Jarrett Harper

Jarrett shares his story from foster care to mass incarceration to criminal justice reform advocate as an example of how people who commit serious crimes are not only deserving of our compassion, but also a second chance to share the tremendous, life-affirming gifts they bring to the world. While society gave up on Jarrett, he never gave up on himself, and he used his gifts to help others in prison, never believing it would change his own circumstances. In his transformational remarks, Jarrett gives audiences a new way to look at the criminal justice system, most significantly the foster-care-to-prison pipeline, as well as an alternative lens to see their own lives. Even when the person we most need to forgive is ourselves, Jarrett echoes Just Mercy author Bryan Stephenson and powerfully reminds us that each of us is more than the worst thing we've ever done. Jarrett's power of persuasion is tied to the way in which he encourages us to take absolute responsibility for our actions and our mindset, while at the same time walking righteously into our new beginning.