Walls Turned Sideways was co-founded in January 2024 by Sarah Ross and Pablo Mendoza as a dedicated space for art and community engagement centered on the experiences of incarcerated and formerly incarcerated individuals and their families.
STAFF
Sarah Ross (she/her)
Co-Director and founder
Sarah Ross is an artist whose work is centered on the spatial politics of race, gender, class and control. Since 2006, Sarah has been working with incarcerated artists in IL prisons. In 2011 she co-founded the Prison + Neighborhood Arts/Education Project (PNAP), a project that brings together artists, writers and scholars in and outside Stateville prison to create public projects. For more than a decade PNAP hosted exhibition, painted community murals around the city of Chicago. Also since 2011, Sarah has worked closely with local artists, activists, lawyers, torture survivors and scholars on Chicago Torture Justice Memorials—a campaign for reparations for survivors of Chicago police torture. In other collaborative projects, Sarah has worked with Ryan Griffis to produce videos, photos and installations around the social and political impacts of land use issues and global agriculture. Her work has been exhibited in Los Angeles, New York, Montreal, Copenhagen, Rio De Janeiro, among other places. She is a co-author of The Long Term: Resisting Life Sentences, Working Toward Freedom (2019); Carving Out Rights From Inside the Prison Industrial Complex 2021) and Our Tuesday Girl: An Unfurling for Dr. Margaret T.G. Burroughs. Sarah is a Soros Justice Media Fellow and an inaugural recipient of the Leaders for a New Chicago award from the MacArthur and Field Foundations. She is an Asst. Professor in Art Education at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
sarah@wallsturnedsideways.org
Mira Simonton-Chao (they/them)
Director of Operations
Mira is an abolitionist artist, educator, researcher, and organizer based in Chicago. Their work explores spacial justice and global histories of resistance with a focus on the role state violence, censorship, and manufactured scarcity have had on our collective ability to imagine and enact other ways of life. The received a MA in Art Education from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and a BA in Ethnic Studies and Art History from the University of Michigan.
mira@wallsturnedsideways.org
Javier Reyes (he/him)
Outreach Coordinator & Gallery Staff
Javier is a dedicated advocate for criminal justice reform and a leader in advancing the rights of justice-involved individuals. Drawing from his lived experience, he is also a restorative justice practitioner and prison reform advocate committed to transforming the criminal legal system. As the Founder and CEO of Challenge II Change, a non-profit organization, Javier provides comprehensive pre-release and reentry planning, essential resources for successful community reintegration, and supportive services for those at risk of becoming justice-involved. Recognizing the critical role of housing stability in successful reentry, he actively advocates for equitable housing policies and expanded access to affordable housing opportunities.
Javier’s advocacy for higher education in prison is inspired by the educational opportunities he received and the profound impact they had on his quality of life, both during and after incarceration. As an alumnus of the Illinois Coalition for Higher Education in Prison (ILCHEP) and a Justice Fellow with Northwestern University’s Prison Education Program (NPEP), he champions the belief that every individual—regardless of race, sex, gender, or sentence—deserves equal access to quality education.
Nick Haselrig (he/him)
Building Manager
Nickolas is a self taught artist born and raised on Chicago’s southeast side.
It was during his many years spent incarcerated in Illinois prisons that he discovered
a passion for creating art in differing mediums such as oil, acrylic, pastel, graphite
and watercolor.
In prison, he also had the experience of teaching developing artists and introducing other
novice seekers to the profession of art. He says, “In those times, I only saw myself
as an instructor of art — a title that perhaps holds lesser value than an actual
teacher. Those times taught me many lessons of patience and led me to understand
the true value and importance of legacy. While teaching, I was being taught.”
Now recently released from prison he continues his journey, meeting and networking
with artist, curators and other professionals.
Ryan Griffis (he/him)
Installation Volunteer
Ryan Griffis is an artist, educator, and faculty member at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. He works across media and institutions on stories about the intersections of social and environmental justice on Peoria, Kickapoo, and Potawatomi Lands in the US Midwest.
