Lutheran Metropolitan Ministry
Rachel Dissell
Accountability Mentor, Cleveland Documenters
