Meet CCJFG's New Movement Advisors

The California Criminal Justice Funders Group is thrilled to welcome our second cohort of movement advisors. Tanisha Cannon, Managing Director of Legal Services for Prisoners with Children, Claudia Gonzalez, Central Valley Policy Associate with Root and Rebound, and Sandy Valenciano, Advisor and Consultant to youth rights and crimmigration organizations, Decarceration Strategist and Organizer, with All Youth Are Sacred Initiative and California Alliance for Youth and Community Justice will join us for a two-year term. They will guide our work by providing invaluable perspective as grassroots community organizers and people directly impacted by the criminal legal system. Please take a moment to get to know these three powerful leaders by reading their mini-interview below. We look forward to sharing space with our CCJFG members and movement advisors soon. 

Q&A with Tanisha Cannon, Claudia Gonzalez, and Sandy Valenciano

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Tell us about your background and what brought you to this work.

Tanisha: My passion for creating positive change is deeply rooted in my personal experiences. Having witnessed the effects of the criminal justice system on my family—my mother, sisters, brothers, and grandfather all faced incarceration—I feel a strong commitment to challenge the criminal legal system. My own encounters with the system as a juvenile provide me with a unique perspective and a sense of urgency to reimagine our current systems. Throughout my career, I’ve engaged with underserved communities organically in my community, working at the Oakland Housing Authority to address the needs of marginalized populations, and as a Cultural Strategist with the City of Oakland, I collaborated with government officials and community leaders to promote equity and inclusion. I believe in the power of civic engagement and community organizing to drive meaningful change.

Claudia: My lived experience and internal revolution funneled me ito the social justice and movement workspace. I spent most of my youth incarcerated and involved in gangs as I coped with the trauma of having an incarcerated father and a brother serving life in prison. When I returned home, educating myself helped me realize I had been impacted by draconian policies for most of my life and allowed me to embrace my identity as a formerly incarcerated woman. This identity has been the tool that drives my work. 

Sandy: I began organizing as a youth at the peak of the undocumented youth movement in 2011.  As an undocumented woman, my family and I experienced criminalization by police at a young age. I understood that the oppression and challenges we faced went beyond our immigration status. This led me to organize locally and statewide to end the collaboration between police and ICE and stop the incarceration-to-deportation pipeline. I became the California Immigrant Youth Justice Alliance (CIYJA’s) Executive Director in 2016 at 23 to organize our collective response to the Trump administration. Because so many people I loved were impacted at the intersection of different systems I became devoted to decriminalization and decarceration work.

Is there a teaching, saying, or quote that you love to see embodied in yourself and in others?

Tanisha: Ubuntu "I am because we are." This quote resonates deeply with me, emphasizing the interconnectedness of our communities and the importance of collective action.

Claudia: “Educate a boy, and you will educate a man. Educate a girl, and you will educate a generation.” I was in community college when I learned this quote and it cemented my belief in feminism and my desire to support and work with women and girls. All it takes is planting one seed for a young woman's internal revolution to ignite and become an agent of change in her community. 

Sandy: I am inspired by Mariame Kaba’s work and use the mantra “hope is a discipline.” I believe that we are all deeply connected to each other's safety and liberation. I practice disciplining my hope and staying grounded in our interconnectedness. 

What is giving you strength in this moment?

Tanisha: I find strength in gratitude, recognizing the privileges, resources, and opportunities I have to do this work—opportunities my ancestors fought for despite their challenges or circumstances.

Claudia: Hope and the love for my community are giving me the strength I need. Despite the uncertainty, we have to keep moving forward. 

Sandy: At this moment, I am most inspired by the youth who are organizing to ensure Palestine is not forgotten! I draw strength from reflecting on the generations of resistance we continue to build upon. I believe that we will win, and we will be free!