Born from the Inside Out
Founded by Four Incarcerated Men
Living A.M.E.N.D.S was founded by four incarcerated men — Anthony Arteaga, Adam Sharpe, Oscar Solano, and David Ortiz. The founders collectively have over 100 years of continuous incarceration under their belts, as well as college degrees in psychology, social and behavioral sciences, sociology, and business.
All four founders were prior youthful offenders themselves — in fact, they began their incarceration as teenagers. They started their journeys prior to the shift in political climate and public opinion pertaining to the treatment of offenders under the age of 26.
The mentality of that time was to lock up youth and treat them no different than their adult peers. Today, public opinion has changed, and young people have unprecedented opportunities to rehabilitate. Living A.M.E.N.D.S exists to make sure those opportunities reach the youth who need them most.
"Those closest to the problem are closest to the solution, but furthest from resources and power."
— Glenn E. Martin
Why Lived Experience Matters
Credibility
Mentors who have walked the same path carry an authority that no credential can replicate. Youth trust those who truly understand their world.
Empathy
Shared experience creates genuine empathy — not sympathy. Our mentors don't just understand the struggle intellectually; they've lived it.
Transformation
When a young person sees someone who came from the same place now living differently, it doesn't just inspire — it proves a new path is possible.
The People Behind the Mission
Over 100 years of collective incarceration. Four college degrees. One shared commitment to change the trajectory of youth in the system.
Adam Sharpe
Program Director
Adam Sharpe has been incarcerated since 2002, and holds degrees in business and social and behavioral sciences. He is the published author of multiple books including Faith is Tangible and Free on the Page. Being a former youth offender, he strives through Living A.M.E.N.D.S to give to current youth offenders the opportunities he never had.
Anthony Arteaga
Program Coordinator
Anthony is a Youth Mentor, transformational coach through the CROP organization, and facilitator of self-help groups for incarcerated people. He holds two degrees and co-founded Living A.M.E.N.D.S to mentor youthful offenders — using his own transformation to guide them toward a new path.
Oscar Solano
Operations Lead
Oscar Solano has a background in sociology and is dedicated to dismantling the systemic barriers that funnel youth into incarceration. Through the skills he gained in the Academic and Life Skills Program (ALSP), he mentors system‑impacted youth as a Coordinator with the Life Line Youth Mentor Program, and serves as a Restorative Justice Coach. Guided by a commitment to Living A.M.E.N.D.S, Oscar channels his experience into empowering young people to break cycles, heal, and build new futures.
David Ortiz
Curriculum Advisor
Convicted at the age of eighteen, and sentenced to life without parole, David Ortiz has almost three decades of incarceration. He holds six college degrees, has completed over fifty self-help programs, and logged in over 400 hours of group facilitation. David is also a certified Going Out by Going In (GOGI) life coach and a youth mentor.
Quaitie Siverly
Treasurer
Quaitie holds a BA in First Nations Studies and Interdisciplinary Studies. She has worked with incarcerated men since 2017 as an independent editor, publisher, and advocate — although the assistance she provides is much broader. With Living A.M.E.N.D.S, Quaitie works behind the scenes from the outside in, providing the team members on the inside the necessary resources to make it happen.
Time Given.
Lives Transformed.
You don't have to write a check to make a difference. Spreading the word, helping with simple tasks, or showing up for a young person — your time is one of the most powerful gifts you can give. Every hour invested in Living A.M.E.N.D.S is an hour invested in someone's future.
Get InvolvedDavid Ortiz — Curriculum Advisor
On behalf of all co-founders at Living A.M.E.N.D.S
David is a man rebuilt by work he never thought he would have to do, so he did what most people in his position never get the chance to do; he turned his life around. Not in a single moment, but over the years in silence, through reading, writing, programing, and the slow honest work of facing the boy he had been, and the harm he had once caused. David is not a man who is surviving prison, but a man being transformed by it, using every day of that transformation to build something for others.
As a co-founder of Living A.M.E.N.D.S, David puts everything he has learned into the hands of others; from inside the same walls that hold the men and woman he writes for here; for those who are still inside searching for a way through, and for the system impacted youth still on the streets, walking the same road he once walked. He is helping to build what he never had access to; real tools, mentors, housing, trades, and a real path forward.
David's vision for Living A.M.E.N.D.S is bigger than any one program. He sees a future where Living A.M.E.N.D.S is the name people turn to when they are ready for change – a household name in rehabilitation, reentry, and youth mentorship. A place where young men arrive who are at their crossroads. A place known not for what it says, but for what it does - change lives.
David's purpose is to be the bridge he wished existed for him. Out of his pain, he is determined to give others hope.
This is the Living A.M.E.N.D.S of all the co-founders.
David Ortiz
Curriculum Advisor
Ready to Be Part of the Change?
Whether you want to volunteer, donate, or simply spread the word — every action moves us closer to a world where no young person is left without guidance.
