Life After Prison With Ro, Adam, And CJ Clausen

 

This is part two of the journey of Ro and Adam Clausen. In the first part, you learned about how their strong relationship was formed during Adam’s incarceration. We followed them from their first meeting through Adam’s release. Today, we pick up the story with the day that Adam was released and how they moved across country to start a new life. They’ve accomplished a lot in the short time that Adam’s been home and added an addition to their family. It’s a story you won’t soon forget.

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Life After Prison With Ro, Adam, And CJ Clausen

I’m back here with part two of the amazing journey of Ro and Adam Clausen. In part one, we learned about how they met, maintained, and grew their relationship while Adam was incarcerated. They took us through the ups and downs until Adam has eventual release so that they could fulfill their dreams together on the outside. We’re going to start with the day that Adam was released and all that they’ve accomplished in the short time that he’s been a free man, but let’s hear from Christopher first.

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We’re back with Ro and Adam. We had a wonderful conversation with them about how they met and their journey up to Adam’s release. It got my heart. There were some parts that brought tears to my eyes. The hardships, the joys, and the first moments of being together were heartfelt. I appreciated learning more and hearing the story. Thank you for that.

If you read the first blog post, they did have a wonderful baby boy. We’re going to start this episode with the release. We ended the other one with what Adam felt when he found out that he was being released after over twenty years. Ro, what was it like for you? I knew you during this time of going back and forth. You can share.

I would like to say that it was the best day of my life, and looking back, it was one of the best days. As Adam was saying before, we had a little bit of a hard time. When that judge said that Adam’s sentence was vacated, meaning he didn’t have the 213 years anymore, I packed the car and drove to get him because we thought it was going to be immediate release, meaning you could leave right this minute.

I was driving up the six-hour drive from New Jersey to Pennsylvania, and I was about 1 or 2 hours away. I got a call from the attorney. He said, “The good news is the sentence is vacated.” I’m driving during court. We didn’t know it was vacated yet, but we had a feeling, “The bad news is he wants to take the weekend to decide.” He could decide before the end of the day. This is 2:00 in the afternoon. They’re done at 5:00. He said, “You can continue driving. You can turn around. It’s up to you.” I’m four hours into a six-hour drive. I kept going. He didn’t wake up the next morning, and I had to leave without Adam.

It was one of the most painful experiences. On my drive home, I didn’t know how much more I could take. I know how much longer I can do this because Adam said earlier the judge could come back and say, “You have to complete 30 years. We’re only twenty and a half years into this.” It’s a lot more time. I’m going to be in my 50s at that point.

I drove home on Saturday. It was awful. It was probably one of the worst, most depressing two days of my life. Tuesday morning, I woke up, and I started to work because I was working from home at this point. I figured, “It’s time to unpack the car.” I had wanted to, but it was too depressing. I’m going to log into work. It’s 9:00 in the morning, and I will start to unpack the car.

As I’m logging into work, the phone rings, and it’s the attorney. He said, “Ro, they gave him an immediate release.” I could hear his wife screaming in the background celebrating because we’re good friends. She worked on this case with Sean because she’s an attorney. He is screaming. I said, “Okay.” Looking back, he must have thought I was a crazy person. If I was on the outside looking in, I would have thought that the person was a crazy person.

I’ve been waiting all this time, but that’s how numb I became to this because it was close, and it was taken away. It was close to seeing, and I saw it to myself. I was like, okay, “Does that mean I should drive up there?” He was like, “Yes, it’s an immediate release. You can go get him.” I jumped in the car, and I started the six-hour drive.

Maybe twenty minutes into my drive, he calls back and he’s like, “Turn around.” I said, “What?” He was like, “The paperwork says that they have to release him in 48 hours.” He pulls up the paperwork, and he’s reading it in real-time with me driving. He’s like, “Keep going.” I’m laughing because this is the story of the past two days. It’s up and down.

I’m like, “What do I do?” He said, “It says they have to release him within 48 hours, so let me call and you keep going.” To make this long bragged-out story a little shorter, they took every minute of those 48 hours. It was like this the whole time. I’m telling you, props to Sean because he probably called me alone 50 times within those 48 hours. Not to mention calls to the prison and the judge. Calls back and forth between Adam’s mom and me to try to get this done as quickly as possible.

