Tanaine Jenkins - Recidivism Strategist and Reentry Expert

03/31/2026

I’ve been holding this one close to my chest…

2026 Law & Justice Champion.

Four years ago, when I decided to start speaking, I didn’t fully know what that meant or what it would look like. I just knew something about what I had experienced in the criminal legal system wasn’t right.

Someone had to say something or do something. God told me that someone was me.

When I told Jenn Weeks what I was thinking about ahs listened but she didn’t know what it would look like either. Truthfully, she had never even heard the word recidivism until she met me. lol

But that didn’t stop her from believing in me and gifting me my domain, TanaineJenkins.com, for Christmas.

Find you people who will support you.
Who will invest in you.
Who will see something in you before the world does.

Thanks Jenn Jenn!

Tomorrow, April 1st, marks the start of National "Second Chance" Month.

It’s also the anniversary when I was released.
And the month of my birth and rebirth.

I don’t celebrate my sentence…
I celebrate everything that came after.

Growth.
Perseverance.
Unlearning.
Becoming.

And this April, I have something else to celebrate—

Being named an honoree at the 2026 National Returning Citizens Conference.

I am beyond grateful for every person who has been a part of this journey… good, bad or indifferent.

And to everyone who has ever felt like there voice doesn't matter and you will never see the other side... this one is for all of us.

💛

03/12/2026

City of Jacksonville has always been a city of chapters for me.

It’s where I grew up.

Where I graduated high school.
Where I raised my right hand and left for the military.

It’s also where my life took a turn I never imagined.

Years later, it became the city where I stood on the TEDx stage and told my story of self-forgiveness... a moment that helped me find my voice.

And now I’m honored to be speaking at the 6th Annual National Returning Citizens Conference, right here in Jacksonville, Florida.

My session, “The Second Sentence: Breaking Invisible Barriers to Reentry Success,” will focus on the challenges people face long after they have served their time — the barriers that follow them into employment, housing, and opportunity.

Because the second sentence isn’t written by a judge…

It’s written by employers who won’t look twice at an application, even when someone is more than qualified to do the work.

It’s written by media narratives that group millions of people into one story.

It’s written by a society that judges the book by its cover before reading the first page.

The Second Sentence is lived every day by millions of people trying to rebuild their lives.

There’s something powerful about doing this work in the same city where so many of your life’s defining moments happened.

Jacksonville raised me.

And now I get to help change the conversation here.

02/04/2026

I’m incredibly grateful to The Apopka Chief for featuring my recent visit to Apopka and the conversations we started around criminal justice reform.

This trip was all about listening... hearing from local leaders and residents about what’s needed to help people successfully return to their communities after incarceration, find meaningful work, and build a life with dignity. It was inspiring to connect with advocates like Clinton Stanley and so many thoughtful voices invested in real, lasting change.

Our work with Reform Alliance and the Florida Safety Coalition remains rooted in people... what they’re telling us, what they’re experiencing, and how policy can better reflect their needs. From conversations about occupational licensing to parole system reform, I’m energized by the collaboration and hope I felt in every meeting.

Thank you, Apopka, for the warm welcome. Excited to keep building and growing these conversations with local leaders and community members! 🌱

👉 Full article: https://theapopkachief.com/criminal-justice-reform-advocate-visits-apopka-to-jumpstart-talks/

Reform Alliance focuses on probation and parole reform.

01/27/2026

The first time I walked into a room with lawmakers, I thought my job was to make the perfect argument.

I had the data.
I understood the policy.
I knew the talking points.

What I didn’t fully understand yet was this:

Change doesn’t happen because the argument is perfect.
It happens when the right messengers are in the room.

I watched conversations shift the moment lived experience entered the discussion—not as emotion, but as context. Not as a plea, but as insight.

Yes, data matters.
Yes, policy matters.

But context is what makes both of them land.

When lived experience is paired with strategy, people stop debating hypotheticals and start confronting reality.

That’s the space I aim to hold in this work.

If this perspective resonates, you can learn more about my work and approach at www.TanaineJenkins.com

01/17/2026

Before I was invited into policy rooms, I was…

Before I was invited into policy rooms, I was learning how to survive systems that weren’t built for me.

I learned what it feels like to be talked about instead of talked to.
To have decisions made about your life without your voice in the room.

That’s why I approach this work differently now.

When I sit at tables with policymakers, organizations, and leaders, I don’t just bring ideas—I bring memory. I bring lived context. I bring the consequences of “good intentions” that missed the mark.

Real change doesn’t happen when we design solutions for people.
It happens when we design them with people.

That’s the difference between programs that look good on paper and systems that actually work.

12/03/2025

“I’m not perfect, but I hope that I am a good example.”

That line has been sitting with me lately. Not because I’m striving for perfection, but because I’m striving for impact.

