by James Morgan | Aug 27, 2025 | Organizer
Organizer’s Corner: James Morgan
Interview by Margaret Irwin
In a recent conversation, our Community Organizer, James Morgan, described his recent activities as an effort “to solidify our space in this community.” He noted that several organizations in the community have recognized who we are and have indicated interest in connecting with us.
On Aug. 23, James served as emcee for the “Healing Over Harm” rally that was held outside the Governor’s Mansion. Speakers sent the strong, challenging message to our current governor, Tony Evers, and to our next governor as well, that Wisconsin’s criminal-legal system needs to be one that heals, not one that perpetuates the harm.
James also took part in August in a two-day conference on mental health presented by Anesis Therapy. There he met people with whom he hopes to develop relationships; he invited them to learn what MOSES is doing by attending our monthly meetings and exploring our website.
During the summer, James also took time out for some R & R. He vacationed in Michigan, doing some fishing and spending time with his wife, Rachel, and his daughter and grandkids. Now he is ready to get back to work!
Ongoing projects include the national solitary confinement bus tour, which will be in Madison Oct. 11 and 12. James is helping with logistics, such as finding a way to park both the national tour bus and Talib Akbar’s solitary confinement truck at the state Capitol on Oct. 12!
Now James is lining up other activities to take us to the end of the year. WISDOM will be offering some weeklong online training sessions facilitated by Conor Williams, WISDOM’s affiliate liaison, and James will be one of the presenters. He encourages MOSES members to participate in these free learning opportunities. Watch your inbox for details!
James also plans to increase collaboration with the League of Women Voters, given that Gov. Evers will not be running for re-election. And he looks forward to establishing a relationship with the leaders of the Caribbean Association of Madison. He also wants to meet with people in city government – e.g., alders and neighborhood association leaders – and is hoping that will lead to community forums in 2026.
For some time, James has been looking for new office space, and now, thanks to Michael Burch, director of The Crossing Student Ministry on University Avenue, he has an office in their building! He sees the campus location as an opportunity to work with students and to make presentations to social science and law professors. The Crossing has a huge communications network that goes out across campus, so it can advertise the work that MOSES is doing. There is ample space for James to offer training to students interested in criminal-legal system reform. James notes how delightful it will be to look out on the campus, in contrast to his view of concrete and boxes in the previous office space. He hopes that some MOSES members will participate in the events we’ll be able to sponsor on campus.
James is also looking forward to working with WISDOM’s new executive director, Kina Collins. Her background in addressing gun violence and related issues will make her a powerhouse in supporting MOSES, he says, noting that Kina is looking forward to engaging across the affiliate network to create a stronger structure for WISDOM. James sees this as a plus for MOSES. He hopes it will lead to more support from the other affiliates, so that greater numbers will show up for press conferences and issues involving the Department of Corrections, education, etc.
Recently, James has been doing training sessions with the UW-Madison School of Human Ecology’s “Fund Development Advice for New Nonprofit Leaders.” Next up is fund-raising training. He, Barbie Jackson, and Saundra Brown will be doing a leadership training program for nonprofits that is sponsored by the University of Wisconsin.
James notes that all these activities will help strengthen our organization and offer more opportunities to participate. “We don’t have to agree on everything all the time, but let’s make the effort to work together,” he says. “We can show Madison something!”
He wants to have a time to sit down with leaders of other community organizations involved in advocacy – e.g., the Urban League, the NAACP, the League of Women Voters – to build a power base, so that we will be ready to respond to issues as they arise. “Given our political realities now, we need to join forces with as many people as we can, to have effective pushback on some of the things that may be coming out of our legislature or local government,” he says.
In conclusion, James says: “I’m very encouraged, very happy to be able to represent MOSES in the ways that I do. I want to continue that and even step it up a notch.”
Let’s Do MOSES!
by MOSES Publications | Aug 27, 2025 | MOSES leadership
MOSES Announces Changes to President’s Term and Succession Plan
The MOSES Leadership Board recently adopted a change to the President’s term of office and created two new roles. Currently, the President serves a two-year term and can be re-elected for a second term. The new approach, which was adopted to create a smoother leadership succession, provides three roles serving one year each: a President-Elect, a President, and an Immediate Past President.
People elected to these positions will collaboratively divide responsibilities according to their preferences, availability, and talents. They will automatically succeed to the subsequent role, for a total of three years of service, after which they may be nominated to serve one more time in each of these roles.
