Formerly incarcerated leader and UVI reentry staff outline second-chance work and fellowship selection

Adrian Glenn, program manager at UVI Cell Saint Croix and director of an allied community program, described his personal reentry story and the territory's reentry work during testimony before the committee on March 7.

Glenn said he used his lived experience to help design and run a local reentry program called RESET and said he was selected as a 2025 Global Freedom Fellow by the Incarceration Nations Network. "This fellowship unites global leaders in justice reform, empowering formerly incarcerated individuals to drive transformative change worldwide," Darrow McGrath said in introducing him. Glenn said the fellowship involves a two-week program in South Africa and a culminating event at the Nelson Mandela Foundation.

Committee members from several districts praised reentry efforts and called for expanded restorative-justice practices and second-chance policies. Senator Maurice James and others described national examples and urged stronger local coordination between corrections, workforce programming and community groups. Senators requested UVI Cell and allied partners provide details on reentry cohorts, participant outcomes and upcoming Second Chance Month events in April.

Glenn encouraged community involvement and promoted two town-hall events planned for April (Second Chance Month) to raise awareness and connect reentry participants with employers and services. He said restorative justice and individualized support are central to his approach and called for the territory to be a model for nationwide criminal-justice reform.

The committee did not vote on policy changes at the hearing, but members and witnesses asked staff to follow up with reentry program metrics and coordination plans.