Troy Williams spent 18 years paying his debt to society, but prison wouldn't be his biggest challenge. Hear his harrowing tale of reentering society and struggling to stay legit.


After serving 18 years of a life sentence for kidnap and robbery, Troy Williams was released from San Quentin prison in October, 2014. He is the founding Chairman and CEO of the San Quentin Prison Report, a radio collaboration with KALW. While incarcerated, Troy participated in over 50 selfhelp, mental health and therapeutic programs. Troy specializes in creating and producing projects designed to convert negative urban experiences into transformative tools for social change. His hard work and dedication were recognized by the Society of Professional Journalists, and in November 2014, in collaboration with Nigel Poor and Holly Kernan, Troy received an Excellence in Journalism Award.


This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at http://ted.com/tedx