2026 will be a transition year. The newly-elected President and President-Elect will serve together collaboratively, and the Vice President will complete her final year in office. Beginning in 2027, the Vice President’s position will be eliminated.
Please contact Kathy Luker, chair of the Nominating Committee, if you would like to suggest nominees for either of these roles or the other positions to be elected in November: President, President-Elect, Secretary, and Assistant Treasurer.
Note: Saundra Brown’s first term as President and Tricia Hillner’s first term as Secretary will end this year. Both have indicated willingness to be nominated for a second term.
by MOSES Publications | Aug 27, 2025 | Advocacy, RJAC Racial Justice for All Children, Schools, Youth, Schools, Education
EAG Creates Literacy Justice Coalition Wisconsin
By Judy Fitzgerald, Tracy Frank, and Shel Gross
For the past few years, the Education Advocacy Group (EAG) of the Racial Justice for All Children Task Force (RJAC) has focused on early literacy education and identifying students with dyslexia as high priority ways to narrow the school-to-prison pipeline. For decades, many children have not been taught with practices supported by what scientists have learned from the neuropsychological research on reading. Children not reading at grade level fall further and further behind as the material becomes more complex, and this can result in behavior issues, withdrawal, and/or emotional turmoil. A substantial portion of juvenile detainees are functionally illiterate, as are about 75% of incarcerated individuals, making it harder for them to take part in employment opportunities or civil society.
With this knowledge, MOSES took an official position in favor of Act 20, also known as the Right-to-Read Bill, which was signed into law by Gov. Evers on July 19, 2023. The position’s first two sentences have been the guideposts for the EAG’s work:
- MOSES treasures the education and well-being of all our citizens, but most especially our treasured children.
- MOSES believes that schools should be held accountable for teaching children to read.
Act 20 changed the way that Wisconsin children are taught to read, to align with reading science. It also changed the way that teachers are trained, requiring them to have completed an approved course in the linguistic foundations of reading. Literacy coaches are prescribed for the lowest performing districts. Screening tests are required three times a year for grades K5-3, and the results are to be communicated to the parents or guardians. If a student scores in the lowest 25%, a diagnostic assessment must be performed and a personalized reading plan (PRP) provided to the parents or guardians. An Early Literacy Curriculum Council (ELCC) was formed to choose the most effective curricula for districts to adopt, so that they could receive up to 50% reimbursement for their cost outlay. Importantly, the new law also requires districts to screen for dyslexia, if requested by a parent, guardian, or teacher.
Due to a legal dispute between the governor and the legislature, the roughly $50 million allotted for implementation of Act 20 was not released until July 2025. But now the Department of Public Instruction (DPI) will be able to hire literacy coaches, reimburse districts for curriculum purchases, and support teacher training.
The delay did not keep RJAC from advocating for the local adoption of Act 20 measures over the past two years. We met with school board members, administrators, and DPI staff to learn about implementation and to hold all parties accountable for it.
When several members of RJAC provided in-person testimony in the summer of 2023 in support of Act 20, seeds for important relationships with other state literacy advocates and organizations were planted. The EAG recognized that though these groups share an interest in improving early literacy education and preservice teacher training, they might not be familiar with each other’s work. While organizations need to focus on their own core missions, MOSES understands that “organized people” are key to developing our power to impact policy. This understanding led Tracy Frank to create a listserv of literacy advocates and organizations devoted to raising literacy rates in Wisconsin.
Tracy led the first virtual meeting of the Literacy Justice Coalition Wisconsin on July 17, 2025, to learn what everyone was already doing and to plot future direction. Early childhood education, increasing the supply of tutors, and monitoring implementation of Act 20 were identified as crucial parts of the equation. Several coalition members want to hold an event in the fall to raise public awareness of the literacy crisis. When future legislation or funding is needed, the Literacy Justice Coalition Wisconsin is now in place to communicate and coordinate advocacy. If you would like to be added to the listserve or to work on the fall event, email Tracy Frank at jtracyfrank@me.com.
This fall, as every year, there are multiple reasons why many children enter the new school year already behind. Though teachers now are better trained in more effective methods, they still have the stress of teaching students with a variety of reading levels and resources in one classroom. Trained volunteer literacy tutors lessen a teacher’s load by working one-on-one with the students in the bottom half who do not qualify for the services of the reading interventionist or special education teacher. An effective, trained volunteer literacy tutor can help change the trajectory of a young person’s life, away from the illiteracy-to-prison pipeline.
