Co-Founder & Director

My name is Simon Liu. During the peak of pandemic in early 2020, my friends and I saw the lack of housing and reentry services to support people after they got released from prison and decided to create BAFC. I am passionate about re-entry support and criminal justice reform because I was sent to prison at 16 years old for a crime I did not commit. I spent 21 years in prison! I know the struggles of trying to navigate all the obstacles of being an ex-con. Fortunately for me, I have many good friends giving support when I was looking for a job, advocating for me when I was facing deportation.

BAFC is a grass root community organization building on innovative ideas from the bottom up. BAFC is led by justice impacted Men and Women. We know the carceral system is broken. We are here to change that.

Board Member

Deandrea Farlow is a current college student studying computer science and a business owner focusing on investments in the technology industry. He is a formerly incarcerated individual who served 12 years and was released January of 2022. He was a facilitator of a financial literacy program at Old Folsom State Prison and over his years of incarceration facilitated numerous programs dealing with reentry. He is dedicated to helping those in need through financial literacy education.

Board Member

Greetings Everyone! My name is Alissa Moore. I am directly impacted. I served 23 years in the California Department of Corrections from the age of 17 to 40. Having been incarcerated myself and facing all the challenges my counterparts will face as they return to society, I bring a unique insight to this work. Since my release, I've worked to build a network of individuals and traditional service providers. I met Simon through my work with Green Life via the Earth Island Institute. Shortly thereafter I got to know the Freedom House clients delivering healthy food options from the Ahimsa Collective. Today I work for Legal Services for Prisoners with Children and Arsola House.

I am passionate about helping recently released individuals reach their optimal success. I feel that having been granted my freedom, it is my moral duty to help my peers not only to get out, but to stay out and flourish. There's great evidence for the saying, “each one teach one,” and in this spirit I am honored to be a part of the BAFC!

Board member

My name is Alan R. Fredericks; my involvement with Bay Area Freedom Collective began in 2020, during its conception. I was one of the first residents at the reentry house. With the help from BAFC, I was able to moved into my own apartment and gainfully employed. As a member of BAFC, I want to pay forward the kindness from the BAFC community. I want to help others achieve the same success as many of my fellow BAFC members. In 1983, I was incarcerated; during which time I accomplished my greatest achievements: BA degree in Social Science from SJSU through a Pell Grant, and Crisis Intervention Advocate counselor via Brother’s Keepers sponsored by B.A.W.A.R. (Bay Area Women Against Rape). I was paroled from CDCR in 2018, after thirty-five years of incarceration. I'm a cancer survivor. I was diagnosed and through chemotherapy and surgery, survived Muscle Invasive Bladder cancer. BAFC was there the whole time when I was fighting cancer and navigating myself through reentry after 35 years of incarceration

Co-Founder

My day job is being the CTO at a Bay Area tech company. I met Simon after he was released from prison, completed a coding bootcamp, and was starting his job search. We worked on interview prep together, he interviewed with my company, and he joined as a full-time software engineer.

Since then, we’ve partnered on many decarceral and re-entry support initiatives, including starting the Bay Area Freedom Collective and its Freedom House. A key aspect of this community is that it is led by its formerly-incarcerated members — when the community identifies a need, I bring together resources and networks to help meet that need.

Outside of BAFC, my main focus is on helping people with records get jobs, especially as software engineers, and using that bridge between the tech industry and prisons to get more people activated and acting for decarceration. I’ve taught coding classes at San Quentin State Prison and helped start Underdog Devs, an online community for formerly-incarcerated aspiring programmers.

Member

Maurice Reed is a published poet, dancer, and musical artist. While serving time in San Quentin State Prison he was active in performing groups such as Marin Shakespeare and The Artistic Ensemble, and was a part of Forward This Production’s film crew which is operated exclusively by incarcerated men. Maurice also was a facilitator in numerous group programs that focused on rehabilitation and restorative justice. After serving 13 years in prison Maurice was released December 2021 and is looking forward to continuing his creative endeavors and collaborating with likeminded artists.

Co-founder

My name is Terry Lew and I currently work at a nonprofit organization outreaching the AAPI community. I am inquisitive, like challenges, and am not afraid to learn new things. This is why I transitioned from my former career as a designer/builder. Though I do not possess all the required skill sets to assist people in need, I sustain my passion and drive. I met Simon, one of the founders of BAFC 5 years ago and from there, his dreams started a movement that has led to this organization. Along the way, I had many opportunities to experience the outcome of success working alongside people of similar caliber. I believe all people deserve a second chance.