Aaron Yore-VanOosterhout, Ph.D.

Acting Director

Aaron has served people who are incarcerated in various capacities over the past two decades. Starting with a brief stint as instructor at the Centro de Readaptación Social in Puebla, Mexico, in 2003, he has worked at a nonprofit prison outreach program in Grandville, Michigan, and as an independent research consultant for the ACLU of Michigan. He also served on the board of Humanity for Prisoners and as a court- and jail-fee reform advocate on a panel for Ottawa County.

Most importantly, Aaron has collaborated with colleague Jacquelynn Doyon-Martin since 2019 to build the Bellamy Creek Program at GVSU. Through this work, he also collaborated with several other postsecondary institutional representatives working with the Michigan Department of Corrections and, together, GVSU and these institutions established the Michigan Consortium for Higher Education in Prison. Aaron currently serves as GVSU’s representative on MiCHEP.

Outside of this field, Aaron worked as a research manager at the Dorothy A. Johnson Center for Philanthropy at GVSU from 2017 to 2024. In this role, he worked closely with local, statewide, and national foundations and nonprofits as evaluator, researcher, advocate, and grantee. Prior to this role, Aaron taught history at several postsecondary institutions — most recently, at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois.

Aaron graduated magna cum laude from the University of Notre Dame in 2005 and received his doctoral degree in history from Michigan State University in 2014, where he received the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation International Dissertation Research Fellowship.

Office Address: 287C DeVos
Phone: (616) 331-7135
Email: yorevana@gvsu.edu

Antoniese (Tony) Gant

Acting Co-Executive Director, Nation Outside

Tony believes that directly impacted people should have the power to impact the political process so that their communities are safe and vibrant, with real opportunities and support for people who have been incarcerated.

Tony was incarcerated within the Michigan Department of Corrections for 20 years, from 1995 to 2015. He has organized successful campaigns around housing and employment for directly impacted people. Tony is currently working with incarcerated people about their experiences of COVID-19 in prison, focusing on people serving long sentences and life. He is also currently working to improve jail voting policies in the state of Michigan. Tony is a 2021 Leading with Conviction Fellow with JustLeadershipUSA, and is also a father, author (Midnight Whispers), and business owner (T&T Lawn Care, @Gantlawncare).

Learn more about Tony and his work at Nation Outside's website.

Adam Grant

Executive Director, A Brighter Way

Adam's path to A Brighter Way has a history of over three decades of incarceration, including 27 straight years for a bank robbery he committed at the age of 22. He began his path of service as Public Relations Director for N.A.A.C.P. at Saginaw Correctional Facility. He has worked within other organizations in a variety of capacities: expanding educational programming; training group facilitators; providing mentoring and training; developing curriculum; and constructing the framework for a peer recovery coaching program. Adam knows personally that current recidivism rates do not have to be a foregone conclusion given support, guidance, and empathy for returned citizens. He believes that good reentry makes for better public safety, and that if we invest in our returned citizens, there will be A Brighter Way ahead for all of us.

Learn more about Adam and his work at A Brighter Way's website.

Jessica Henry

Senior Program Manager of Chapter Engagement/Outreach, Nation Outside

Jessica is an advocate for human inclusivity. After having been incarcerated for nine years, she is a mentor who uses her personal experiences to help others through recovery and provides the support returning citizens need to reach the milestones in their own lives. Although there is not a one-size-fits-all method, she has a passion for changing the current rehabilitation model.

​Jessica deeply believes in the power of education and access to housing. She is currently in her last semester at Spring Arbor University earning her bachelor’s in social work, focusing on corrections counseling, with a double minor in psychology and business. She earned her three associate’s degrees from Jackson College with High Honors, all while incarcerated.

​Jessica is a residential manager at a women’s transitional home, is a mentor to returning citizens and youth who have aged out of foster care, owns her own baking company, and is a full-time student and grandmother.

Learn more about Jessica and her work at Nation Outside's website.

Monica Jahner

Program Director, A.R.R.O. (Advocacy, Resources, Re-entry, Outreach); Vice-President, Northwest Initiative

Monica is a relentless advocate for people with a criminal offense. She is innovative, resourceful, and effective. In 2018, Monica was appointed to the Governor’s Task Force on Jail and Pretrial Incarceration. In 2017, she won the Noam Chomsky Award for her work. She has also served on the Prison Correction Section of the State Bar, and was a graduate of the first JustLeadershipUSA Emerging Leaders cohort in 2015.

​Her advocacy began while she was incarcerated for 28 years. She founded Kids Need Moms which promotes quality visits between children and their mothers in prison. Monica also represented female prisoners in three class-action suits. Upon release, she joined A.R.R.O., a grassroots one-stop-shop reentry program working to eliminate barriers of reentry. She was later awarded an advocacy grant that funded Ban the Box legislation. Monica created a diversion program that provides alternatives to prison and jail and focuses on treating trauma.

Monica currently facilitates the Swift and Sure Sanction Probation Program (SSSPP) and Mental Health Court. Her unique collaboration with Michigan State University’s Human Resources master’s program provides employment training and services. She sits on the Ingham County Community Corrections Advisory Board, and serves as a board member for Safe and Just Michigan, Nation Outside, and Citizens for Prison Reform. Monica also operates a nonprofit organization called Creating Heroes Stephen’s Way, the primary goal of which is to promote mentoring, literacy, and personal growth for challenged and troubled youth, young adults, and adults.