While MOSES is primarily an advocacy organization, we know many members of MOSES member congregations are moved to provide direct service in a variety of ways. If that is you, check the sidebar and consider one of the many volunteer literacy tutor training opportunities in Madison.
Literacy Tutoring Opportunities
The following organizations provide training and placement for literacy tutors. We do not know the current status of training slots at each organization. If you would like to talk about tutoring in general please feel free to contact Judy Fitzgerald, judithfitzgerald@fsm.northwestern.edu or Tracy Frank, jtracyfrank@me.com.
Goodman Center – START Literacy Initiative
Iris Patterson: (608) 204-8014; ipatterson@goodmancenter.org
https://www.goodmancenter.org/children-teens/start-literacy
Children’s Dyslexia Center
Director Kelly Kuenzi: (608) 252-4922
https://www.childrensdyslexiacenters.org/services/
One City Schools: (608) 531-2128
Volunteer information here.
Note: Even though in-person tutor training took place in August, there are other ways to get involved if you are interested.
Schools of Hope: Madison
https://schoolsofhope.org/tutor/schools-of-hope-in-madison/
Schools of Hope provides tutors for:
Thoreau School – Madison
Fluency Tutor Program
(608) 204-6940
Lowell School – Madison
Literacy Tutor Program
(608) 204-6600
by MOSES Publications | Aug 27, 2025 | Advocacy, Life After Prison, WISDOM, WISDOM Post Release
Implementing Short-Term Sanctions: Notes from the July 8 DOC Hearing
By Sherry Reames
In 2014, the Wisconsin Legislature passed Act 196, directing the Department of Corrections to create a system of short-term sanctions. These sanctions were to provide alternatives to revocation (back to prison) for people on probation, parole, or extended supervision who violated a supervision rule. If properly implemented, this bipartisan measure would contribute substantially to the success and well-being of affected individuals and help to significantly reduce Wisconsin’s prison population.
But the DOC has never actually implemented this law. As Tom Gilbert of MOSES has been reminding them since 2019, genuine implementation would require them to write a set of rules that fulfill the law’s requirements to provide examples of high, medium, and low-level sanctions to “minimize the impact on the offender’s employment . . . and family” and to “reward offenders for compliance” as well as punish them for violations.
On July 8, 11 years after the legislature passed the short-term sanctions law, the DOC made a gesture toward compliance by scheduling a one-hour online public hearing on its latest proposal to deal with the issue. Thanks to publicity from WISDOM and other prison-reform groups, the hearing was lively, well-attended, and remarkably cohesive, with witness after witness explaining the flaws of the current system and the positive differences that would result from full implementation of Act 196.
Among the highlights of the hearing were personal testimonies from re-entering citizens who, despite years of compliance with the rules, still face many more years of supervision fees and never-ending stress under the current system. As Shannon Ross put it, they are never free from the knowledge that a former friend or disgruntled ex-employee can easily get them sent back to prison. Marianne Oleson pointed out that the average length of supervision in Wisconsin vastly exceeds the 3 to 5 years which experts say is enough. Other witnesses described the traumas inflicted on family members, especially children, when an individual who just needs alcohol or mental health treatment is instead reincarcerated.
Besides Tom Gilbert, who outlined the history and importance of Act 196, several other MOSES members contributed detailed suggestions for its implementation. Eric Howland explained that the current system, which relies on “short-term” jail sentences of 30 to 90 days, can destroy whatever progress returnees have made in fulfilling their basic needs for employment, housing, and a positive social network and force them to start over. Carol Rubin explained that the DOC needs to provide agents with examples of sanctions, like weekend jail time, home confinement, or participation in AODA treatment, which would not seriously damage the individual’s employment, education or training, housing, or family. Lisa Munro cited the benefits achieved by other states when they actually used rewards and incentives as well as sanctions, allowing people to earn earlier release from supervision by completing treatment or education programs or simply complying with the rules consistently.
Other expert witnesses at the hearing emphasized the urgent need to reform Wisconsin’s system of supervision. Sean Wilson from the national organization Dream.org pointed out that the current system lacks not only real short-term sanctions, but also transparency, oversight, focus on rehabilitation and successful re-entry, and guardrails to prevent overpunishment. He added that the DOC’s new proposal to outsource more supervision to private vendors would create perverse incentives to maximize private profit. Robert Thibault, from Prison Action Milwaukee, emphasized the inconsistencies in the current system, with some counties and some individual agents far more inclined than others to revoke probation for petty rule violations, and summed up by calling for a DOC and probation culture that wants people to succeed, with rules that promote rehabilitation and recovery.