 

Being apart and building your relationship without the physical aspect will help you learn how to communicate on a deep level about everything and anything. Share on X

 

At this point, I’m stressed out. I barely slept and ate. I’m waiting for this to happen. I dreamed about this day for so many years. I was ugly, crying outside of the prison and there’s this embrace. That’s my vision. We’re stressed out that I finally get the call from Sean, “You can go pick him up.” I raced there and I got to the parking lot. Something took over my body where I knew that Adam was going to be stressed and I was stoic.

He came out and I saw him come out. He’s pushing this little cart with his belongings. We had this quick embrace and this cop, a CO, came out, and he said, “Clausen, they want you back inside.” Now, two weeks before this, there was a case of a man named Chad who had a similar sentence to Adam. He was walking out and his family was watching him walk out. They said, “You have to go back inside. The judge issued a stay.” It means this isn’t going to happen.

I remember thinking back to that. Those two weeks prior, we didn’t know Adam was getting out at this point. I said, “I don’t know if I could recover from that watching you walk out, and then you have to go back inside and you have a life sentence still.” That’s what’s going on in my head, and this cop says, “Clausen, they want you back inside.”

I remember grabbing him, and I was like, “Get in the car.” Winds up, the cop was joking. He didn’t know about any of that. He was being cute and playful, but bad timing, bad joke. He didn’t know. Adam gets in the car and we drive off. The judge had issued a two-week quarantine because we’re in the middle of COVID.

We’re like, “This sucks. It’s a two-week delay to begin our life.” It was probably, if not definitely, the best two weeks of our whole entire lives because it forced us to slow down and enjoy the moment. It was like our honeymoon. It was amazing. We left Bradford, where he was living, where the prison was for the past ten years. Before we started our two-hour drive to where we were quarantined, we stopped to get something to eat.

It’s funny, Adam can probably tell you more, but everybody asks him, “What’s the first thing you ate when you got out after twenty years?” He doesn’t even remember, but it was a grilled chicken wrap for anybody that wants to know. What stands out to me the most about that is how everything is shut down for COVID.

They had these tents set up in the parking lot of this little cafe where we ate. We sat in the tent. We were on the street. Adam gets out around the car, and I look at him. He’s coming from the passenger side. I’m coming from the driver’s side. We met by the trunk. He looked wobbly, looked white, and started to sweat. I thought he was going down. I said, “Are you okay?” He leaned up against the trunk. He said, “I need a second.” He leaned up there and I honestly thought he was going to pass out.

He needed a couple of minutes to get his footing. He could tell you more, but after being in the same place for ten years in this one prison, you’re not on the street and no cars flying by. He explained it is almost like seasickness. That’s what stood out to me the most about that part. We drove off. We had our two-week quarantine, and it was incredible.

He finally came home after all this time. I can’t believe that that officer made that joke. I don’t think a lot of times they understand what it’s like for the families. One time when I was leaving my brother, I’d be crying with leaving hard. She was like, “Why are you crying?” I looked at her. I think that is a bad joke. I can’t even imagine your heart when Adam came, and you said that.

Getting in the car, driving away together, and spending two weeks, like you said, “It was like a honeymoon.” To be able to force you and relax. Let’s talk about your journey. After the two weeks, life started right. When you went to pick him up, you said the car was packed. Was it packed to drive across the country? Was it to start that or for the two weeks?

 

 

It was packed to drive across the country. Adam, when he tells a story, is like, “I didn’t necessarily believe that the car was as packed as she said.” I’m like, “I don’t even know if there’s room for you in here.” He thought I was being a little bit dramatic. Not that I have that tendency or anything, but it was packed to the point where he could fit, and we had to figure out how to move things around and make space for the stuff that he brought out.

With that said, we didn’t realize how much we needed to move across the country. We had things like pillows and blankets, but we didn’t have furniture. We didn’t have anything like that. We slept on yoga mats for the first couple of nights when we got to where we’re living now. I would rather be sleeping on a yoga mat than separate or him sleeping on a prison mattress.

