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We are Helping Ourselves to Transform

Helping Ourselves to Transform (HOTT) is a community-based, trauma-informed nonprofit organization and Social Justice & Research Institute dedicated to empowering youth, young adults, families, and justice-impacted individuals through prevention, education, leadership development, workforce readiness, mentoring, advocacy, reentry support, research, and collaborative community partnerships. Through evidence-informed services, policy advocacy, and data-driven solutions, HOTT works to strengthen families, advance justice, reduce violence and justice system involvement, and build safer, healthier, and more resilient communities.

Our Expert Team

We are grounded in the lived experiences of those most impacted, leading with purpose, strength, and unwavering commitment.

Dedication and Focus

An unwavering commitment to building a more just, equitable, and liberated society by dismantling systemic barriers, advancing policy change, and empowering communities.

Who We Are

Vision Statement

HOTT envisions a future where every youth, family, and justice-impacted individual has equitable access to opportunity, healing, education, justice, and hope. Through innovation, research, advocacy, and community collaboration, we strive to transform systems, strengthen communities, and create a society where every person has the opportunity to thrive and reach their fullest potential.

Empowering Voices. Strengthening Families. Transforming Communities.

By centering survivors and communities, we turn trauma into transformation—combining healing with bold policy reform to create lasting change.

RECENT NEWS

Core Focus Areas

We advocate for policies that benefit the community, with a focus on social justice and equity. We work to eliminate disparities and barriers, promoting inclusivity and opportunity for all.

Our Services

Affiliations & Partnerships

Congressman Glenn Ivey's Advisory Board for Re-Entry
Maryland Equitable Justice Collaborative (MEJC) Committee(s) & Sub-committee(s)
The National Congress of Black Women Inc. Lifetime Board Member
Member of The Ladies of HOPE Ministries, Inc.
Member of the Women Over Dinner
Director of Court Watch & Judicial Accountability-LAR of Prince George's County
Member of DPSCS - Lived Experience Committee and MCI-Women's Subcommittee
Partner with The George Washington University Law Center Pro Bono program
Member of the Maryland Agriculture Council, Inc.
Partner with The Court Services and Offenders Supervision Agency (CSOSA)
Board Member of CCE Council for Court of Excellence
Member of Progressive Prison Ministries
Board Member of The Uplift - "Together We Rise"
Member of Progressive Maryland- REWG
Speaker's Bureau, Member of First Alliance Consulting, LLC
Member of the National Criminal Justice Association
Member of ACTCP - ADA Legal Advocate Trainee
Endorsed by Maryland Alliance Justice Reform, Montgomery County High School Volunteer Center -Montgomery County School System
Our Team

We’ve assembled a team of dedicated experts, advocates, and lived-experience leaders who combine professional expertise with personal commitment to advancing justice, healing, and systemic transformation. We are equally committed to mentoring and capacity-building, fostering emotional intelligence, and strengthening stakeholder relationships to ensure sustainable impact and lasting change.

Executive Board

Dr. Carmen Johnson

CEO

Sonja Owens

President

Crystal Combs

Vice President

Sonja Robertson

Secretary

Roland Carter

Senior Board Member

Alyima Williams

Board Member

Zormarah Lyda

Board Member

Kimberly Morton-Brown

Board Member

Marylin Pierre

General Counsel

Nasyr Chambers-Mathis

Junior Board Member

Eugene Stevenson

Treasurer/Accountant (Finance Director/CFO)

Armand Dávila

Web Developer

Helping Ourselves To Transform exists to make marked progress in Criminal Justice Reform.

Call to connect with us! (202) 674-6300
How We Deploy

Our Approach

We believe lasting change begins with community. Our approach connects people, resources, and institutions, aligning grassroots leadership with research and policy to strengthen equity, accountability, and opportunity. Through our programs and services on advocacy, education, mediation, and leadership development, we turn lived experience into action, building pathways for healing and systemic transformation.

01




Community-Based Participatory Research

We engage directly impacted communities to help with our researchers to produce knowledge that reflects lived realities and drives change from the ground up.
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Survivor and System-Impacted Led Storytelling & Data Collection

We center the voices of those most affected, using narrative and qualitative data to expose systemic harm and inform transformative solutions.
03




Policy Briefs, Academic Publications & Public Campaigns

We translate community knowledge into powerful tools that influence legislation, shift public discourse, and inform institutional reform.
04




Leadership Training for Justice-Impacted Scholars & Advocates

Our national internship program partners with universities to equip justice-impacted individuals and students to combine lived experience with education, skills, and confidence to lead systemic change. By connecting grassroots leadership with research and policy, we advance equity, accountability, and opportunity. Through advocacy, education, mediation, and leadership development, we turn lived experience into action and build the next generation of changemakers.

What Remains the Same

Our unapologetic focus on freedom, equity, and truth
Our belief in the brilliance of those closest to the problem
Our commitment to community, healing, and systemic transformation
Our continued understanding that the youth are our future
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