SUSAN BURTON
Susan Burton is the Founder and Executive Director of A New Way of Life Re-Entry Project, a grassroots, nonprofit, sober living home for formerly incarcerated women in South Los Angeles. Having been entrapped in the criminal justice system until 1996, Susan founded A New Way of Life in 1998 and has since dedicated herself to helping other women break the cycle of incarceration, homelessness, addiction and despair. Under her leadership, the organization has provided the opportunity for a new life to over 200 women to date, and countless more to come.

Susan is currently a Soros Justice Fellow, a Women's Policy Institute Fellow, and a former Community Fellow under the Violence Prevention Initiative of The California Wellness Foundation. Her educational background includes completing a Chemical Dependency Certificate course at Southwest College in Winter 2002, as well as certificate programs in Non-Violent Organizing and Three Principles of Human Development at UCLA.

MELISSA BURCH
Melissa Burch is the Director of Programs at A New Way of Life Re-Entry Project. Melissa began as a volunteer at A New Way of Life before joining the staff in 2006. Her work combines direct service, policy advocacy, organizing, and leadership development, as well as oversight and coordination of all programs. Melissa became involved in anti-prison organizing while living in Louisiana, where she served as the Conference Coordinator for the Critical Resistance Southern Regional Conference in 2003.

Melissa is a long time activist and community organizer, with a BA in Social Ecology from Goddard College/Institute for Social Ecology, and a Master of Science in Urban Studies and Applied Anthropology from the University of New Orleans, College of Urban and Public Affairs.

GENA LEW
Gena Lew is the Director of Planning and Development at A New Way of Life Re-Entry Project. Prior to joining the staff in 2007, Gena was a consultant for the organization, providing services in strategic planning, organizational development, and grantwriting, helping the organization grow from a small start-up run primarily by volunteers to its current state. Gena has over 15 years of experience in the nonprofit sector, where she has worked previously as the Executive Director of the Asian Pacific Community Fund, Program Director at Community Partners, and Director of Policy and Communication at Leadership Education for Asian Pacifics.

Gena earned her BA in Psychology from University of California at San Diego and her MA in Public Policy from Duke University. She is also a former National Fellow of the Asian Pacific Women's Leadership Institute, an alumna of the Changing Faces Fellowship at the East-West Center at the University of Hawaii, and an alumna of Leadership Southern California.

RUTH MAYFIELD
Ruth Mayfield is the Housing Coordinator for A New Way of Life Re-Entry Project. A native Angeleno who was a friend of Susan's prior to their incarceration and recovery, Ruth also spent much of her adult life in prison. In 1999, when Susan made a presentation about A New Way of Life at the California Institute for Women where Ruth was incarcerated, she was inspired by what Susan was doing and how Susan had successfully changed her whole life around. At that point, Ruth realized that if Susan could make this life change, she could, too.

Upon her final release from prison, Ruth contacted Susan and began to get her life back on the right track. She began volunteering at A New Way of Life in 2003—driving the women to their meetings, cooking, babysitting and shopping. She volunteered for three years until she joined the staff in 2006 as a Housing Coordinator and Outreach Specialist. Ruth currently oversees the residents and all aspects of managing the organization's three houses. She also does homeless outreach, referring homeless people to access centers where they can obtain resources and shelter. Ruth has completed several educational courses, including a health advocacy course from LA Trade Tech, an anger management training certification program, a training program on how to run a sober living home, and a Behavioral Health Services outpatient program.