MEMBERS

Pooja Gehi is a lawyer and activist who has worked for immigrant, prisoner and racial justice, trans and queer liberation, transformative justice, and cross-movement coalition building for decades. As the former Executive Director of the National Lawyers Guild (NLG), she centered and lifted up jailhouse lawyer members and ensured they had a seat on the national board. She also successfully brought a resolution in support of prison abolition, making the NLG the first and only explicitly abolitionist bar association in the US. Prior to that, she was the Director of Immigrant Justice at the Sylvia Rivera Law Project (SRLP), where she represented low-income trans clients. Pooja’s scholarly work focuses on social movements and the intersections of race, gender, sexuality, class, and nationality.

Pooja is a queer, south asian, cis woman with disabilities and a survivor of gender based violence. Most importantly, she has the best emotional support dog - Henry!

Gabriel Arkles is a lawyer and writer who works toward trans liberation, prison abolition, and disability justice. He has experience with direct services, collective building, and community organizing support (Sylvia Rivera Law Project), teaching and researching (NYU and Northeastern law schools), cultural work (Muslim Alliance for Sexual and Gender Diversity), and impact litigation and public education (ACLU LGBTQ & HIV Project, Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund, Advocates for Trans Equality). Gabriel’s writing has appeared in publications such as the NYU Law Review, Northeastern Law Journal, Southwestern Law Review, Scholar and Feminist Online, and TruthOut.

Gabriel is a white, trans, queer, Muslim, disabled, U.S. citizen man and a survivor of gender-based violence. He has three wonderful cats, Dumpling, Babsy, and Buttercup (pictured).

Rayne Vylette is a mixed race, indigenous trans woman back in prison after a violation of probation. She has been an active supporter of trans women in and out of prison since her previous incarceration, and continued her advocacy while free. She has worked with several advocacy organizations, including the Prisoner Correspondence Project, Black & Pink, TGIJP/TGIFP, and LAGAI. She teaches a creative writing class and is a member of the Gavel Club. She's authored several articles, including "FL Trans Prison Policy" available on ARC's blog page.

Nadirah Ali is a 54-year-old, beautiful inside and out, caring, and understanding black female of the Islamic faith. She hopes to help others to have courage to believe in themselves and to stand up for themselves and to stand up for what they believe in. She would like to help reform this injustice system. She has lived through a lot–some good, some bad, but she always tries to look at the glass as half full and not half empty. One of her biggest dreams is to go home.

Niara Burton is a pretty woman of color and trans Muslimah who is assiduous at justice. As a jailhouse lawyer and paralegal, she has litigated and prevailed on the merits in over nine cases for others, and is working on her second case for herself. She joined ARC Gender Justice because marginalized communities are deprived of advocacy and a voice. As a victim of gender abuse herself, she wants to use her skills to help others access justice and feel whole! She dreams for a future where there is no more abuse, and people can live and let live. She sees equality as a human right.

Miley Selena Fletcher has 30 years in as of 2022, and her earliest release date comes in 2024. She has done a lot of legal cases for the last 27 to 28 years, including criminal, tort, habeas, post-conviction relief act, ⸹ 1983, and ⸹ 1986 cases and cert petitions for the US Supreme Court. She is also an artist. She is a calm person who thinks before she does and researches before she speaks. She’s not the kind of woman who gets a big head–she listens and learns. She believes that as a team we have no time to belittle anyone; we need to put our heads together to bring forth success. She believes in enforcing the legal system to give transgender rights to our transgender communities, juveniles and adults, and wants to help communities in need either incarcerated or on the outside.

Jolissa is a 38 year old mixed race (Irish and Puerto Rican), straight trans woman. She has hazel eyes, brown hair, and speaks English. One of Jolissa's future goals is to change how the trans woman and the male prison population are viewed as different populations and make all prisoners viewed as unisex so DOCS can't use the male and female rhetoric against trans people in order to keep us segregated on things we can have and not have every time we strive for something making us road blocked by this divisiveness. Her goal is to work with ARC is to help and try to bring changes in prisons. She enjoys reading, learning, working, and being outdoors. Jolissa has a positive attitude and outlook on life and dislikes negative people with negative attitudes. She joined ARC gender justice because she has passion for wanting to help people who are doing advocacy work and the story on how this organization formed impacted her deeply. She wants to help bring change and equality for the transgender community. Jolissa believes that although she is only one person joining she is one of many joining to help fight the injustice that the transgender community in prison has to endure.

Andria Banks is a Beautiful Black Queen who joins us from FL. She dreams of opening her own beauty bar one day. Andria is excited about ARC because "organizations like this are so powerful and needed in communities with such little voices." Andria is scheduled to be released in August, 2024 and plans to start a resource center for trans people re-entering the “free” world.

Ms. Summerlin is a white transgender male-to -female with chronic illness. She is a survivor of gender-based violence. Noel joined arc because she "longed to be part of something larger than myself. I’ve always done well serving others, seeing to their needs. Through ARC, I’ll have an opportunity to help so many who are needlessly caught within the grip of the criminal justice system and the violence it perpetuates.

Mr. Fuller is an African American heterosexual male with chronic illness. Ronnie has lived in Georgia and New York. He is passionate about helping others, believe in justice and being a part of change and he has a strong ability to advocate on issues and excellent writing skills. Ronnie adds, "I am passionate about trans justice and bringing people together. I don’t give up or give in under pressure."

Bio to come

Ms. Allenbaugh is white and Native American. She is a pansexual transgender female with mental illness and a survivor of gender-based violence. She came out as trans, and "refuse[s] to hide or regress despite intense hate and opposition. Jacinda is "an activist and organizer and a jailhouse lawyer, familiar with law and prison policy. She helps others in their grievances and get s other organizations involved to help others. For Jacinda, gender justice means Women, cis and trans, have the right to exist. "We have a fundamental right to be free from injustices, such as victimization, denial of rights, and so forth".

Aryella Miclee Graham aka Ary does not like labels because she feels that they divide us more than they unite us, she likes to say that she is just her. She is a proud parent to a beautiful child, a paralegal, and an LGBT+ and gender justice activist, she strongly believes in and incorporates Malcolm X's form of activism BY ANY MEANS NECESSARY. She enjoys studying and practising law, targeting inequality, discrimination, oppression and the likes through lawsuits and activism activities, listening to music cooking, tattooing, being adventurous, being outdoors, trying new things, being stimulated intellectually and emotionally, and geeking out to animation movies and shows and humorous stuff. Her goals and dreams include owning some businesses, flipping houses, finding her soulmate, getting married and living on a self sufficient environment friendly farm complete with baby goats, chickens, cows, horses, crops, a pond or creek, staff to maintain the property, and a wide range of off road vehicles to wet her appetite for mudding, rock climbing and trails. She encourages anyone to reach out to her for any reason because as she says you can never have too many loyal, honest, and helpful friends. As she always says "STAY UP".