Built by people who know
what's at stake.
Reentry United was founded on one conviction: that the people closest to the problem are closest to the solution and that bringing everyone together, inside and outside, is how you actually move the needle.
OUR STORY
The organization that goes inside and convenes the field.
In 2015, Angela invited Nate to speak at the Muskegon County Jail. Unbeknownst to them at the time, that was the launching pad for Reentry United. Nate brought years of lived experience inside the system. Angela brought 25 years of professional expertise. Uniting the experiential with the professional, the Grass Root with the Grass Top, they created what they call "the secret sauce for successful reentry."
In November 2022, with the support of Michigan Works West Central and Michigan Department of Corrections, they hosted the first Reentry United Conference. It had a 250-seat capacity and sold out quickly. In 2023, they did something that had never been done in Michigan: they brought the conference inside a correctional facility. Four years later, they're running monthly inside events across every security level and a national annual conference reaching ten-plus states.
Reentry United now operates as a fully independent organization, building the data, infrastructure, a sponsorship pipeline and replication systems needed to take what works in Michigan and scale it nationwide.
Angela Sprank
Program LeadAngela has dedicated 25 years to the criminal justice field. The first half of her career was spent as a coordinator for a successful Crime Victim Rights program; she built from the ground up. Her second chapter has been committed to reentry. As coordinator for the best practice (MDOC) Region 4 Reentry Program, serving 13 counties, she has piloted high-impact programs for justice-involved individuals, including a CDL initiative with a 96% success rate. As co-founder of Reentry United, she developed the convening model through her partnerships with MDOC, now active at every security level in Michigan and drawing 325+ to the annual national conference.
Angela is a recognized reentry expert and in-state and national speaker. She advances successful educational and workforce pathways, navigation models, and justice-impacted advisory councils designed to reduce recidivism.
Angela returned to Michigan State University to obtain her master's degree in criminal justice, with an anticipated graduation of May 2027.
Nate Johnson
Partnership LeadNate spent 12.5 years inside the Michigan Department of Corrections and the last 12 years building what others only theorize about. He co-founded Reentry United and Fresh Coast Alliance, established the MDOC partnerships that make the inside conference model possible, and developed the Pre-Entry through Post-Entry framework that anchors everything Reentry United does.
Keynote speaker, author, and ecosystem builder. He lives and leads from Muskegon, the same community he came home to.
Pankaj Chaudhary
Growth LeadWith a background at Uber and Aurora in robotics and platform engineering, Pankaj brings the technical and operational architecture that turns a proven model into a scalable one. He leads Reentry United's infrastructure, and business development.
His role is to ensure that what works in Michigan can work everywhere.
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