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MN Second Chance Coalition advocates for a dignified criminal legal system that promotes healing, repair, accountability, and belonging for individuals, families, and communities. 

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We envision systems that respond to harm in ways that lead to healing and repair for harmed parties, responsible parties, and communities. 

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To win, we will advocate, educate, train and empower our communities around criminal legal issues and their root causes. 

2022 Board of Directors

Trace Ludewig

President

Andrea Palumbo

Vice President 

Linday Turner

Julie Ditter

Lashunda Roberts

David Hunter

Tim Dorway

Priscilla Maffet

Moncies Franco

Tierre Caldwell

Jessica Chase

Our History

The Minnesota Community Corrections Association

(MCCA), originally named the Metropolitan Community Corrections Association, was established in 1976. It began as a consortium of agencies, professionals, and other concerned persons who advocated and promoted community-based programming for offenders. Its membership has consisted primarily of correctional employees, students, and other concerned persons who share a common desire to improve the quality of community-based corrections programming.  It’s primary programming consisted of training for professionals in the field.

The Formation of Second Chance

(MNSCC) began as an informal entity circa 2008 to advocate fair and responsible laws towards persons convicted of crimes. Over time, the Coalition had been constituted by a Steering Committee, nonprofit members, and concerned individuals. The Minnesota Council on Crime and Justice served for much of that time as the Coalition’s nonprofit fiscal agent.  Minnesota Second Chance Coalition’s primary task centered on advocacy and the creation and execution of an annual Day on the Hill focused on criminal legal system reform policies.    

The Minnesota Second Chance Coalition (MNSCC)

In 2017, the MCCA Board of Directors voted unanimously to amend the MCCA Bylaws and merge with and adopt the name of the Minnesota Second Chance Coalition. The MCCA Board of Directors temporarily absorbed Minnesota Second Coalition Steering Committee members pending subsequent Officer and Board of Director elections, and the MCCA began doing business as the Minnesota Second Chance Coalition. The merger was premised upon near unanimous agreement amongst Members, Officers, Board Members, and Steering Committee members about the following: that the values and objectives of the two organizations were substantially similar; that the name of the Minnesota Second Chance Coalition better reflected these values and objectives; and that the consolidation would result in an invigorated Board and membership.

The Minnesota Second Chance Coalition Today

Currently, the Minnesota Second Chance Coalition, is a volunteer board-led non-profit organization with 16 board members who represent individuals with lived experience of the criminal legal system, professionals in the field, and concerned community members.  The annual Day on the Hill is still held mid-winter, during the legislative session, as well as holding professional training monthly throughout the year.  In 2021, MNSCC re-wrote its mission, vision and values, as it’s evolved since the merger, and piloted a Microgrants Program focused on paying fines and fees of impacted community members related to drivers license reinstatement.  This initiative was born out of a policy partnership with Minnesota Asset Building Coalition which focused on legislation removing the collateral consequences of fines and fees. 

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Contact Us

MN Second Chance Coalition
400 S. 4th Street ; Suite 200  – PMB Unit 25 Minneapolis, MN 55415

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© 2022 MN Second Chance Coalition

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ANDREA PALUMBO

Andrea’s passion for reform began in her third year of law school at William Mitchell. When she was a student attorney in the college’s new Reentry Clinic, Andrea represented women who were about to be released from Women’s Shakopee Prison. Andrea started working with her clients when they were still incarcerated to help them line up housing and employment, the most pressing needs for their children and themselves. After graduating in the middle of the 2009 recession, Andrea spent her time learning about criminal expungement as a volunteer for the Volunteer Lawyers Network. Once she started her solo practice, criminal expungement and second chances became the center of her work. Andrea testified before the MN Legislature about the critical need for changes in the expungement stature. When Andrea went to work for the Council on Crime and Justice, she continued to represent clients in expungement cases and encouraged community members to attend local events to learn about how criminal records affect everyone’s lives and what can be done about it. Andrea is now a housing attorney at HOME Line where she is working to prevent tenants from losing their homes in eviction cases. In her spare time she enjoys bicycling, bar trivia, knitting and reading.

LINDAY TURNER

Parent, spouse, researcher, and former public defender cultivating deep roots and a messy garden in Minneapolis’ Southside.

JULIE DITTER

Julie is a talent management executive at Accenture. She worked in higher education for 10 years prior to Accenture. She is passionate about education and human potential and helping individuals, teams, and organizations reach their goals. Her faith guides her work both professionally and in the community. Julie chairs the Justice and Charity Committee at Our Lady of Lourdes and partners with the Minnesota Catholic Conference. 

She has been on the SCC board for three years. She co-chairs the Development Committee and serves on the Operations and Microgrant Advisory Committees.


LASHUNDA ROBERTS

As an impacted person herself, Lashunda is an advocate for those who have been impacted by the justice system. She graduated with her bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice. 