Next week, I have the honor of delivering two keynote speeches in Tennessee for their graduation ceremonies. Every time I step on a stage, I’m reminded that the work I get to do isn’t about being flawless… it’s about being real, being transparent, and showing what’s possible even after your story takes a turn you didn’t expect.

I used to dream about moments like this, moments where my voice, my experiences, and my journey could help someone else believe in their own. Now it’s happening, and I don’t take a second of it for granted.

So here’s to showing up with honesty.
Here’s to being an example, even with the imperfections.
And here’s to the graduates who are ready to write their next chapter... boldly, unapologetically, and with purpose.

Tennessee, I’ll see you soon.

12/02/2025

✨ Honored. Grateful. Speechless. ✨

I’m excited to share that I’ve been named one of the National Black Justice Collective’s 100 Black LGBTQ+/SGL Emerging Leaders to Watch for 2025.

To be recognized on a national stage, alongside trailblazers who are fighting for justice, equity, and liberation, is truly humbling. Every part of my journey has led me to this moment: the work, the advocacy, the second chances, the community, and the belief that change is possible when we refuse to let our past define our future.

This recognition highlights the impact of the work I do through Second Sentence Awareness, REFORM Alliance, and the Florida Safety Coalition, work rooted in compassion, strategy, and a commitment to transforming systems that were never designed for us.

Being chosen means:
• National recognition and a feature on NBJC’s digital platforms
• An invitation to exclusive leadership events during the Congressional Black Caucus Annual Legislative Conference
• Access to a network of brilliant Black LGBTQ+/SGL leaders shaping the future

I’m grateful, I’m grounded, and I’m ready for whatever this next season brings.
Your voice matters. My voice matters. Our impact matters.

Thank you to National Black Justice Collective - NBJC for seeing something in me worth uplifting.
Onward. 🖤🏳️‍🌈✨

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06/25/2025

Too often, we let our mistakes, our trauma, or the hardest chapters of our story box us in. We replay the moments that broke us and forget the strength it took to survive them.

But what if your past wasn’t a prison, but a blueprint?
What if every setback, every scar, and every second chance was shaping the exact person you were always meant to become?

I’m not who I was ten years ago—and I’m proud of that.
I’ve been redesigned by experience. Refined by failure. Rebuilt by resilience.

So no, your past doesn't define you. But it can design a future filled with purpose, power, and possibility.

✍🏽 Who else is building a life because of what they’ve been through—not in spite of it?

05/27/2025

🚨 Now Booking for Fall/Winter 2025! 🚨

If you’ve been thinking about bringing me in to speak, consult, or collaborate—now’s the time! My Fall/Winter calendar is officially OPEN and I’m accepting bookings for:

🎤 Keynote Speaking (Conferences, Colleges, Community Events)
🧠 Consulting (Reentry Strategy, Recidivism Reduction, Systemic Change)
📣 Workshops & Trainings (Second Sentence Awareness, Reentry Support, Lived Experience Integration)
🤝 Panel Discussions, Webinars & Strategic Planning Sessions

Whether you're planning ahead for a summit, need expert insight for your program, or want to inspire your audience with a powerful lived-experience story—let’s connect.

🗓️ My availability fills up fast, especially around end-of-year events. If you’re ready to create real impact this season, I’d love to be part of the solution.

📩 DM me or reach out via my website to secure your date.

Let’s make bold moves this fall. 🍂❄️

05/19/2025

In 2021, at the beginning of my self-discovery journey, I took my first solo trip — to Puerto Rico. I went to explore, to think, to just be.

One day, I found myself deep in the jungle with a group of fellow adventurers. We came across a cliff — a 40-foot drop into the water below. I watched as people climbed up, stood at the edge, looked down… and then changed their minds.

When it was my turn, I did something different:
I didn’t look down.
I looked at my guide and listened:
“A little hop. Arms to your side.”

I repeated it: “A little hop. Arms to my side. Got it.”
And then I jumped.

That moment changed something in me. Since that day, I’ve made it a point never to look down.
I look at God, listen, and move — trusting that I’ll be caught, carried, or called higher.

That same mindset fuels my work in justice reform.
Because when returning citizens come home, they face a different kind of cliff — the Second Sentence.
They’re told to “reintegrate” and “rebuild,” all while facing 33,000+ barriers that scream look down.
Barriers that make jumping feel impossible.

We need a system that doesn’t just say “you’re free” — but actually makes freedom possible.

So I’ll keep jumping.
For me.
For them.
For all of us who were once too afraid to speak, act, or leap.

I'll jump and I won't look down.

01/21/2025

I need your vote! Entrepreneur of Impact.

With the $25,000, I would expand my Second Sentence Awareness t-shirt brand and publish my next book, My Seventh Life: Finding Success in Every Life you Live. I would also go on a women prison tour. Women are the fastest growing demographic in the prison system, yet they are constantly ignored. They need to see what's possible... we all do.

One visionary will be featured in Forbes, receive a one-on-one mentoring session from Daymond John, and take home $25,000.