SAN QUENTIN, CA — On July 25, 2025, San Quentin Rehabilitation Center (SQRC) will host a milestone graduation ceremony where dozens of incarcerated individuals will receive their GEDs and college degrees. Among them is Anand Jon Alexander, who will become the first person inside San Quentin to earn a master’s degree from a California State University campus.

Alexander completed his graduate work through a full scholarship from the Department of Rehabilitation and Project Rebound. His capstone project, the HealMeToo.app, is an ambitious initiative that aims to address gender abuse, domestic violence, sexual assault, and wrongful convictions by integrating trauma-informed design with ethical artificial intelligence (eAI).

As Warden Chance Andes noted, “San Quentin’s incarcerated population receiving a master’s degree is a testament to the potential for change within the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. It gives incarcerated individuals a second chance, empowering them to rebuild their lives and be assets to society.” The project aligns with Governor Newsom’s broader rehabilitation and reentry goals and has attracted attention from district attorneys who visited SQRC during a May 8 forum. Several expressed enthusiasm about integrating HealMeToo into county-level restorative justice efforts, citing the unique credibility of lived experience in shifting youth behavior. Read More