Only four weeks into his role, Devon Adams already talks about Civil Survival the way he talks about community: with gratitude, purpose, and responsibility.
Devon is a proud Seattleite, a father of four, a huge Seattle sports fan, and someone who is deeply guided by his faith and the belief in the human spirit. Raised by a single mother, he learned early that community is built by who shows up, and who keeps showing up. That lesson would guide him as he navigated the complicated criminal legal system, committed to healing along the way.
At 20, Devon entered prison with a 30-year sentence. Inside, he encountered something that changed his life: people who chose mentorship and healing over judgment and further harm. Older incarcerated men showed him a different way to live. Men and women from the outside community came inside and encouraged reflection and growth. Through the Black Prisoners Caucus (BPC) and Concerned Lifers Organization (CLO), he learned how to navigate conflict because survival depended on it. But more importantly, he learned how relationships can transform people.
In 2015, Devon and other members of the BPC and CLO met Martina Kartman, a fellow restorative justice advocate. Through countless conversations about bringing restorative justice into prisons, they co-created what would become one of his proudest accomplishments: Healing Education for Accountability and Liberation (HEAL). With the guidance and partnership of survivors, HEAL became one of the first restorative justice healing circles inside of Washington State prisons.
After his release in 2020, Devon began working with Martina and her new organization Collective Justice to continue growing the HEAL program. Together, they expanded healing circles for impacted youth and adults while Devon helped lead fundraising efforts that sustained this critical work–eventually transitioning into leading the organization’s community engagement efforts.
Devon’s commitment to creating space to repair harm, practice accountability, and imagine responses outside of punishment, changed the narrative for so many while reshaping his own understanding of justice.
“Punishment asks ‘how much harm do you deserve?’ Accountability asks ‘how do we make this right?’” Devon says.
For him, the difference is transformational: “When accountability is rooted in true healing instead of punishment, people step into who they’re capable of becoming, and we’re able to experience safer communities.”
That belief brought him to Civil Survival.
For Devon, policy, advocacy, and organizing is where compassion becomes action: these are powerful tools that can remove barriers to liberation. As someone who has directly experienced incarceration, he understands how truly necessary it is to support policies that call for healing and restoration, instead of maintaining systems that perpetuate harm. He sees this work as his calling and responsibility: creating a world where communities can respond to harm together, build connection, and create safety for everyone.
In his new position, Devon is excited to collaborate with his new teammates, expand outreach and legal services across Washington, and deepen relationships with communities impacted by the system.
“We get to create pathways so more people can access justice, rebuild their lives, and hopefully join the movement that leads towards collective liberation,” he says.
His vision for leadership is simple: service.
To be accessible.
To listen.
To bring love, curiosity, care, and humor into hard work.
To support staff and community through struggle and growth alike.
And for Devon, success isn’t only whether a law passes.
“It’s seeing people come together. Showing up, being in their power, and building power with one another. That’s how change happens.”
Devon joins Civil Survival not just as a leader, but as someone who has lived through the impact of systems built on punitive approaches to justice. And now, he’s helping build accountability rooted in humanity and justice grounded in community.
Civil Survival remains committed to centering the leadership and lived experience of people directly impacted by the criminal legal system. Devon embodies that commitment. His lived wisdom, steady leadership, and belief in healing will strengthen our work and help us continue building justice guided by our community.