Who We Are
We are not detached observers — we are the people who have lived it, survived it, and committed ourselves to changing it.
The Loved Ones Coalition (LOC) is a national oversight and advocacy organization led by
individuals directly impacted by the federal prison system — including families, formerly
incarcerated leaders, returning citizens, and people working inside federal facilities willing to speak out..
We are a grassroots movement with a national reach, dedicated to documenting abuses,
challenging retaliation, protecting whistleblowers, and demanding transparency within the Federal Bureau of Prisons.
We combine lived experience, investigative documentation, policy understanding, and
widespread community testimony to expose what the federal system tries to hide.
We are not detached observers — we are the people who have lived it, survived it, and committed ourselves to changing it.
What We Do
Investigate & Expose
We document human rights violations—lockdowns, starvation, retaliation, medical neglect, and corruption. We name names. We connect patterns. We don’t let it die in the dark.
Advocate & Organize
We push campaigns, publish petitions, and elevate the voices of impacted families and loved ones. We build pressure. We call out injustice. And we aren’t going away.
Support & Minister
We pray together. Cry together. Rise together. We support our community with spiritual tools, emotional strength, and the kind of love they can’t cage.
Christine Amador
Founder | Executive Director
Loved Ones Coalition (LOC)
Christine Amador is the Founder and Executive Director of the Loved Ones Coalition, a national grassroots prison-oversight organization focused on federal accountability, transparency, and systemic reform.
The Coalition was born from Christine’s firsthand exposure to corruption, neglect, and systemic abuse embedded within federal prisons. As a bilingual leader, she stepped in when Latino and non-English-speaking families were denied basic communication access and refused assistance. What began as helping families navigate calls and paperwork quickly exposed a broader national pattern — retaliation, blocked communication, medical neglect, prolonged lockdowns, racial disparities, and deliberate indifference at the institutional level.
Christine became a direct line for thousands of families and staff whistleblowers across the country. She built structured reporting systems to collect testimony, analyze policy violations, preserve evidence, and document systemic trends that would otherwise remain hidden.
Her leadership has brought the Coalition into direct dialogue with Bureau of Prisons officials and congressional offices in Washington, D.C., while also building working relationships with investigative journalists, reform experts, reentry professionals, and national advocacy networks.
Christine produces the weekly Federal Oversight Report, now circulated nationwide across Congress, legal teams, media outlets, and federal families. It is recognized as one of the most detailed independent oversight tools in the federal prison reform landscape.
Within LOC, Christine leads:
● national oversight strategy and direction
● federal policy analysis and systemic reporting
● congressional and institutional engagement
● whistleblower intake and evidence preservation
● public accountability initiatives
● multi-state advocacy coordination
She is strategic, disciplined, and unafraid of institutional pressure. When systems hide, she documents. When families are ignored, she answers. And when accountability is resisted, she builds it.
“Silence protects systems.
Noise protects people. I choose noise.”
— Christine Amador
tia rigby
Board Member & Executive Operations Leader
Tia Rigby serves as a Board Member and Assistant Director of the Loved Ones Coalition, operating as a primary strategic partner to the Founder and Executive Director.
In her leadership role, Tia oversees the organization’s internal structure and day-to-day operational execution. She directs testimony intake, coordinates evidence flow, manages internal communication systems, and ensures that LOC’s national oversight initiatives move forward with discipline, organization, and accuracy.
Working closely with executive leadership, Tia plays a central role in translating strategy into implementation. She supports high-level planning, organizational logistics, and the structured execution of weekly Federal Oversight Reports and multi-facility advocacy efforts.
Within LOC, Tia contributes:
● operational leadership and execution
● testimony and documentation coordination
● internal systems management
● strategic implementation support
● national workflow oversight
● organizational stability and continuity
Tia’s leadership ensures that the Coalition’s work is not only bold — but organized, consistent, and professionally managed.
YOSHUA “D” DEWALL
Vice President
Yoshua “D” DeWall serves as the Vice President of the Loved Ones Coalition and is one of the most visible returning-citizen advocates in the country.
Although he was incarcerated in state prisons — not federal — D witnessed firsthand the brutality, instability, and institutional neglect inside American correctional systems. Those experiences drive his commitment to expose the patterns that mirror what federal families report nationwide.
Following his release, D rebuilt his life with discipline, leadership, and an unwavering commitment to truth. As the founder of The Reentry Project, he has become a widely recognized TikTok educator and public advocate, using his platform to break down policy, support returning citizens, and highlight realities institutions often attempt to obscure.
