An Interview With Martita Mestey
I wish someone told me that if your staff is sick of hearing the mission and vision, you’re doing your job … and don’t stop! One of the greatest responsibilities we have as leaders is to cast the vision and mission, and to ensure everyone and everything at the ministry is aligned. This takes intention, repetition and ruthless evaluation of goals and programs. At Prison Fellowship, we’ve even started “pop quizzes” where we test our staff on their individual knowledge of the mission, vision and values. That knowledge and the emphasis placed on it from the top becomes the foundation for aligned application at every level.
As part of my series about “individuals and organizations making an important social impact”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Heather Rice-Minus.
Heather Rice-Minus is the president and CEO of Prison Fellowship, the nation’s largest Christian nonprofit equipping the Church to serve currently and formerly incarcerated people and their families, and to advocate for justice and human dignity. She joined Prison Fellowship in 2013 as a senior policy advisor. During her tenure, she has led teams that build partnerships with churches, helped strengthen relationships between incarcerated parents and their children, fostered partnerships with donors at every level, and advocated for restorative criminal justice reform. In fact, she was a leading voice behind the passage of the FIRST STEP Act.
A sought-after public speaker on the intersection of faith, justice and incarceration, Heather addresses audiences at national conferences, churches, and events.
She earned a bachelor’s degree from Colorado State University and a J.D. from George Mason University’s Antonin Scalia Law School, Heather is a member of the Virginia State Bar, the American Enterprise Institute’s Leadership Network, and the Council for Criminal Justice. She serves as a board member with the National Association of Evangelicals and is a Colson Fellow.
Heather resides in southeast Washington, D.C., with her husband and two daughters.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
I never intended to work for a nonprofit prison ministry. My goal was to pursue a career working on child welfare policy, which remains a personal passion. I completed my undergrad as a double major in social work and pre-law. I spent a year abroad teaching English in East Africa and volunteering in orphanages. I planned to go to law school and then work on foster care and adoption policy reforms. I started my first year of law school, which was a very competitive environment. To remind myself of the ‘why’ behind this journey, I wanted to work part-time for a cause that aligned with my long-term goals. However, as I applied to organizations focused on child welfare, nothing opened up.
Instead, I landed a role to help with events at a small nonprofit working on policy reforms related to detainee treatment. The organization eventually opened a policy portfolio on U.S. prison conditions and asked me to take it over. As I began to research the issue, I was overwhelmed to learn how many people we hold in prison, the length of their sentences and the inhumane conditions they face, such as the extended use of solitary confinement and restraints on pregnant and laboring incarcerated mothers. As a Christian, I could not look away. I grew passionate about advocating for justice for those behind bars. That’s also how I began to work in cooperation with Prison Fellowship’s advocacy and public policy team. As I neared the end of law school, I thought it would be wonderful to work on this issue with an organization that represents my faith values. I applied and was offered a job as Prison Fellowship’s senior policy advisor in January 2013.
After that, I spent many years advocating for a more restorative approach to justice in Congress and in state legislatures. It has been a great joy to help policymakers put their values into action and train everyday Christians on how to be a voice for the voiceless. That work gave me opportunities to address a variety of audiences, fundraise through foundation grants, build rapport with public officials and hone other skills I now use in my role as president and CEO. As I continued to grow professionally at Prison Fellowship, our previous CEO began to see me as his potential successor and gave me increasing responsibility over key departments to expand my experience. In time, God made clear that my calling was to lead Prison Fellowship into its next era of ministry.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company or organization?
The most interesting story that has unfolded during my time at Prison Fellowship has been how personal the mission and work has become to my family. When I started in 2013, I didn’t have a personal connection to incarceration. My husband is one of nine kids and he’s number eight! As a result, some of his relationships with his nephews function more like brotherly relationships. In fact, a few of those nephews were groomsmen at our wedding in 2011. Unfortunately, one of them has spent considerable time in prison and is still incarcerated today. We went from having no family connection to those behind bars, to writing letters and taking collect phone calls from our relative. We’ve also had the joy of seeing his children, our great nieces and nephews, benefit from Prison Fellowship Angel Tree. They receive gifts on his behalf at Christmas and have attended numerous Angel Tree sports camps where they’ve heard the hope of the Gospel and are reminded that they are not alone in this journey of having a parent behind bars.
