Who We Are

BreakOUT! Members

Statement of "Who We Are" from BreakOUT! youth members coming soon!

Wesley Ware, Director

Wes is the founder and director of BreakOUT! and a 2011 Soros U.S. Justice Fellowship recipient.  He previously served as the LGBTQ Youth Project Director at JJPL where he authored the report, Locked Up & Out: Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender youth in Louisiana’s juvenile justice system.  Wes has trained all levels of juvenile justice system stakeholders on working with LGBTQ youth, including youth detention centers in Louisiana.  He has helped pass and implement policies for LGBTQ youth in New Orleans' youth detention center, provided technical assistance to alternative juvenile justice programs becoming more LGBTQ-competent, and informed juvenile justice standards and policy guidelines at the local and national level.  He has presented at conferences and meetings for the National Institute of Corrections, MacArthur Models for Change, National Juvenile Justice Network, Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative, National Juvenile Defender Center, and more.  Wes also serves on the Advisory Board for the Equity Project, a national initiative to bring fairness and equity to LGBTQ youth in juvenile delinquency courts.  At JJPL, he coordinated the investigation for a class-action lawsuit on behalf of youth detained in New Orleans and monitored the conditions of three state-run youth prisons in Louisiana.  Wes graduated with a degree in Gender Studies and African American Studies from Georgia State University and has worked on a variety of social justice issues in Georgia, including organizing family members of incarcerated adults.

Adult Allies

Coming soon!

Interns and Volunteers

BreakOUT! could not exist without the support of our community, allied organizations, and volunteers.  There are far too many to count!

And of course, many thanks to staff of the Juvenile Justice Project of Louisiana for their continued support!

Soros Justice Fellowship Advisory Committee Members

Kenyon Farrow, Writer, former Director of Queers for Economic Justice

Deon Haywood, Women With a Vision

Ursula Price, Community Organizer

Malachi Garza, Community Justice Network for Youth, Haywood Burns Institute

Andrea Ritchie, Streetwise and Safe