About Us

Director of Court Watch and Judicial Accountability

 Dr. Carmen Johnson in the past had created a niche in educating youth, seniors, returning citizens, and abused women about financial literacy and life skills through a wide variety of grassroots programs designed to uplift, empower, and destroy the barriers to individual and family prosperity.  For Carmen, financial responsibility and good credit are at the root of community and family success. She is still committed to changing the culture of low-income streams and credit unworthiness particularly among minority populations in urban neighborhoods often defined by redlining and exorbitant interest rates. She brings a special passion to her new work as a mentor and a financial educator.   From the beginning of February 2020 until now, Carmen has been working with Life After Release after her own unexpected wrongful conviction and incarceration. She took a political hit and spent three years in the federal prison camp for women in West Virginia. When the LAR Executive Director asked Carmen to coordinate LAR's court watch program, Carmen accepted. "I don't want anyone to go through what I went through."  

 “If I can’t help you, I will not harm you.” 

Community Outreach Director

 Bianca “Boom” Mills is the Community Outreach Director for  (LAR)   Boom is also a core member of the participatory defense team, which meets every week on Thursday and Saturday to help guide family members on how to free their loved ones.  

Boom is a dedicated mother of 2 sons and a grandmother of 1 granddaughter.   Boom’s son was locked up for a crime he didn't commit.  Life After Release members showed Boom how to make social biographies, which greatly impacted her son when he was going to be sentenced. 67 community members and the core team showed up for her son’s sentencing hearing. The public defender had never seen such a demonstration, which ultimately changed the fate of her son’s life.   

Boom often says, “Why do I continue to do what I do? I vowed it would never happen to another young man, as long as I can help it. We are continuing to fight this injustice of the system.”

Director of Operations

The Liberation of Black women is Alexiss’ life's

calling. She grew up in N.E. Washington, D.C.,

and attended D.C. Public Schools. Growing up in Washington, DC, she

saw too many young, gifted, black children who

did not make it out of poverty and other

injustices. Through her organization Wake Them

Up LLC, her vision for Black liberation is to build

a legacy by impacting black women through healing, organizational, and

developmental coaching. As a leader with an entrepreneurial background,

she has experience developing strategy, mentoring personnel, managing

projects, and building systems while ensuring organizational success through

team building.

 “We must take our fight from the streets into the courtroom if we want to abolish prison.”

 Qiana Johnson is the founder of Life After Release Inc,  

She is also a Co-Conductor of Harriet’s Wildest Dreams. Qiana is organizing to build a post-conviction movement challenging the integrity of convictions and the system responsible for convicting us in the first place. Qiana is a dedicated mother of 2 sons. She is also a national trainer with Silicon Valley Debug, Participatory Defense, and a proud member of the National Council for Incarcerated and Formerly Incarcerated Women and Girls.   Before her incarceration in 2015, she completed 10 years of Federal Government service. Currently, She has completed a Bachelor's in Legal Studies at the University of Maryland University College, with a concentration in Public Safety.   

She believes in ensuring public safety without the criminalization of a particular race or social class. She uses her story to empower formerly incarcerated women into becoming productive members of their communities.