Tia was incarcerated for nearly a decade following a tumultuous childhood. Determined to change her life, she enrolled at Rutgers and began putting together support services and housing options for others returning to their communities. She has become a leading advocate for criminal justice reform in NJ. In 2022, she was appointed by Gov. Murphy as a Trustee of the Edna Mahan Correctional Facility, the first formerly incarcerated person in that position.