Nigel Poor is an artist and podcast host whose work explores the ways people leave behind evidence of their existence. In 2011, Nigel got involved with San Quentin State Prison as a volunteer teacher for Mount Tamalpais College (formerly the Prison University Project). In 2017, she co-founded the prison-based podcast Ear Hustle, a Pulitzer Prize finalist and two-time Peabody Award nominee, among numerous other awards. Episodes of the show have been downloaded millions of times by listeners everywhere. Her work as a visual artist has been exhibited nationally and internationally and can be found in museum collections including the SFMOMA, the M.H. deYoung Museum, and the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, D. C. Nigel is a professor of photography at California State University, Sacramento. She’s the author of The San Quentin Project, published by Aperture and co-author of This Is Ear Hustle: Unflinching Stories of Everyday Prison Life, published by Crown Publishing Group, which was the San Francisco Public Library’s One City One Book selection in 2022.

Earlonne Woods was born and raised in South Central Los Angeles. In 1997, he was sentenced to 31 years to life in prison. While incarcerated, he received his GED, attended Coastline Community College, and completed many vocational trade programs. He also founded CHOOSE1, which aims to repeal the California Three Strikes Law, the statute under which he was sentenced. In 2017, he co-founded the prison-based podcast Ear Hustle, a Pulitzer Prize finalist and two-time Peabody Award nominee, among numerous other awards. Episodes of the show have been downloaded millions of times by listeners everywhere. In November 2018, California Governor Jerry Brown commuted Earlonne’s sentence after 21 years of incarceration. Upon his release, Earlonne was hired by PRX as a full-time producer and co-host for Ear Hustle. He is also the co-author of This Is Ear Hustle: Unflinching Stories of Everyday Prison Life (Crown Publishing), which was the San Francisco Public Library’s One City One Book selection in 2022.

Antwan Williams is a multi-dimensional artist whose talents include art, music, acting, dance and writing. Since his release in October 2019, Antwan has committed himself to using his lived experience as a tool to deconstruct the school-to-prison pipeline. Antwan travels throughout the Bay Area touring high schools and colleges using music, storytelling and motivational speaking as a way to encourage the youth to take proactive and productive paths in their lives. He also continues to contribute music and illustrations to the production of Ear Hustle, which he co-founded, and produces video content for like-minded organizations.