Pam grew up in Chicago, where she began her career as a daily newspaper crime reporter. Today, she is a storyteller for nonprofits; founder of and writing coach for We Are Not Numbers, a youth program in the Gaza Strip; and—now—activist for reform of the justice system in the United States, beginning with D.C.

Michael Conrad Stewart is a native of Washington, DC, and was incarcerated at the age of 18. He taught himself to read and earned his GED behind bars. Conrad was released after 26 years thanks to the District's "second look" act, which allows individuals who were imprisoned when they were younger than 25 years old and have been incarcerated for at least 15 years to petition a judge for release based on their rehabilitation. He is now an advocate for criminal-legal reform.