Laura Electa Hayes received her B.A. in Art, Pedagogy and Abolition with honors from Pitzer College through their New Resources program in the Spring of 2024. Her advocacy work, community aid efforts, and scholarship focus on providing equitable space for formerly incarcerated and system impacted students at all levels, and specifically in highlighting the value of their experiential knowledge, transferable skills, and lived experiences. Her engagement and commitment to this research, what she calls "heart-work," are directly related to her experiences throughout her life and as the daughter, foster mother, and sister of currently incarcerated people. Laura currently works at Homeboy Industries as their Academic Program Manager, overseeing programs that support scholars with adult literacy services, ELL, high school completion, and higher education. Her own lived experiences guide her research and positionality in this work.