She previously served two years with AmeriCorps working with youth. She now works as a substitute teacher. Equal employment and housing opportunities are issues that are important to her, as well as pardon reform. During her free time she enjoys spending time with her two boys, reading books, self care, cooking and writing. youth.



DAVID HUNTER

David has worked in the recovery field for 5 years. As someone who is formerly incarcerated and a graduate of Minnesota Adult & Teen Challenge, he is passionate about giving back by providing opportunities for hope and change. 

He has previously worked as a counselor and campus pastor, and is now the Chaplain for the Men’s Long Term Program at Minnesota Adult and Teen Challenge. He believes that when provided with the right resources and support, people can build a new identity.

TIM DORWAY

Tim Dorway serves as the Work Readiness Program Manager for REPOWERED, a Saint Paul social enterprise that provides fair chances for people, the planet, and technology.  In his role there, Tim provides mentorship, leadership, counseling, and coaching to those reintegrating after serving their time in the criminal legal system.  Approximately 90% of REPOWERED’s Work Readiness team members have lived experience inside the razor wire.  As a registry-involved person, his focus is working ON the system and helping remove barriers to housing, employment and transportation.
Dorway believes that we are all defined by our futures, that no one should be judged by their worst day or their worst decision, and that all people have immense potential and deserve steadfast love, grace, compassion and support. He also believes that our criminal legal system desperately needs reform and that it is based on fear and not reality, rooted in bias and injustice rather than justice for all. 

Tim holds a Master of Arts in Education from Saint Mary’s University in Minnesota.  While incarcerated, he also completed his general paralegal and criminal law paralegal certifications.

 
 

PRISCILLA MAFFET

From a very young age Priscilla realized that there are common narratives and patterns that support an inefficient and unfair, and in a certain way “predatory” system. Since then, she decided her path would be to serve for change and equity.


Priscilla a degree in Psychology and then went to Europe to pursue a master’s in Legal and Forensic Psychology as a fellow of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of Spain. She worked for eight years in the Chilean criminal justice system within the Public Penitentiary System as a case manager and behavioral counselor and for the Department of Public Criminal Defense as a Forensic Expert advising lawyers to advocate for alternative sentences to custodial sentences. 

Priscilla moved to Minnesota three years ago, from Chile, South America, with her husband and their son. She is currently developing projects to advocate and strengthen the Latino community on issues of equity, resilience, well-being, and prevention of risk behaviors with women and young people.

MONCIES FRANCO

Moncies Franco is a justice-impacted person using his lived experience to combat the barriers and disparities that exist for the justice-involved community. He currently works as a Project Coordinator at the Health Homelessness and Criminal Just Lab (Hennepin Healthcare Research Institute). He is rooted in engagement and advocacy in both the justice-involved community as well as the HIV community. 

He often uses his personal story to draw attention to the multiple complexities marginalized people face. Newly a board member to MNSCC, current board member at The Aliveness Project; and serves on advisory boards for the Ombuds for corrections Advisory Board, and the University of Minnesota Advisory Board. Moncies is also a part of the training committee at MNSCC.

VICE PRESIDENT

TIERRE CALDWELL

Tierre works as a Reentry Employment Specialist for The Power of People Leadership Institute where he provides mentorship, equity-based community engagement and career counseling for returning citizens reintegrating back into society. A member of the advisory board for the American Civil Liberties Union’s Smart Justice Campaign, Caldwell is a steadfast proponent of criminal justice and prison reform and fighting the war on mass incarceration. 

He is adamant in the battle to end technical violations and restore the right of felons to vote once released back into society. He is also involved with Restore the Vote – Minnesota, a program aimed at dismantling felony voter disenfranchisement to allow more than 50,000 unheard voices to be heard. 

Caldwell’s other community involvement includes: mentoring middle and high school students about drug prevention through the FBI’s Community Outreach Program; facilitation with the Father Project – a program that assists low-income fathers to establish parental rights, contact with their children and to be more productive parents; community outreach for the Minnesota African American Heritage Museum; lead mentor for the Boys of Hope program which teaches personal power, cultural awareness, manhood, leadership and service-learning to young boys; and a trainer with the North 4 Program with Emerge, an initiative geared toward self-development, personal power, and disrupting the school- to-prison pipeline for at-risk youth.

JESSICA CHASE

“Jessica comes to the board with the determination of helping others come out from under their previous illegal decisions. After finding herself criminally justice impacted, Jessica has vowed to do better and advocate for others in her position. She has testified twice in front of the Public Policy and Judiciary Committee for restoring voting rights for those on state probation or parole, and for ending the suspension of driver’s licenses for failure to pay tickets. With her post-release success, Jessica continues to model good behavior and prove that past mistakes do not dictate future negative behavior. Jessica proves that one can live a law-abiding, good life, while fighting for the rights of others involved in the criminal justice system.”