Talib was sent to prison at the age of 17. He was charged, tried and sentenced as an adult and has been in prison, as of now, 24 years. During his incarceration he has grown from a teen-age to a man that he is now. He spends a lot of time enlightening those that are suffering from the same ailment he once suffered from: ignorance. He has achieved much in the way of accolades with the work he has done inside, as well as outside, the penal system. He has received high recognition from The Maricopa County, Arizona, juvenile probation department, as he has worked with juveniles under probation. He was part of a program called Concerned Offenders for Youth Awareness, COYA, and was the lead facilitator. He has been involved in the instituting of cognitive based programs, victim impact programs, as well as life coaching programs. He is credited for instituting the first ever life coaching program in a prison, through an accredited coaching institute, The Institute for Life Coach Training. Talib is the director and founder of The Reconstruct Program: Reconstructing lives one at a time, that is in partnership with the Coaching the Global Village, www.coachingtheglobalvillage.org. Talib, also, serves as the ambassador for Coaching the Global Village. During the course of his incarceration he has become a certified life coach, certified personal trainer, certified in victim advocacy (helping people respond and overcome crisis situations). He is also a certified alcohol and substance abuse technician. He has co-facilitated victim impact classes with college professors: Dr. Tony Gaskew, Professor of Criminal Justice and forensic science at the University of Pittsburgh. He has presented, written, material to criminal justice panels that look for ways to reduce the prison population at the University of Vanderbilt. His latest work was with the DC Mayor's Office of Public Safety where is did a video interview directed to the youth who are on probation within the District of Columbia. He also works with other public and political figures in the DC area who are actively involved in maintaining and preserving the right of the people; people who are dedicated in bring about change within the juvenile and adult sector of the criminal justice system. He has had many presentations read at town hall meetings where many lead DC officials have heard his ideas and suggestions, as it relates to saving our youth. Talib also runs a blog site. A voice from the inside, avoicefromtheinside.wordpress.com, where he discusses some of his experiences with incarceration, as well as some of the important issues that surround the topic of incarceration. He currently has a book in the making, which he hopes to have published soon. In this book he gives tips and suggestions to those who have to deal with the return of returning citizens. He recently finished writing his first screen play, "Homegrown." One of his biggest achievements was being able to learn, fluently, Spanish and Arabic while incarcerated. His current job in prison is ESL instructor and Spanish GED teacher. He also teaches Spanish and Arabic adult education classes. He is studying to his TESOL certification with the hopes of using those skills, along with his other skills, when he is released from prison. There is a lot that can be said about Talib. The most important is that his is an example of change, hard work and dedication. Not often do men excel the way he has excelled, especially under the conditions he has been under for so long. What he waits for is for others that profess to give second changes to give him his second change. He is fighting for his release from the parole board. He is a fighter and will fight until there is no more fight left. His next parole date is set for 2018. He is trying to gather as much support and help possible to fight the injustices of the parole board. Talib's contact information is: Talib Shakir 11030-007 FCI Cumberland PO BOX 1000 Cumberland Md. 21501
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