Sandra Brown is a Chicago native whose passion for poetry developed while attending Whitney M. Young High School. A Collection of Brown's poetry and critical narratives were featured previously in "Critical Storytelling Behind Invisible Bars: Undergraduates and Inmates Write Their Way Out." Since then, Brown has delivered trainings, presentations, and spoken-word poetry for various organizations; some of which include the Illinois Coalition for Higher Education in Prison, Hudson Link's RISE UP 2021-2023 Conferences, The Network Advocating Against Domestic Violence, and the AIDS Foundation of Chicago, to name a few. She has also spoken on various podcasts such as "Justice Beat," "Talk Radio One," and "Bourbon 'n BrownTown" about the intersectionality of illiteracy, poverty, and criminalized survival. As a visiting scholar with the Women's Justice Institute (WJI), she prepared a policy research paper recommending collaborative strategies to support higher education degree programs in Illinois' women's prisons. Brown, a Senior Advisor with the WJI, continues to advocate for justice-impacted women and end criminalized survival while working to launch the WJI WISE (Women Incarcerated Seeking Education) program in Illinois.