OUR MISSION
The mission of Freedom2Succeed™ is to empower
returning citizens and at-promise youth to thrive
and prosper.
D'Andre Brooks, Co-Founder, Executive Director
D’Andre holds a Master’s degree in Public Administration and a Bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice. He serves as the Chairman of the Commission on Gang Prevention & Intervention, where he drives initiatives to create safer communities.
Throughout his career, D’Andre has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to supporting youth and addressing systemic challenges. He has served as a Youth Program Senior Coordinator for Outdoor Outreach, empowering students through outdoor learning experiences. As a Juvenile Justice Program Associate with the Children’s Initiative, he contributed to the success of programs focused on justice-involved youth. Currently, D’Andre mentors youth through the District Attorney’s Juvenile Diversion Initiative, administered by the National Conflict Resolution Center, guiding them toward brighter futures.
D’Andre’s journey is deeply personal. After graduating from a San Diego Juvenile Court and Community School, he served 10 years in prison. His experiences have shaped his understanding of transformative justice—one centered on repairing harm in relationships and reshaping systems that perpetuate harm. Today, he channels his lived experiences and professional expertise into creating meaningful change for under-served communities.
Patricia Franklin, Co-Founder, Director of Programs & Operations
Patricia has spent the last decade working with at-promise youth at Kearny Juvenile Detention Facility and the Youth Transition Campus in San Diego. She is on the board of Restorative Justice California and is certified as both a restorative justice victim-offender dialogue facilitator and reentry-preparedness program facilitator.
Her strengths in capturing others' lived experience through compelling story telling has been a hallmark of her careers as a journalist (The Economist, Los Angeles Times, Newsweek) author and filmmaker (BBC, Intl. Video Network). Patricia leveraged her writing, directing and production skills to develop game-based learning programs for global organizations, winning innovation awards for inventing knowledge-transfer and role-playing simulation technologies.
Her reentry app for returning citizens is the basis of Freedom2Succeed's learning framework, through which she advances methods of learning and development and financial literacy for justice-impacted youth and adults.
Patricia holds a BA in Journalism and Anthropology from the University of Southern California and a Graduate Diploma from the London School of Economics in International and Comparative Politics. She is a dual US/British citizen.
Our Origin Story
Both D'Andre and Patricia are on the Board of Directors of Restorative Justice California.
Following facilitation of a reentry preparedness program at a juvenile detention center, they were inspired to collaborate on the scenario-based simulation, Under the Gun whose resounding acceptance led to the formation of Freedom2Succeed.
Training for Tutors
F2S recruits, carefully vets, and trains justice-
impacted trailblazers to tutor, mentor and instruct
returning citizens and at-promise youth.
Because they can model attitudes and methods of
overcoming trauma and achieving career goals, the
tutors can capture immediate and
sustained student attention.
In this way, F2S is a channel through which they give
back to the community, while encouraging youth to
make the most of their freedom to succeed.
As they gather and practice using F2S teaching skills
and curriculum, tutors and mentors develop the
confidence they need to coach students
individually and to lead classes.
Ian Ragsdale, Board Member
Ian, is the Executive Director of Restorative Justice California, a community-based organization in San Diego since 1993, that now serves as consultant for institutional and community based Restorative Justice programming throughout the United States. Ian holds a Juris Doctorate degree and has 10 years of restorative justice programming and mediation experience. He is a professor of Conflict Resolution and Negotiation, and works as a government consultant, particularly with corrections and community supervision agencies and provides training for District Attorneys in multiple jurisdictions. He is actively involved in Victim Offender Dialogue cases for serious crimes, and teaches California Dispute Resolution Programs Act mediation courses inside correctional facilities. Ian has experience in contract procurement for service organizations at the State and Local level.
Laila Aziz, Board Member
Laila Aziz, is the Director of Operations with Pillars of the Community San Diego Her experiences have fueled her passion for grass-roots community service work and restorative justice. Laila focuses her efforts on the importance of funding youth violence prevention programs, reforming local law enforcement, addressing the root causes of poverty, criminal justice reform and more. She worked for 21 years with Metro Community Ministries beginning as a youth advocate, case manager, program manager, and then as the Director of Operations where she contributed to the growth of over $2 million annually through her innovative evidence-based program design and grant writing. Laila believes in community building to promote public safety and works within Southeast San Diego, regionally, and statewide to end systemic oppression and build power within the oppressed.
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