Gerald Muñoz, GPC (he/him)
Grants Manager
Gerald is a father, experienced grants professional, role-playing game enthusiast, and armchair historian from Chicago’s South Shore neighborhood. His journey in nonprofit leadership began in 2016, when he volunteered as a tutor and served on the board of the now-closed East Village Youth Program. The organization’s closure was a pivotal moment, inspiring Gerald to pursue a career in fundraising and help ensure that vital community resources remain available to those who need them.
Since then, Gerald has helped secure more than $40 million in funding for social service providers and higher education institutions through partnerships with a diverse range of philanthropic and public funders. He is a Grant Professional Certified (GPC) professional, reflecting his talent as a writer and commitment to the standards and best practices of the grants profession. Gerald began his studies at Harold Washington College before earning a Bachelor of Arts in History. Presently, he works as a Grant Writer for the City Colleges of Chicago.
Genesis Coffey (she/her)
Communications Intern
Genesis is an artist, creative, and designer born and raised on Chicago’s Southside. Genesis is a Senior at DePaul University studying Art, Media and Design concentrated in Graphic Art and specializing in Drawing and Painting. She also has a minor in African and Black Diaspora Studies. Genesis has worked in newspaper publications like The DePaulia where she was the Graphic Editor. Along with her digital work, she values hands on learning and teaching. As an artist for over 10 years her skills range from printmaking, oil/acrylic/gouache painting, screen printing, sculpture, graphic design, mix media and many more.
Genesis joined WTS in Summer 2026 and is excited to create graphic content for social media and other digital platforms, supporting community engagement of WTS work, and supporting events.
BOARD
Michael Harrell
Michael Harrell considers himself a lifelong student of learning. Michael is employed as a Community Case Manager Supervisor for the Precious Blood Ministry of Reconciliation. In addition to this Michael manages the day-to-day responsibilities of the (mens) transitional housing program. Michael has two associate degrees and has committed to completing his undergraduate degree at NEIU. Michael is a commissioner on a statewide initiative called Commission on the Children of Incarcerated Parents, which address policies that affect the livelihood of the children of incarcerated parents. Michael is a trained Restorative Justice Circle keeper and holds weekly circles with youths who are currently incarcerated. Michael’s career and extracurricular activities are mostly guided along a trajectory that addresses those who are system impacted. Michael himself is system impacted and this has fueled his passion to become and remain engaged in the work that influences and affects those who are marginalized through the criminal legal system.
Tess Landon
Tess Landon is a project manager and educator with versatile experience implementing major, citywide programs for youth. She is dedicated to supporting equitable and transformative arts, education, and employment opportunities for youth, communities, and organizations. Tess currently works as a Project Manager for the City of Chicago overseeing the My CHI. My Future. mayoral youth initiative. She has previously served as a manager of educational programming at the Chicago Architecture Biennial, LBBA Architects, the Chicago Park District, and ART WORKS Projects. She holds degrees from Bard College and Harvard University.
Jimmy Soto
James “Jimmy” Soto is a community organizer, artist, prisoner advocate, writer, and future JD candidate. He was wrongfully convicted and was released after serving 42 years. He is a paralegal at Northwestern University Pritzker’s School of Law in the Community Justice and Civil Rights Clinic. He is a Community Justice Fellow and Practitioner at the University of Chicago’s Center for the Study of Race, Politics, and Culture (CSRPC). He volunteers for Parole Illinois, Walls Turned Sideways(WTS) and is the founder and director of a Campaign called # Build Communities Not Prisons which aims to close prisons and advocate for early release initiatives.
FORMER STAFF
Pablo Mendoza (he/him)
Former Co-Director and founder
Pablo Mendoza is a proud father and lifelong student. He is a staunch advocate for the poor and disenfranchised with an eye towards a more equitable tomorrow. Pablo is a prison abolitionist who struggles against the privileges imbued upon him by society. Pablo is directly impacted having served 22 years within the Illinois Department of Corrections. He is the former co-director of Walls Turned Sideways. He is also involved with several other campaigns throughout the state including: University of Illinois Education Justice Project Reentry Guide Initiative; Freedom To Learn Campaign; Illinois Coalition for Higher Education in Prison; Illinois Reentry Alliance for Justice; Fully Free Campaign; and others.