Prison Fellowship Angel Tree has also become more personal through our family’s involvement in volunteering. Several years ago, we delivered Christmas gifts to an Angel Tree family in our neighborhood. Angel Tree is not just about giving a present; it’s about a ministry of presence. I’ve watched God write the most beautiful story as this family has become like family to us. We’ve shared meals and celebrated birthdays together.
The oldest daughter in the family is now an adult with a daughter of her own. She talks to her dad who is incarcerated in North Carolina every week, but the family has never had the means to go visit. When I asked if they’d like to go see him if all the logistics were taken care of, they said yes. We loaded up a minivan and drove five hours down from Washington, D.C. I got to be a fly on the wall as this family reunited after not seeing each other in person for over 15 years! I also got to share that Jesus loved them and that I believed He wanted me to bring them together.
Since that visit, the family has begun coming to my church regularly. Not only that, but the youngest daughter has begun volunteering in kids ministry. Driving her home from her first visit to youth group, she reflected that, “I think Jesus is showing me who I’m supposed to be.”
It has been said that our mistakes can be our greatest teachers. Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
I can’t think of a particularly funny one, but I can think of plenty of mistakes that have taught me how to be a better leader! I’ve struggled my entire life with finding value in what I do, rather than who I am. As a result, I often wrestle with work/life boundaries, especially when I see my work as my life’s calling! I love the feeling of checking something off my list and have been known to pull all-nighters. Many years ago, I was in a strategic planning meeting at Prison Fellowship. We were discussing how culture can be set by leadership for better or worse. One of my wise colleagues now on my senior leadership council asked a question that stopped me dead in my tracks: “What do you think it does to the souls of our direct reports when they receive an email from us at 9 p.m. on a Friday night?”
I had never seriously contemplated how my unhealthy habits may have a cascading impact on others across the organization. Even if I didn’t have an expectation for others to keep the pace I did, my habits conveyed pressure to do so, especially to those reporting beneath me. Since then, I’ve taken several steps to improve. This includes protecting my own time with the Lord and my family and reflecting on whether my pace is creating unhealthy results for myself or others around me. While I’ve made great strides, it’s not something that can be checked off the list. I submit myself to accountability through my church small group, an annual women’s retreat, and a board member specifically assigned to pray and meet with me for “CEO care.”
Can you describe how you or your organization is making a significant social impact?
Incarceration in America is a complex issue. That’s why Prison Fellowship leverages a multi-faceted response to the brokenness that surrounds incarceration — and this holistic response is what I believe truly sets us apart. Everything we do is interconnected. Though we reach a wide range of people and help facilitate transformation in a variety of ways, all our work builds upon itself. Each part of our nonprofit organization supports and amplifies the next. A warden is inspired through Warden Exchange to improve the culture of his prison, so he makes room to welcome a Prison Fellowship Academy there. A woman in the Academy transforms into the healthy parent her child has always longed for. Prison Fellowship Angel Tree connects her with her child through a gift at Christmas. A neighbor returns home to a job and a community of support because our advocacy team helped champion justice and second chances. A local church, partnering with Prison Fellowship, provides support when men and women return home from incarceration.
Independent research by several corrections departments has demonstrated the Prison Fellowship Academy, a yearlong program that replaces participants’ criminal thinking and behaviors with renewed purpose and principles, consistently lowers recidivism, meaning participants are less likely to return to prison after their release. One recent study showed that our Academy participants had a 53.8% reduction in recidivism when matched to a comparison group with similar criminal histories and demographics. Prisons are major shapers of culture, and we get to decide whether lives will be shaped for the worse — or for the better. We believe that when we promote safety, hope, healing, community, and responsibility behind bars, we can help create a cultural cycle of renewal.
Can you tell us a story about a particular individual who was impacted or helped by your cause?
My friend Jermaine was caught in the cycle of crime and incarceration from an early age. At 15, Jermaine was charged with robbery and sentenced to four years in juvenile corrections. He found gang life enticing for all it seemed to offer — respect, security, belonging. After his release from juvenile detention, Jermaine returned to his old neighborhood and former influences. By age 19, he had fallen headlong into drug addiction and dealing. He’d also become a father.
Finally, on a three-year sentence, Jermaine enrolled in the Prison Fellowship Academy, where he embraced new values and purpose. One day, he cried out to God from his prison cell. With a new mindset and a changed heart, Jermaine strived to be a better father. He also signed up for Prison Fellowship Angel Tree, which equips local churches to personally deliver a gift and the Gospel to children on behalf of their incarcerated parents. Jermaine eventually moved to a minimum-security facility that helped him prepare for employment. He began to pay child support so that he could provide for his son. After leaving prison, Jermaine sought out healthy relationships as part of his reentry plan.
