The Pruno Fund supports and empowers exonerated individuals as they move forward with their lives, with training, resources, and community building.
Resources: We provide financial assistance to exonerees in a difficult place. The grants we distribute provide help with housing, medical, and other necessities. We also partner with organizations across the country to assist exonerees as they navigate barriers to housing, employment, and other post-exonerations issues.
Community: We provide platforms for community building among exonerees. Our mobile app is an exoneree-only community where exonerated individuals can speak to each other in a safe place.
Inspiration: Exonerees are often inspired to tell their personal stories to encourage change and motivate people. We offer communications training that prepares exonerated individuals to share their stories at events, in writing, and in the news. Our Speakers Bureau enables exonerees to help support themselves through speaking engagements.
Nikki D. Pope is the co-founder, principal executive officer, and director of The Pruno Fund, Inc. She is the global leader for Trustworthy AI and in-house counsel at NVIDIA. She also co-wrote “Pruno, Ramen, and a Side of Hope: Stories of Wrongful Conviction,” a book that profiles ten people who were wrongfully convicted and exonerated. She has been involved with wrongful conviction work since 2005. Nikki brings to The Pruno Fund her years of experience in business and in advising nonprofit organizations and their boards, as well as her experience as a board member and advisory board member of various nonprofit entities.
Courtney B. Lance, is a native Chicagoan passionate about the lives of men and women who have been wrongfully convicted and released without support. It is because of this that she became a founding member of the Pruno Fund. Courtney is a Contractor with the State of Illinois, a writer, and spiritual counselor. Courtney brings to The Pruno Fund her years of experience building best practices for and monitoring internal controls and working with nonprofit organizations.
Lee is the founder and Managing Partner of Pivot Point Strategies, a nonprofit management consulting firm serving nonprofits, nonprofit foundations, and public/private partnerships in Silicon Valley since 2005. Lee brings to The Pruno Fund her 30 years of startup and turnaround experience as a senior-level executive for companies in Silicon Valley and New York City as well as her work with nonprofit organizations in the US and abroad.
Jessica is a former research attorney and media associate at the Northern California Innocence Project. Jessica brings to the The Pruno Fund her wide-ranging skills from organization to graphic design and communications management.