Episode #33: “Advocacy Behind the Walls: Alisha Kohn and the Prisoners Brain Trust

In this second special FAMM Conference episode, we sit down with Alisha Kohn, a transgender activist and leader with the Prisoners Brain Trust of New York—an organization whose staff is mostly still incarcerated, including its executive director. Alisha opens up about her time inside an all-male facility as a trans woman, the daily realities and dangers of that experience, and how it shaped her commitment to justice work. We also highlight the essential role of Nathaly, the organization’s social media and communications director, whose work ensures that the stories, advocacy, and inside-led strategies of the Prisoners Brain Trust reach communities and allies across the state. Together, Alisha and Nathaly help demonstrate how a statewide advocacy organization can operate powerfully and effectively even with more than half its workforce behind the walls. Our conversation touches on reentry, identity, safety, and the ingenuity of inside-led activism—showing the deep humanity, expertise, and resilience that system-impacted people bring to the movement for change. “When you’re uncomfortable, that’s when change is happening…” —Paris