What prompted you to drive cross country? What have you guys done since he’s moved? I know there have been a lot of changes. Let’s talk about that. Let’s talk about Christian and all of the things that you guys have done since he moved.

I’ll save all the work stuff for Adam because I’m doing the same thing. I was doing it in New Jersey, but six weeks after we moved here, we got a little surprise. I discovered that we were going to be having a baby. It’s been an amazing addition. All I ever wanted was to be a mother, but I didn’t want to be a mother and experience parenthood with anybody other than Adam. That was something that I’d be grudgingly choosing that if he didn’t come home, I would give up.

It took a lot of soul searching and me being honest with myself, “Is that something that I can truly give up? Looking back on my life, on my death bed, think that I didn’t miss out on something.” I said, “Yes.” It was always in the back of my mind that it was something that I wanted to experience. We have our little miracle baby, who was born on 7/7/21. True Vegas baby with all of the lucky sevens. It’s been a miracle and wonderful.

Let’s talk about the adjustment. After being a part, starting a relationship apart, and now being together. What are some of the things that you didn’t expect, and what are some of the things that have been wonderful?

I think the fact that we were apart and we built our relationship without the physical aspect. We’ve learned how to communicate on a deep level about everything and anything you can imagine because, for many years, all we had was email and phone calls. Once a month, we had 4 to 6 hours. It was supposed to be six hours, but never was in person, but that was also restricted.

The fact that we learned how to communicate like that for over a decade had helped tremendously when we transitioned from that to living together 24/7 because we still. We communicate about everything and anything. If something’s bothering us, we talk through it, and we don’t disagree on that much. Somebody even said it to Adam, and she spoke about it at my wedding. That’s what made me think about this.

She’s like, “What do you mean you guys don’t fight?” He’s like, “We don’t because we’ve been apart for so long that we treasure and cherish every moment that we have together. It’s been a beautiful adjustment.” There are adjustments moving across the country, but there hasn’t been anything terrible. When things and challenges happen, we know how to work, get around it, and help each other through it because we’ve learned from each other for many years. Even to the point where I was getting frazzled about something, Adam said, “Did you eat?” I was getting that hungry type of situation. That’s how it is.

What are some of the things that you noticed when he came out that you had to maybe put it around? You were talking about texting them and you found out that, “I want to take away.”

 

Go at your own pace and do what you can. It is not easy in the beginning, but you can do it and lean on the resources that are out there. Share on X

 

Adam worked hard when he was on the inside the whole entire time, especially the last ten years of it, to make sure that he would be able to integrate back into society after twenty years, which twenty years away is a long time period. Twenty years away between 2000 and 2020 with technology, the way that it was rapidly developing is insanely difficult.

I didn’t notice any prison quirks, any jumpiness, or anything like that. I don’t know how he did it. He’s amazing. The one thing that was challenging for him and frustrating was technology. I have to say this, and I’ve said this in front of him before. It’s not a shock to him, but it was a little vindicating because while he was on the inside, technology was, in theory.

He would say to me, “What do you mean you can’t do that? You have Google in your pocket. You could do this, and all need to talk to each other and do it.” At points, I’m like, “Does he think that I’m lazy, or I don’t want to do this?” It could not happen when. He came out and realized that could not happen. In your head, it could happen. Technology is not that advanced yet. It was a little bit vindicating but I’m partly joking. It was a little bit frustrating for him, but that was the majority of the after incarceration frustration for him, at least that I noticed. He could speak to it if there was anything more that I didn’t notice or he didn’t talk about.

I can understand because technology is frustrating for us. I can imagine coming out, like, “Here’s the smartphone.” Maybe not having previous versions and stuff, it’s easier to learn. He’s teaching us stuff to get ahold of it.

He has learned it much faster than we have, and maybe that is from being away from it for so long. He does have a natural knack for it. I remember his attorney and the family came out. We were all together for a hike. At the end of the hike, we wanted to take a picture. Adam sets his phone on the dashboard of the car. We all back up to take a picture, and he takes it from his watch. They were all like, “What? The guy that didn’t take twenty years knew how to take a picture from his watch with his phone.” It was amazing. It was a full-circle moment.

