Private Story
Julian Jackman
Julian Jackman, 46, community activist, voice for the youth, born and raised in Columbia, MO.
Portrait taken on 04/09/2023
When Julian Jackman, Executive Director of P.E.A.C.E. was in prison he turned his attention to creating a non-profit with a mission “to reach into our communities and help the process of healing from hurt that was caused by criminal behavior. To educate young people on how their choices can either destroy or bring us together in the future. To work side by side with criminal justice agencies to help break down barriers with at-risk individuals and communities.”
He had spent 17 years of his incarceration preparing to lead a mentorship and training program for vulnerable young men, preparation that began shortly after he arrived, when he attended mandated “Impact of Crime on Victims Class”. The peer-led workshops were good, but Julian also saw ways they could be better.
In his second year, having seen his style as he rose to lead peer facilitator, the MDOC administrator office asked if he had input on how to improve the curriculum during an upcoming rewrite. He worked and reworked the material: adding specificity, cutting anything superfluous, deepening the conversation, and adding workbooks to give students more time and more privacy in what they were learning. Julian’s curriculum, his teaching, and his facilitator trainings, drew people in. Within a few years, word had gotten around beyond his institution and Restorative Justice offices across the state requested his help with training and materials.
The curriculum he helped develop is still in use today. As this was happening, Julian watched the yearly churn of new prisoners and increasingly asked himself how he could he help slow that stream of young men that are justice impacted. He wanted to go back home and face what he had done and who he had been. And he knew that in Columbia, MO, his name still rang in places few other service providers were able to go. He knew he had to go back home and give back to his community what he didn’t get.
Julian is also the owner of Agents of Change, LLC and Co-Owner of R.I.S.E. Initiative, LLC. He is also a Certified Trauma Informed Community Specialist in ACE’s & Domestic Violence Awareness, Certified Christian Counselor, and an Ordained Minister.
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