Stan interviews Christa Gannon about founding Fresh Lifelines for Youth (FLY) after volunteering with incarcerated teens and asking what could have prevented their involvement with the justice system.

A former UC Santa Barbara basketball All-American and Stanford Law graduate, Gannon describes negotiating with fear to take a nontraditional path, learning entrepreneurial lessons from sports, and using deep listening to co-design programs with youth around legal education, mentoring, and leadership development.

She discusses the demographics and trauma many justice-involved youth face, the use of role plays to teach life skills and conflict resolution, and the importance of authenticity, consistency, and humility in earning trust.

The conversation covers persuading system stakeholders and donors with shared goals, outcomes, and youth-centered storytelling, plus FLY’s results in reducing recidivism and building hope, and Gannon’s later transition from CEO and her work supporting leadership transitions.

Check out FLY: https://flyprogram.org

00:00 Vision Beyond Prison

00:22 Choosing a Different Path

02:29 Claiming the Torch

04:23 Athlete Mindset for Leadership

05:52 Juvenile Hall Catalyst

07:31 Founding FLY Mission

09:00 Credibility and Permission

10:49 Who the Youth Are

13:23 Deep Listening Co Creation

15:36 Teaching Through Role Plays1

8:21 Persuading Systems and Stakeholders

20:06 Authenticity Builds Buy In

23:02 Trust Story Football Mentor

25:34 Role Plays in Real Life

26:28 Mentor Program Lesson

27:51 Volunteer Consistency Matters

29:19 Parents Gangs Ripple Effects

31:56 Replacing Gang Belonging

32:34 Justice System Stakeholders

34:43 Donors Stories Ethics

39:10 Measuring Youth Outcomes

40:32 Teaching Conflict Skills

41:44 Meeting Kids Where They Are

44:34 Work Family Balance

48:29 Founder Transition Bridge

50:28 Transition Advice Closing

Host Stan Christensen has spent his career working as a professional negotiator in a variety of arenas. He has also taught a popular course on negotiation at Stanford University for over twenty years.