Many things can be said about Carl Fields, but lacking a transformative story isn’t one of them. From starting a prison sentence as a broken vessel to leaving it early as an accomplished returning citizen, you’d do well to get to know an EXPO Change Agent like him! As the first-elected Vice President of Ex-incarcerated People Organizing, Carl has pushed hard to ensure that people-first language, not old-world pejorative speech, is the vernacular used to describe EXPO’s members and their experiences. Becoming a leader entails taking a stand where they are and saying enough is enough! While in prison, in the course of 5 years, Carl went from being a student in Cognitive- Behavioral and Conflict-Resolution classes to facilitating them. He worked as a Program Aide for CGIP, DV, Anger Management, and the onsite ReEntry Programs; A Certified Tutor through PLA/LVA Learning Volunteers of America, and a Braille Transcriptionist certified by the Library of Congress. He also received his set of Community- Organizer tools from the Gamaliel National Leadership Training, hosted @ UW Parkside in 2016. Being a role model in prison for almost 16yrs taught him a powerful
thing: those who showed him humility in the face of his previous bad behavior were owed an enormous debt of gratitude. Peer-trained in Rational Emotive Therapy and Restorative Justice Concepts, Carl has been able to work with some of Racine City’s vulnerable populations with informed grace. Currently Fields works as the Program Manager at the Hospitality Center, a drop-in Day Shelter in Racine, WI. He actively sits on the Boards of a number of organizations, including Racine Vocational Ministries (Racine’s ReEntry Program) and 9to5 (a WI women’s group working for equity and policy change). Part of the WISDOM network as a Racine Interfaith Coalition (RIC) member, part of WISDOM’s Racial Justice Core Team, and chairman of the local ROCWI task force. He also serves as the interim Community Organizer for the start-up chapter of EXPO for Southeast WI, which covers Racine, Kenosha, and Walworth.
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