Azadeh Zohrabi, Executive Director

Born in Iran into a lineage of activists, Azadeh Zohrabi is a natural leader who has experienced the intergenerational impacts of incarceration and exile and has a deep conviction to advocate for the underdog.

Azadeh is an advocate, educator, consultant, and coach with extensive experience in policy, strategy, leadership development, program development, community organizing, and management at the intersection of higher education and the criminal legal system. She is devoted to organizing for liberation, transformation, wellness, and equity within communities and people historically underserved and disenfranchised. With a visionary eye, strategic mind, and heart for possibilities, she is a leader for systems change and holistic social justice practice.

Currently directing her effort to building a prison to university pipeline, she is Executive Director of the Underground Scholars Program at UC Berkeley. In this role, she supports incarcerated and formerly incarcerated students with accessing higher education in the University of California system, supports other universities in developing programs to serve criminal justice impacted students, and leads the Underground Scholars Policy Fellowship teaching students to develop and advance innovative policy solutions in California based on their lived experiences. Azadeh also provides consulting services for organizations whose work is aligned with her values and coaching for emerging leaders.

Azadeh’s work has been cited by courts, attorneys, and scholars and has been featured in The New York Times, The Nation, The Guardian, Washington Post, The Atlantic, Ebony, Mother Jones, and Al Jazeera. Azadeh earned her BA from UC Riverside where she double majored in Ethnic Studies and African Diasporic Studies and a JD from UC Hastings College of the Law. She is an alumna of the Women’s Policy Institute, Soros Justice Fellowship, Rockwood Leadership Institute, and New Leaders Council, Oakland.

Danny Murillo, Associate Director

Danny is a co-founder and associate director of the Underground Scholars Initiative at the University of California, Berkeley. He leads our recruitment efforts through the Underground Scholars Ambassadors and the Incarcerated Scholars Program. Danny also supports the Wellness and Career pillars. Originally from the One-Way streets of Norwalk, California, he was born to Mexican parents from Zacatecas. 

Danny was the Smart Justice Fellow at the Michelson 20MM Foundation. In this role, he convened the Smart Justice Think Tank, a coalition of higher education champions and directly impacted leaders to establish California’s Best Practices that serve as a common agenda for the field of higher education in prison and supporting formerly incarcerated students on campus in California. Danny was the Campaign for College Opportunity program analyst. He is the primary author of their report: “The Possibility Report: From Prison to College Degrees in California.”

He also served as a program analyst at the Vera Institute of Justice; Danny worked on a nationwide higher education prison project. He was the research and program analyst at California Corrections to College, a project focused on educational equity and creating access to higher education for currently and formerly incarcerated people. In 2013, Danny was a media representative for the Prison Hunger Strike Solidarity Coalition. The coalition supported the Short Corridor Collective, a group of incarcerated men organizing a statewide prison hunger strike to end the practice of long-term solitary confinement.

He has appeared in GQ Magazine, La Opinion, National Public Radio (NPR), New York Magazine, The Appeal Podcast, Univision, and 60 Minutes with Oprah. He received the John W. Gardner Fellowship for Public Service and the Soros Justice Advocacy Fellowship and was recently selected as the 2024 Global Freedom Fellowship.

Michael Cerda-Jara, Associate Director

Michael Cerda-Jara is a researcher, scholar, and higher education professional committed to reshaping narratives and policies affecting people with incarceration histories. Hailing from Newark, CA, Michael's journey as a formerly incarcerated, first-generation Chicano has fueled his commitment to reversing the school to prison pipeline and contributing to the discourse on the collateral consequences of mass incarceration.

Currently serving as the Associate Director for the Berkeley Underground Scholars program at UC Berkeley, Michael provides transformative academic and graduate school advising to formerly incarcerated students, and leads the organization’s retention efforts and wellness programs. He also leads the Underground Scholars Transfer Program which supports formerly incarcerated scholars throughout California with gaining admission to the UC system. Under his leadership, over 65% of applicants are offered admission to UC Berkeley and over 90% of applicants are offered admission to other UC campuses each year.

Michael is currently pursuing his Doctoral degree in Sociology at Stanford University as an Enhancing Diversity in Graduate Education (EDGE) Fellow. His research is focused on employment prospects for formerly incarcerated college graduates. Michael's academic achievements include graduating with Highest Distinction from UC Berkeley in Spring 2020 with a BA in Sociology, earning an honorable mention from the department, and being recognized as one of the top graduating seniors. 

Michael Cerda-Jara's journey exemplifies resilience, tenacity, and a profound commitment to dismantling systemic barriers. Through his academic pursuits, advocacy, and leadership, he is actively shaping a future where individuals with incarceration histories are not defined by their past but empowered by their potential. Michael stands as a testament to the transformative power of education and mentorship, inspiring positive change both at an individual and systemic level.

Shani Shay, Incarceration to College Director

Shani Shay is a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley.  Shani earned her bachelor’s degree in African-American Studies and a minor in education in 2022.  Shani is the director and founder of Incarceration to College and Pathways to College.  She uses Black Feminist Pedagogies to increase the educational aspirations of in-custody and marginalized youth.  In addition, Shani uses her program to provide UC Berkeley students with hands-on fieldwork experience. 

Shani served as the Advocacy co-chair for The Berkeley Underground scholars from 2019-2022 at UC Berkeley and now serves on the board of The Underground Scholars Initiative.  Shani’s forwards educational access and systemic change by serving as the Chair of the Alameda County Education subcommittee.  Shani is a 2021 Elder Freeman policy fellow; her advocacy work at the state capitol has helped to pass bills such as ACA3, which pushes to amend the constitution to stop indentured servitude.  Shani also serves as the President of the Black Underground Scholars to recruit, retain, and advocate for black previously incarcerated students in the UC system.  Shani is a 2021 Firebaugh Scholar; her research focuses on effective teaching methods for incarcerated and marginalized youth.  Shani received the 2020 California Women in Leadership Award, the 2022 Mather Good Citizen Award, and several honors from the office of Nancy Skinner.  Shani will earn her master’s in education in 2024 from Harvard University Shani hopes to create a space where educational practices meet the liberatory needs of society.