The people building A True Chance Society, in and for the communities they come from.
Executive Director
Born in Los Angeles, California, Keshena attended 42nd Street Elementary School in South Central LA and was raised by her single father until age 13. In 1988 she moved to Seattle to reconnect with her mother. She attended Franklin High School and later earned her diploma at Tacoma Community College.
As a young adult, Keshena was active across Pierce and King County, working with WashingtonCAN on mass incarceration and lobbying at the Washington State Capitol for annual Lobby Day. She has spoken for organizations including Living with Conviction on “Ban the Box” and Legal Financial Obligation (LFO) reform, and has addressed students at the UW School of Law, Washington State University, and Washington State justices.
In 2018, Keshena brought the first women’s chapter of the Black Prisoners Caucus (BPC) into a Washington State women’s prison. She has served as Board President for Living with Conviction since 2002, and brings firsthand experience to her passion for helping currently and formerly incarcerated individuals succeed after release.
Director of Operations and People
Kadra is a Somali American who immigrated to the United States with her family in the early 1990s, fleeing civil war. She attended Northshore School District in Kenmore, Washington before moving to Seattle to complete her studies.
In 2019, she helped build a nonprofit focused on women in reentry, serving as Program Director, HR Generalist, and Interim Secretary Board member until 2023. Kadra holds a BA in Public Administration from Seattle University and an MBA from Strayer University. She previously worked at Microsoft as a University Recruiter and Diversity Sourcer, attracting talent for Software Engineering, AI/ML, and Product/Program Management roles.
At A True Chance Society, Kadra leads overall operations and ensures the organization’s HR foundation is solid — hiring within the community it trains, in a way that reflects the organization’s core values.
