Meet Joel Castón
As a child growing up in Washington, D.C., the sounds of Chuck Brown's hit song,
"I Need Some Money" echoed through the streets. It was clear from an early age that
money was a powerful force in the community.
- In Ward 8 of the southeast quadrant, government welfare checks circulated on the first of every month, providing a much-needed stimulus package for families. Joel witnessed firsthand how money and lack of financial literacy plagued his neighborhood. Low-income families were dependent on Government assistance checks emboldened wayward teens to engage in illegal activities without understanding the long-term consequences. This narrow view of economics, centered on chasing fast money, has led to the imprisonment and loss of freedom for too many community members, including Joel.
- After spending 27 years in sixteen different facilities, Joel dedicated himself to self-improvement and completed thousands of hours of educational courses and curriculums of his creation. Although Spanish was sometimes spoken at home, he did not become truly proficient until later when he discovered an aptitude for languages. He taught himself multiple foreign languages and became enthusiastic about investing in the stock market, leading investment seminars for his fellow peers. He also developed and published a curriculum series on basic investing titled "Currency Catchers."
- In 2018, Joel became a founding mentor of the Young Men Emerging (YME), a treatment unit for young adults at the DC Jail. The program provides counseling, mentoring, structure, and self-governance to help young people develop the skills they need to succeed. Research from developmental psychology suggests that the brain is still developing through the mid-twenties, making this program especially important for young adults.
- Joel's advocacy through writing and media appearances has garnered enthusiastic support from D.C. officials, nonprofits, businesses, universities, and celebrities. He deeply regrets his past crimes and the trauma caused. His journey has been one of personal healing and reform. After decades of imprisonment, he aims to convey that young people deserve a second chance and can emerge to become assets to their communities.
- Voter enfranchisement is a top priority for Joel. The Restore the Vote Amendment Act of 2020, ensures that all DC residents in custody register to vote. In 2021, Joel voted for the first time. He also ran for public office and won a ground-breaking campaign, becoming the first incarcerated person in the history of the capital city of the United States elected to the Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) seat. ANCs are bodies of local government in the District of Columbia that consider a wide range of policies and programs affecting their neighborhoods, including traffic, parking, recreation, street improvements, liquor licenses, zoning, economic development, police protection, sanitation, and trash collection, and the district's annual budget.
- Joel believes that power is in the people, and that power lies in one's ability to vote! "Anytime a member of a society is not afforded the right to express his or her opinions by way of the democratic process, we cannot achieve the ideals of democracy."
- Joel is a Fellow at the Justice Policy Institute, a national nonprofit organization developing workable solutions to problems plaguing juvenile and criminal justice systems. He works with the National Reentry Network for Returning Citizens, a nonprofit organization that supports the successful reintegration of formerly incarcerated people into society. He is a Special Advisor of the Residential Service for the Department of Juvenile Services. He serves on the D.C. Sentencing Commission to promote fair and consistent sentencing policies, to increase public understanding of sentencing policies and practices, and to evaluate the effectiveness of the guidelines system to recommend changes based on actual sentencing and corrections practice and research. He is the first formerly incarcerated person to assume this role.
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Joel At Large
Joel serves on the D.C. Sentencing Commission. In 2024, he made history by becoming the first formerly incarcerated member to promote fair and consistent sentencing policies to increase public understanding of sentencing policies and practices.
Joel works as a Special Advisor of the Residential Service for the Department of Juvenile Services (DJS) Innovation Team. His work ensures those most impacted by the change are involved in the planning and implementation.
Joel is a Fellow at the Justice Police Institute (JPI). Founded in 1997, JPI is a national nonprofit organization developing workable solutions to problems plaguing juvenile and criminal justice systems.
Joel works with the national reentry network, a nonprofit organization that supports the successful reintegration of formerly incarcerated people into society. He provides coaching and financial literacy workshops.
Joel's Contributions