It didn’t start like that to your point about the technology, especially with the phones. What I quickly realized is that, although conceptually, I had all this technology in my mind. It could be used as Ro pointed out. I found out that it didn’t work the same way that it was in my mind. I had to learn that for myself.

The biggest challenge for me, and I would say this is something that probably everyone takes for granted. Everything is touchscreen now. Prison is hard. It’s concrete and steel. I remember limited human touch and physical contact. Take all those things into consideration. When I got a smartphone in my hand for the first time, I was punching with my fingertip in the face. Ro had to keep telling me, “Gentle swipe.” There was no swipe.

It took me a while to develop that touch. That was something that I didn’t anticipate. That’s difficult to explain, or probably for a lot of people to even understand, but that was one of the biggest challenges for me. It took a while to develop that and to figure out how to use the technology. That’s me being someone who read Wired Magazine every month, who stayed up on all the latest technology, and evolving events. Not everyone is as fortunate or as interested in those things.

Clearly, it has served me well. It helped ease that transition. Honestly, along with me becoming the person, I am now, how influential Ro has been. Everything that I was able to accomplish and do throughout that transition was the result of her being there. When I say by my side, I don’t mean figuratively. I mean literally.

There were times when she was standing next to me and holding my hand. That’s exactly what I needed at that moment. I realized that most people don’t have that. Her understanding of what I needed at that moment is the result of our communication in our relationship, but also the result of her experience in helping many other relationships and other partners transition home. She had that experience on the outside.

I had helped prepare many people on the inside. We had gone through this process countless times, rehearsing for these moments. When it happened, we were so much better prepared for it. Despite our preparedness, there were still some incredible challenges. The constant drug testing that I had to go through that she had to drive me to because I did not have my driver’s license.

I did not have my birth certificate, social security number, or social security card, because they threw those away at the prison I was at. I’m trying to attain all of these things that many people take for granted. We had to go through those. I’m grateful for those experiences because it better prepares us to continue our service to others as they navigate these transitions. It was part of the process that we needed to learn.

It’s interesting to hear the two sides. A lot of times, people haven’t had that experience of working with others that are coming out or that know what it’s like on the inside or outside. Both of you have worked with other people and helped them prepare. What a great thing and giving. It’s not only helping them, but in the long run, it was helping the two of you get to this point where yet now, and still go back to what you said last time. You have all these challenges that become opportunities. It seems like everything that you’ve been through, the people that you’ve met, and how things come around from fruition. Everything you have been through is helping now. Now that you’re settled here, let’s talk about what you’re doing.

What brought us out here was my work with another nonprofit organization here in town that helps individuals transitioning out of the criminal justice system. That was on a personal relationship that I had with that founder. I spent nearly a year there within that organization developing relationships throughout the community with all of our partners, the Department of Corrections, people in law enforcement, and all the related parties that played some role in that transitional period in individuals coming out of the system and getting to a good, healthy place.

I needed to learn that process, but while I was witnessing all of the circumstances surrounding those transitional periods, I saw one essential need that was going unfulfilled, and that’s housing. Housing is such a key component. If that base level needs like food, clothing, and shelter are not being satisfied, we can’t even begin to address the higher-level needs, getting ready for employment and building relationships. Those things need to be satisfied first.

It was during a week-long workshop that I was helping to facilitate. I came in one morning, and a young man and young woman were both getting some breakfast and some things to eat, some fruits and coffee. They looked like they had both just woken up. I started talking to them. It was my intuition telling me that I needed to engage them and find out what was going on. Unfortunately, it became apparent that they had slept in the stairwell to the building because they had no place to go.

To me, that was like shocking. It was a huge epic failure on our part to provide what they needed most, where we’re worried about a workshop and putting them through giving them these other higher-level skills. That wasn’t necessary at that moment. What they needed was a place to stay first and foremost. The fact is we didn’t have the means. We didn’t have someplace to refer them. The supports weren’t in place to address that.