Jermaine’s family joined a church in Leavenworth, Kansas. The church members’ love and authenticity drew him in. He enjoyed the relatable sermons and quickly connected with his pastor.
Jermaine went on to lead a local nonprofit and gained the respect of his community. He later ran for office and was elected mayor of Leavenworth in 2019. Today, he is the mission ambassador at Prison Fellowship. In his role, he shares Prison Fellowship’s mission through his own powerful story. I’m so thankful for the people that first welcomed him home and helped him thrive.
Are there three things the community/society/politicians can do to help you address the root of the problem you are trying to solve?
Yes please! First, we regularly call upon policymakers to take a more restorative approach to justice by passing legislation that reflects proportional punishment, constructive prison culture and second chances for those who have paid their debt to society. For example, we recently passed federal legislation to increase prison oversight, ensuring that there is independent review of prison conditions and treatment of the incarcerated. We also train everyday Christians as Justice Ambassador volunteers to encourage lawmakers to this end.
Second, society can help by championing second chances and fighting the stigma that is often associated with having a criminal record. People often come home from prison ready to start fresh, only to find that there are nearly 44,000 legal barriers to employment, housing and other opportunities necessary to live out their second chance. That’s why Prison Fellowship has led a movement to celebrate April as Second Chance Month since 2017. Since then, this movement has taken on a life of its own beyond what we could have imagined. From Second Chance Month proclamations from presidents and governors to social media campaigns and Second Chance Sunday services hosted by partner churches, there are so many ways for everyone to engage.
Finally, communities can help by getting proximate to those impacted by incarceration and addressing their needs. Prison Fellowship equips churches to do this in so many ways, both inside prison and out. Often, churches begin by signing up to serve local children with incarcerated parents through Prison Fellowship Angel Tree.
How do you define “Leadership”? Can you explain what you mean or give an example?
At Prison Fellowship, we take a posture of shepherd leadership over all we have been entrusted to manage. The focus is on presence, protection and provision. Just as my board takes a posture of success partnership to me, I strive to do the same for my direct reports. I want to know what obstacles I can remove, what encouragement or direction I can give and how I can pray for them. Ultimately, we want staff and volunteers to grow in their walk with Jesus and in their own personal development because of their time at Prison Fellowship.
What are your “5 things I wish someone told me when I first started” and why. Please share a story or example for each.
- I wish someone told me that if your staff is sick of hearing the mission and vision, you’re doing your job … and don’t stop! One of the greatest responsibilities we have as leaders is to cast the vision and mission, and to ensure everyone and everything at the ministry is aligned. This takes intention, repetition and ruthless evaluation of goals and programs. At Prison Fellowship, we’ve even started “pop quizzes” where we test our staff on their individual knowledge of the mission, vision and values. That knowledge and the emphasis placed on it from the top becomes the foundation for aligned application at every level.
- I wish someone told me that there will be such joy in leading. I feel like most of the warnings I received stepping into leadership were that it would be hard and lonely. This is certainly true at times. But I also wish more people would talk about the tremendous joy that comes with it as well. I am so grateful to have a board who sees their role as my success partner. That enables me to lead a highly competent, collaborative and faithful team. We get to engage the Church to make Kingdom impact. We see people considered hopeless by society step into purpose. We see families reconciled. We get to be part of advancing justice. I was recently meeting with the CEO of Celebrate Recovery, a partner of Prison Fellowship, and we both were asking “who am I?” In other words, “who am I that I get to be part of the story God is writing in so many transformed lives because of the work of our ministries?”
- I wish someone would have told me to celebrate your family’s sacrifice. If there was anything that made me think twice about saying yes to being Prison Fellowship’s CEO, it was the impact on my husband and two daughters, ages nine and five. The travel and other demands of the job are not easy to juggle for a family with young kids. A pastor friend of mine recently shared the lesson that we should not only thank our families, especially kids, for the sacrifices they make to make our leadership possible but remind them that they too are part of enabling God’s work. They are shareholders in the transformed lives and reconciled families at Prison Fellowship.