The DOC is no longer accepting written public testimony on Act 196, but it is not too late to share your ideas and recommendations with your legislators and the governor’s office.
by MOSES Publications | Aug 27, 2025 | Advocacy, Newsletter, Prisons, WISDOM
“Healing Over Harm” Rally at the Governor’s Mansion on Aug. 23
By Sherry Reames
A good-sized crowd turned out for this WISDOM demonstration in front of the Governor’s Mansion in Maple Bluff on Saturday morning, Aug. 23. At least 20 members of MOSES were on hand, many of us with homemade signs, joining a large contingent from MICAH in Milwaukee, representatives from other WISDOM affiliates around the state, and allies from other organizations like the ACLU and the Poor People’s Campaign. MOSES Organizer James Morgan served as emcee, introducing all the speakers and energizing the crowd with repeated chants of “Healing Over Harm! People Over Prisons!”
The current WISDOM president, the Rev. Kathleen Gloff, opened the program with a memorably powerful prayer, and the Rev. Michael Burch from MOSES and The Crossing closed the event on a note of hope. The speakers in between kept the intensity level high as they offered first-hand testimonies to the cruelties and injustices of Wisconsin’s incarceration system. Here’s the list of speakers and their subjects:
- JenAnn Bauer, on issues especially impacting women prisoners;
- Bobby Ayala, on his experience as an Old Law juvenile lifer;
- Megan Hoffman, whose mentally ill father died at Waupun due to medical neglect;
- Tammy Jackson, a mother poetically protesting the incarceration of her three daughters;
- Tom Gilbert, a father working against the revocation system that ensnared his son;
- Mark Rice, WISDOM Transformational Justice Coordinator, summarizing the reforms we will demand from this governor, the legislature, and all political candidates in 2026;
- Kina Collins, WISDOM interim executive director, on why Wisconsin policies matter regionally and nationally;
- Ray Mendoza, a family member calling on other men to stand up against the shackling of pregnant women.
Fortunately, members of the press were on hand to record some of the rally’s highlights. If you missed the event itself, you should still be able to learn more about it from the coverage on Madison radio station WORT, in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, and on the MOSES Facebook page.
by MOSES Publications | Aug 27, 2025 | Fundraisers, MOSES activities, MOSES leadership
By MOSES President Saundra Brown
The MOSES Fundraising Team has been hard at work preparing for the upcoming MOSES Gala, which is scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 22, 5:30-9 p.m. The event promises to be a celebration of resilience, community, and justice. As always, the focus of our celebration is the honoring of three formerly incarcerated individuals who are rebuilding their lives and continuing to thrive and inspire as they do so.
The four-member Fundraising Team, which meets twice monthly, has accomplished much in just eight meetings. To date, they have:
- Confirmed the Gala venue: the Goodman Community Center’s Brassworks building on Madison’s east side.
- Designed and distributed “Save the Date” flyers.
- Selected the three honorees,who are now being interviewed and filmed by the MOSES Community Organizer.
- Completed the program for the event.
- Secured two financial sponsors, with five additional sponsorships pending.
- Finalized ticket prices at $100 per person, or $750 for a table of eight.
The team has also created a task schedule to coordinate volunteer roles, to ensure that all aspects of the evening — from media outreach to on-site logistics — are covered. MOSES members are encouraged to sign up promptly for assignments, ranging from flyer distribution and social media promotion to event-day support. To check out the volunteer tasks and sign up for one, click here!
The team is also seeking donations for the Gala’s silent auction. Suggested contributions include bicycles, jewelry, themed gift baskets, artwork, tickets to an event, or a gift card for a meal at a restaurant. Donations of such items will help make the evening a success: it’s fun to see who wins the items in question! It could be you! And of course the silent auction raises funds to support MOSES’s mission.
“We’re expecting a full house,” a Fundraising Team member said. “This Gala isn’t just about raising money — it’s about lifting up stories of transformation and building stronger community ties.”
MOSES invites all members and supporters to purchase tickets, volunteer, and contribute auction items. With collective effort, the November Gala will be both a celebration and a catalyst for continued work toward justice.
For more information, to purchase tickets, to offer a sponsorship, or to donate silent auction items, please contact us via president.moses.madison@gmail.com.
