Mitch Highley
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Mitch Highley was born and raised in Orange County, California. He has been involved with Center for Council since 2016, when he enrolled in the council program at Ironwood State Prison, where he was facing a life sentence.
"I spent half my life incarcerated due to poor choices and lacking a sense of purpose and belonging in the community. Center for Council is where I learned healing from my past is possible. It gave me a safe place to learn, grow, and be vulnerable with my peers. Connection was invaluable to my recovery and these circles served as the ground for empathy, compassion and understanding to not only take root, but flourish. I discovered how to fill voids of emptiness with emotions I couldn't identify in my past. Through council interactions I learned to leave prejudice and look for similarities rather than differences."
Despite his sentence, Mitch committed himself fully to his self-improvement and education in prison. He achieved a Bachelor's Degree in Sociology with an emphasis on criminology as well as Certification as a Substance Abuse Counselor. As a result of his work and transformation, he was granted parole in 2019. He has been working to share his story of redemption, and giving back to support those on the path, ever since.
"I spent half my life incarcerated due to poor choices and lacking a sense of purpose and belonging in the community. Center for Council is where I learned healing from my past is possible. It gave me a safe place to learn, grow, and be vulnerable with my peers. Connection was invaluable to my recovery and these circles served as the ground for empathy, compassion and understanding to not only take root, but flourish. I discovered how to fill voids of emptiness with emotions I couldn't identify in my past. Through council interactions I learned to leave prejudice and look for similarities rather than differences."
Despite his sentence, Mitch committed himself fully to his self-improvement and education in prison. He achieved a Bachelor's Degree in Sociology with an emphasis on criminology as well as Certification as a Substance Abuse Counselor. As a result of his work and transformation, he was granted parole in 2019. He has been working to share his story of redemption, and giving back to support those on the path, ever since.
