Mica’s Mission

National expert in trauma, women in custody, gender-responsive programming, and experimental research design.

“I cannot imagine grieving the death of my son in prison. I was shattered by Mica’s death, but I had the freedom to grieve—to be surrounded by people who loved him, to be with my family, and to find ways to survive each day. I kept thinking: What happens to a mother in prison when her child dies, separated from family and without the freedom to mourn or reach for the people she needs most? My child died. How could I not do this work? When you lose a child, grief becomes your constant companion. I believe theirs matters.”

National expert in suicide prevention, deaths in custody, correctional systems, and policy-relevant research.

“I was 22 when I began working on a research project following young people in juvenile detention, meeting with them every six months for several years. I was struck by how much they were like my friends and me yet lacked the resources that had protected us; by how difficult it was to imagine surviving even a single night in their shoes; and by how often their lives seemed to follow paths written in stone, with too many dying by suicide, murder, or overdose and too many losing family members to the same. Nena and I have always crossed at life's major intersections, but losing Mica was a full stop. Nena was surrounded by love and support, and while nothing could make Mica's death easier, she did not have to face her grief alone or in a place antithetical to grieving. Grief, trauma, and bereavement haunt our carceral system—the physical spaces, the young people lost, the adults too often thrown away, and the people who work there. Our combined careers have led us to this moment and this cause.”

Former attorney with the L.A County Public Defender's Office and co-creator of the 2nd Chance Women's Re-Entry Court, a pioneering prison-diversion initiative.

“Mica’s Mission is deeply personal to me. I have spent my career working alongside women whose lives have been shaped by trauma, abuse, and the justice system, and I know how often their pain goes unseen and untreated. I also knew and loved Mica, and I have spent more than two decades as Nena Messina’s friend and co-conspirator in creating meaningful change. For me, this work is about offering something that is too often missing in the lives of these women: the possibility that, even in the darkest circumstances, healing is still possible. Mica's Mission creates a place for them to mourn, to be heard, and to begin to make sense of an unimaginable loss.”