- I wish someone told me to not grow overwhelmed by the sudden uptick in others’ expectations. It’s a very strange thing to have people suddenly treat you differently because of your leadership position or to place unforeseen expectations on you. I noticed a marked uptick in requests from various sources upon becoming CEO. I’ve also realized there are such diverse expectations in what various stakeholders believe you should do. It is a great responsibility to recognize that by nature of my role, my words and time can impact others. Often, this is wonderful and humbling. It’s also important to be wise in how God is calling me as leader to steward my time and discern what opportunities and relationships will keep me on mission. God’s expectations alone are the ones I will answer for at the end of my time on this side of heaven.
- I wish someone told me that generosity is ministry. One of my chief duties at Prison Fellowship is to fundraise for the resources that make all the work we do inside and outside prisons possible. Many leaders can be intimidated by or uninterested in fundraising. Over time, I’ve learned that spending time with those whom God has entrusted with significant resources and helping them discern how He is leading them to allocate those resources is Kingdom business. In fact, it requires tremendous character to recognize that all we’ve been given in this lifetime is from God. It takes careful due diligence to ensure you’re hearing where God wants it to go and ensuring it will be used in a way that glorifies Him. Many of the people who give most generously to Prison Fellowship are also some of the most unassuming and humble people I’ve ever met. Generosity is ministry.
You are a person of enormous influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
Many in our culture are disillusioned with the Church. Especially among younger generations like millennials, examples of a good God at work in the world seem difficult to find. Millennials both within the church and on its margins are watching us, His followers. Their willingness to encounter Jesus is impacted by our faithfulness to reflect the One we proclaim. This includes sharing the true stories of radical restoration He is writing in the lives of the incarcerated and all those they touch.
Our vision at Prison Fellowship is revival of the Church inside and outside prison to bring justice, mercy and hope to our culture. While only God can bring revival, we can set the table for it through repentance, prayer, studying God’s Word and fervent worship. All these spiritual disciplines are ones that are readily practiced by the Church inside — that is, our brothers and sisters following Jesus behind bars.
The Church inside looks remarkably like the one we see in Acts. It has its own leadership. Some communities hold Sunday services on the yard, with teachers and worship leaders. They support each other in loss, providing comfort when they can’t attend the memorial of a loved one. They speak words of hope when parole is denied, when children don’t want to visit and when the shame of the past is overwhelming. They build deep, authentic friendships that cross racial and generational lines and defy former gang affiliation.
That’s why we believe revival will be sparked as local churches come proximate to the Church inside. Incarcerated Christians inspire those who come to serve with them, facilitating classes and co-leading worship services. These dedicated volunteers find themselves supported, encouraged and changed. We know few communities that embody the vibrancy and hope of Christian faith and life the way our incarcerated brothers and sisters do.
As a millennial myself, my greatest joy would be to see a revival movement of the Church in America that is sparked because we are faithful to Jesus’ call to come close to those at the margins of society, including those in prison.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
“Life begins at the end of your comfort zone.” Some of the most meaningful seasons in my spiritual formation have been when I’ve taken the leap to go somewhere or do something out of my comfort zone. From leaving the east coast where I was raised to go to college in Colorado, to spending a year abroad in East Africa to teach English and volunteer in orphanages, to taking on increasing responsibilities at Prison Fellowship, to foster parenting for three years, each of these experiences has forced a deeper dependence on Jesus and shaped the leader I am today.
Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would like to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them. 🙂
I’d love to spend time with Jackie Hill Perry and Preston Perry. I love following their podcast. Jackie was a guest speaker for Prison Fellowship’s virtual all staff meeting a few years back, which was such a blessing. I admire their commitment to speak hard truths boldly, but also to not shy away from nuance. They manage to keep a consistent witness and still be winsome. I admire Preston’s boldness in evangelism, which is rare in younger generations. I admire their collective creativity and believe they would be incredibly motivating for the Church inside to hear from. There are so many aspiring authors, poets, teachers and evangelists behind bars who would benefit from their perspectives. So while I’d love to do breakfast or lunch with them, a prison visit would be even better!
How can our readers further follow your work online?
The best way to follow our work is to visit www.prisonfellowship.org. Sign up for our newsletter and read inspirational stories of transformation. Join our social media communities, including Facebook, Instagram and YouTube. Follow me on LinkedIn.
Thank you so much for these insights. This was very inspirational!
Social Impact Heroes: How Heather Rice-Minus of Prison Fellowship Is Helping To Change Our World was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.