Finalist: Nigel Poor, Earlonne Woods and Rahsaan Thomas

Nigel Poor is a visual artist whose work explores the various ways people make a mark and leave behind evidence of their existence. Her work has been exhibited nationally and internationally, and can be found in various museum collections including the SFMOMA, the M.H. deYoung Museum, and the Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington D.C. She is also a professor of photography at California State University, Sacramento. In 2011, Nigel got involved with San Quentin State Prison as a volunteer teacher for the Prison University Project.

Earlonne Woods was born and raised in South Central Los Angeles. In 1997, he was sentenced to 31-years-to-life in prison. While incarcerated, he received his GED, attended Coastline Community College and completed many vocational trade programs. In November 2018, California Governor Jerry Brown commuted Earlonne’s sentence after 21 years of incarceration. Upon his release, Earlonne was hired by PRX as a full-time producer for Ear Hustle, and he continues to work with Nigel, contributing stories about re-entry.

Rahsaan “New York” Thomas has been incarcerated since 2000. While inside, he discovered a love of writing and became a contributor to The Marshall Project, Wall City Magazine and the San Quentin News, among other publications. New York is the chairman of the Society of Professional Journalists San Quentin satellite chapter, and, in 2015, he co-founded Prison Renaissance. When he’s not ear hustling, he works with Initiate Justice and the Ella Baker Center on social justice issues. New York also counsels youth that visit the prison through the San Quentin SQUIRES program.