Shannon Ross has advocated for systemic change from an unlikely place: prison. He was a sophomore at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee when he killed a teen whom Shannon said robbed him in a drug deal the previous year. That landed Shannon a 17-year sentence in 2003. While in prison, Shannon tried to donate a kidney, though prison policy wouldn't allow it. He was looking for ways to atone, to be of use. "I guess I was just thinking of ways that I could somehow start being of use to people instead of what I had been,’ ” he told the Journal Sentinel's Jim Stingl in 2014. Shannon spent his time gathering new ideas and skills during his time behind bars. With motivational, logistical and financial help from his aunt and uncle and his own dogged perseverance, he got a degree in business administration, which was what was available to him. It took 15 years and involved eight different schools. Shannon also became a writer and journalist. From prison, he managed a newsletter called "The Community," which is described as the most widely read anti-mass-incarceration publication in the state. Its readership includes more than a third of the state’s prison population. The Community is also an organization working, among other things, to be a resource for information related to anti-mass incarceration in Wisconsin and beyond (for more information about the group’s work and projects go to: thecommunitynow.us). More recently, Shannon wrote about his concerns about Covid-19, including what prison staff were and were not doing to reduce the spread of the virus, for the Shepherd Express. We interviewed Shannon over the phone while he was still incarcerated, in short bursts because phone calls are limited to 15 minutes. We are happy to report, Shannon has been released.