I had determined that was a space that I wanted to move into at some point. It was that experience that compelled me forward and say, “This is something that needs to be addressed now.” I connected with another individual who was working with me at that time, had a real estate background, had previously run halfway houses, and had been working in this same space. We had a conversation that quickly led to us realizing we were on the same page with wanting to do something now about this.

What we did was we formed a qualified opportunity zone fund. It is meant to take private investment, capital gains, and tax bill gains from wealthy individuals and place them into community revitalization projects, such as transitional housing or affordable housing for people coming out of the system. That’s our goal of creating that fund.

Our investors quickly forced us to confront the fact that we needed to be able to justify their returns. How were they going to get paid back on their investment? How could we ensure that our residents were going to be able to pay their rent at some point? We formed a staffing agency, which we thought went hand in hand.

 

The initial phase is critical, but know that it does get better. You got to get up over that hump. Share on X

 

We can provide housing and the base level needs. We can connect individuals coming out of the system with a criminal history with those employers willing to give and provide them a second chance. We saw a tremendous need to do this and to be that conduit. Due to our skillsets and our experience in this space, we were perfectly positioned to be that connector. We formed a business and a staffing agency, where we have limited housing available.

Everybody knows there is an abundance of jobs now. We’re helping to connect all of those individuals coming out of the criminal justice system. Even the ones we cannot assist immediately with housing or who do not need immediate housing support, we can connect them to those employers. In doing so, we seek to put them on a career path that moves them toward home ownership and a place in the middle class. At the same time, that connection allows us to be a conduit to other community service providers.

We know that we are not equipped to handle all of their needs. There are plenty of other community providers who do an incredible job doing what they do. We need to be able to funnel them to those other sources and make sure each individual gets what that person needs. We feel good about our role in the community. I feel like this is the best use of my knowledge, skills, and experiences, where I can best contribute within this space and do so in a place that feels deeply fulfilling to me.

It also aligns with our goals as a family because, ultimately, it’s about us doing this together. That’s always been our vision. We spent many years apart. We want to make sure that the rest of our years are spent together. I feel like this is the best way for us to do this to make the most of everything that we’ve been through to help other families live a life that they envisioned for themselves like we did while we were on the inside.

I love your vision and everything you’re doing. I know it’s your passion. It’s different when you’re living your passion. If you look at Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, the basic need is being fulfilled. That’s what you’re looking at. There are a lot of organizations that are helping people, but if their basic needs are not being fulfilled, they can’t move on. You want to get to self-actualization. You want them to be where you guys are. They can communicate with, have a good life, have good relationships, and create their families. However, that is. All of that is important. Do you want to tell us the name of the organization?

Our transitional housing and affordable housing development will be under the Rise Village, Qualified Opportunity Zone Fund, and the related support services employment agency is called Rise Together Staffing.

You’re lifting people up, helping the community, and creating a place where people can go. They can better themselves, which not only helps them, but it helps the community.

That is the idea and our intention. We feel like this is where we’re supposed to be. Everything that has led us up to this moment and this point has all been in support of the direction that we are now going. We love it here in Las Vegas. We love the fact that we’re here in the neighborhood.

There are so many great community organizations here in Las Vegas. People don’t realize that they think Las Vegas strip and all of the fun things to do here, but there’s also such a level of caring and beautiful people doing great things, helping each other, and collaborating. That’s what we’re going to keep doing. I wanted to check in with Ro on anything else that she wants to add about what life has been like since he’s been here in Vegas and what you’ve been doing? Are you guys been hiking and going to different organizations or events?

We love it here. How do you beat the sun and palm trees all year long? We have been enjoying our time together hiking. We work out at different parks all the time. We’re connecting with the different organizations, meeting people, and continuing this work because we always said it wasn’t going to be over when Adam was released. I did take a step back from working with people who are incarcerated to heal my own trauma because it was traumatic to go up from the downs. To connect with those organizations, get back into it, and help the people who need the help the most has been rewarding and wonderful. It’s full steam ahead.

