Healing and Transformation Through Times of Change

Author | Speaker | Community Safety Leader

Nicholas Malaki Crayton is an award-winning author, transformational speaker, and Program Officer for Community Safety and Public Well-Being at the Steans Family Foundation. He oversees strategic investments in violence prevention across Chicagoland.

He speaks nationally on social entrepreneurship, restorative justice, and personal transformation, bridging lived experience with professional expertise to strengthen communities and create pathways to redemption for justice-impacted individuals.

Mr. Crayton was arrested at the age of 18 and spent 24 years in prison. While incarcerated, he earned his associate’s degree in liberal studies and his master’s degree in theology. He is the author of The Reciprocal Effect, Inspiring Generations, and The Redemptive Analysis.

M.A., Administrative Director for Illinois Coalition for Higher Education in Prison Institute on Public Safety & Social Justice, Doctoral Student, Educational Leadership, DePaul University

Flor Esquivel is a strategic, equity-driven engagement leader whose work bridges education, public policy, and community advocacy. She has led mission-aligned initiatives across nonprofit, public, and private institutions, building and scaling programs that center community voice, foster cross-sector collaboration, and deliver sustainable impact, including higher education in prisons and reentry pathways.

Flor currently serves as the LSC Chair at Lakeview High School and is a Board Member of Centro Sanar, which supports community-based mental health access for immigrant and Latinx communities. She is pursuing a Doctorate in Educational Leadership (Higher Education) at DePaul University, where her scholarship explores the experiences of adolescent Latino males navigating the high school system.

Grounded in a relational, systems-thinking approach to mass incarceration and crimmigration, Flor Esquivel highlights how education, public policy, healing practices, and cultural history intersect to shape belonging, opportunity, and collective resilience.

Associate Vice President of Community Engagement at United Way of Metro Chicago

Mariela Estrada leads the Neighborhood Networks initiative, with over 15 years of experience in the nonprofit, government, and philanthropic sectors. Her background is in Sociology, Latin American, and Latino Studies. She volunteers as a member of the UIC Community Advisory Board. She previously served two terms as a local school member for Neighborhood Chicago Public School and was a former appointee to the Chicago Public School Board of Education. 

Mariela is passionate about helping communities to thrive and providing communities with the resources necessary to raise families and live prosperous lives. In her free time, she loves spending time with her three children, extended family, and exploring nature. She enjoys being a tourist in one of the best cities in the country- CHICAGO!

Poet/Spoken Word Performance Artist, Hip-Hop Activist, Social Media Journalist, and Motivational Speaker.

Orion Meadows grew up on Chicago’s South Side, where he found himself pulled into the prison pipeline at a young age. Orion completed his baccalaureate studies at Northeastern Illinois University’s University Without Walls program in Urban Aesthetics and Culture with an emphasis in Hip-Hop in 2024. 

He founded Sahu Creative, an organization providing a platform for unacknowledged artists to express their creativity. Sahu Creative collaborates with incarcerated individuals to market their artwork to the public and raise awareness about their artwork.

Since 2022, he has taught Dr. King’s philosophy of nonviolence as a trainer for The Institute for Nonviolence Chicago. He is a two-time nationally nominated Spoken Word Performance Artist and a two-time poetry slam champion, winner of the 2023 Pedroso Center Black History Month Competition, and the Carruthers Center for Inner City Studies 2024 Poetry Slam. He has published three books.

Inaugural Gun Violence Prevention Program Director at Crown Family Philanthropies 

Chris Patterson serves as the inaugural Gun Violence Prevention Program Director at Crown Family Philanthropies (CFP), where he directs investments in gun violence prevention, community policing, and gun policy reform. He has been a strategic partner and implementer for major violence intervention initiatives, including READI Chicago, Community Partnering 4 Peace (CP4P), and SC2, and an active member of the Partnership for Safe and Peaceful Communities (PSPC). 

Before joining CFP, Chris was the first person with lived experience to be appointed by Governor J.B. Pritzker as Assistant Secretary for the state's largest agency, the Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS), to create the Office of Firearm Violence Prevention (OFVP). Launched in 2021 with a $250 million budget, the OFVP funds and supports violence prevention and youth development organizations across Chicago and Illinois. 

Chris is one of the five founding members of the Institute for Nonviolence Chicago (INVC), one of Chicago’s largest organizations dedicated to community violence intervention on Chicago’s west and south sides.

Noemí Román is a Chicago native and higher education professional with over ten years of experience across various educational settings, including high schools, community colleges, four-year institutions, and, most recently, higher education in prison settings. Her interest in this work began through her participation in DePaul University’s Inside-Out Prison Exchange Program at Stateville Correctional Center, and it is further informed by her lived experience supporting a loved one who is incarcerated.

In September 2025, motivated by a commitment to collective care and keeping her community safe, Noemí became involved in autonomous community defense in response to increased ICE activity.  At the core of her work is a deep belief in community, community healing, and the power of collective care to create lasting change.