Thaisan Nguon

Thaisan Nguon is a Co-Founder of Street Cred Education Consultants Inc., a non-profit organization that works with teachers and students through professional development curriculum to promote positive identity and personal agency to forge healthy paths in school and toward adulthood.  He is also an aspiring filmmaker who hopes to produce a documentary about his mother, who survived the Cambodian genocide. While in prison, he worked with charity groups, mentored youth, and helped lead a dog training program, regularly supervising the work of other teams of trainers. He also began work towards a bachelor’s degree, and when released, he prioritized finishing school, earning a degree in communication. Thaisan loves being an uncle and is now a constant babysitter for his siblings’ kids. Of his role in the community, he says, “I’m proud to be a representation of what change looks like, and to be setting an example for youth in my community.”

At age 20, he was convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison without parole. He says his turning point came “when I truly understood the impact of my bad decisions,” and he committed himself to change. “I worked to deconstruct the destructive beliefs I ascribed to and began practicing good behavior instead of bad.”

In 2018, the California governor commuted his sentence, noting his sincere remorse for his role in the crime and his dedication to rehabilitation. In 2021, Thaisan was paroled, having spent nearly 20 years in prison.

Thaisan’s philosophy on life and leading others is rooted in an African philosophical concept, Ubuntu, which means, “I am because we are,” highlighting unity, connection, and shared humanity.