Inside LOC, D leads:
● strengthening national partnerships
● supporting families who contact the Coalition
● amplifying whistleblower testimony
● validating systemic trends through lived experience
● connecting returning citizens to resources and support
He brings cultural awareness, community trust, and lived-experience credibility that resonates with families, incarcerated individuals, and returning citizens across the country.
D represents grassroots credibility — direct, honest, respected, and impossible to ignore.
AARON PEILA
Board Member
Aaron Peila serves as a Board Member of the Loved Ones Coalition and is a trusted leader within the justice-impacted community.
After surviving years inside federal United States Penitentiaries (USPs) — among the most violent and restrictive facilities in the federal system — Aaron emerged determined to speak openly about what he endured and witnessed. His firsthand experience provides direct insight into institutional culture, security-level realities, and the internal dynamics families rarely see from the outside.
Aaron is widely known on TikTok and social media as an unfiltered, straight-from-the-yard educator who breaks down federal time, exposes staff misconduct patterns, and teaches families how to navigate the system with clarity instead of fear. His reach and credibility have positioned him as one of the most influential lived-experience voices in the federal prison reform space.
Inside LOC, Aaron contributes:
● deep USP lived experience
● testimony validation and pattern recognition
● cultural and institutional insight
● family education and navigation guidance
● connection to incarcerated populations nationwide
He is respected by justice-impacted communities, trusted by families, and recognized as a rare source of direct transparency in a system built on silence.
GARY “BUMPER” DODSON
Board Member
Gary “Bumper” Dodson serves as a Board Member of the Loved Ones Coalition, bringing direct lived experience from some of the most restrictive and violent United States Penitentiaries (USPs) in the federal system.
Having served time inside high-security federal institutions, Gary witnessed firsthand the culture of silence, retaliation, institutional control, and systemic neglect that families now report to the Coalition daily. His perspective is not theoretical — it is lived, endured, and survived.
Since returning home, Gary has committed himself to advocacy and truth-telling. Through TikTok and other social media platforms, he uses his voice to educate families, amplify incarcerated perspectives, and break down the realities of federal time in ways institutions never will. His transparency and authenticity have built trust among justice-impacted communities nationwide.
Within LOC, Gary contributes:
● high-security USP lived experience
● cultural and institutional insight
● validation of systemic abuse patterns
● support for incarcerated individuals and families
● amplification of whistleblower narratives
● public-facing advocacy and digital reach
Gary represents what the system often tries to suppress — firsthand testimony. He is a voice for the voiceless, grounded in lived experience and committed to ensuring that the realities inside federal prisons are not buried or ignored.
CASSANDRA GRETILLAT
Board Member
Cassandra Gretillat serves as a Board Member of the Loved Ones Coalition and is a recognized advocate for federal prison families nationwide.
During her husband’s incarceration, Cassandra experienced firsthand the instability that defines many federal facilities — prolonged lockdowns, inconsistent communication, medical neglect, retaliatory culture, and the constant uncertainty families are forced to navigate without transparency. She understands what it means to advocate from the outside while confronting silence, misinformation, and institutional indifference.
Rather than remain isolated in that experience, Cassandra stepped into leadership. She serves as the administrator of the Loved Ones Coalition FCI Thomson Support Group, where she has guided, educated, and supported countless families navigating one of the most restrictive environments in the federal system. Under her leadership, families have found structure, credible information, and a unified voice instead of confusion and fear.
Within LOC, Cassandra contributes:
● direct lived experience as a federal prison wife
● documentation and validation of lockdown and medical abuse patterns
● facility-specific insight into FCI Thomson
● public-facing advocacy and family mobilization
● peer support leadership for partners and spouses
● coordination of testimony and systemic reporting
Cassandra represents the strength of families who refuse to accept silence as an answer. Her leadership ensures that LOC’s national oversight work remains deeply connected to the lived realities of partners, spouses, and families navigating the federal system every day.
JOSH BROWNING
Board Member
Josh Browning serves as a Board Member of the Loved Ones Coalition and brings firsthand lived experience from inside the justice system.
Having been previously incarcerated, Josh understands the institutional culture, instability, and personal transformation required to survive and rebuild after incarceration. His journey through the system fuels his commitment to advocacy, accountability, and structured support for both incarcerated individuals and their families.
Since returning home, Josh has dedicated himself to faith-based mentorship, peer support, and community advocacy. He works to bridge the gap between incarceration and restoration — offering guidance, stability, and grounded leadership to those navigating reentry and systemic barriers.
Inside LOC, Josh contributes:
● lived experience within correctional institutions
● faith-based support and mentorship
● advocacy for returning citizens
● peer guidance and community stabilization
● reinforcement of accountability through moral leadership
Josh represents resilience, restoration, and steady leadership rooted in lived truth.
melissa BROWNING
Board Member