It’s important to help people coming out. We do have a workshop for family and to help people prepare because coming home starts on day one. You guys have been envisioning it, preparing for it, and having that hope and that vision that it was going to happen. It’s not like you come out of prison, and everything is wonderful. This free entry workshop is important. Working with people while they’re incarcerated. The families inside and outside come together so that they can go together and have a successful launch. I think that you guys are a primary example of that. One thing we didn’t talk about was your wedding.

Our plan originally was to get married on February 13, 2022, because 213 was the number of years Adam was sentenced to. We always consider February 13th our day. Winds up that I came down with either food poisoning or the worst stomach flu I’ve ever had in my life the Friday before. This was supposed to be on a Sunday.

We had to cancel the wedding that we had planned, but while our parents were still in town, we wound up getting married the next day on February 14th, 2022. It was a bummer, but our dear friend who married us put it beautifully at our wedding. She said, “It wasn’t meant to be because 213 is in your past. That’s all meant to be behind you. Now, this 214 is from now moving forward. This signifies your new life.”

I thought that was the most beautiful perspective. It wound up working out as perfectly as it ever could. From the day we went to this one park, which is right across the street from where we live, Adam said, “This is beautiful. It would be nice to get married here.” That’s what wound up happening. It’s like a last-minute throw-it-all-together type of situation. It was nice, intimate, and perfect.

You’ve shared so much. You’ve gone through your journey, what it’s like coming home and being together, and everything you have done to have a successful relationship. I wanted to ask you and Adam if there’s anything that you want to show to the audience about what re-entry has been like and about being together on the outside.

For me, the beginning part of re-entry was a struggle. Adam touched on this earlier. He didn’t have his social security card, birth certificate, and his driver’s license. He needed all of those in order to get a bank account. You need a bank account to get a job typically. It felt like this vicious cycle that we couldn’t get out of.

Thank God we were here and I could drive. I had flexibility where I could drive into those drug tests. In my past, I remember thinking, “People that re-offend, I don’t get it. If I ever got my second chance, I would never take advantage of it.” I learned that the system is almost or it feels like it’s set up to work against you, where you couldn’t get any of those things. Thank God we were able to work it all out. Now he does have his license, the social security card, job, bank account, and all of that stuff. It was difficult in the beginning.

Go at your own pace and do what you can. Had we not had each other and the situations that we’re in, I can understand now why people do re-offend. I’m not saying you should, but why you do. One day at a time and talk through everything. It is not easy in the beginning, but you can do it and lean on the resources that are out there. For example, Julia, your organization, and Adams housing project are set up to help because you’ll need them. It takes an army, and thank God we got through it.

There are many good organizations out there. Adam, is there anything you want to share about being home?

I would add to what Ro has said. Those first six months, the world had a lot of challenges. Once we got over that hump, things did get increasingly easier for us. That’s where most people get deterred or sidetracked early on. I would encourage everyone that the initial phase is critical and know that it does get better. You’ve got to get up over that hump.

 

 

Everything that has happened for us since then has been the result of the goals that we set for ourselves. The plans that we made to bring those goals to fruition and our consistent effort to constantly move toward them. Those were habits that we developed inside. The things that we did on the inside that allowed us to be successful individually through our relationship are the same things that we do now on the outside. That brings us so much happiness and fulfillment. That’s a result of it. It was all worth it. Every bit of effort has been worth it.

The world is a better place because of you two and because of everything you’re doing. I’m honored that we could do this talk and share all this information. I hope that he might get Christian back on here and send us off with a giggle.

Although you can’t see the smile, we get to see that smile every single day. It’s a reminder of all those challenges and all the adversity that we overcame. As I said, it was all worth it. That’s what it’s all about right there.

Thank you guys so much.

Thank you for having us.

It’s my pleasure.

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I want to take a minute to tell you about the Prison: The Hidden Sentence book. There are so many things that you need to know when a loved one was taken into the prison system that nobody tells you. This book will provide valuable information to help you as you go through the stages of the prison system with your loved one. I also shared stories so you know that you are not going through this alone. Prison: The Hidden Sentence book can be purchased on Amazon.

 

Important Links

• Ro and Adam Clausen’s YouTube
• Rise Village
• Rise Together Staffing
• www.ApexAlternativeSolutions.com
• https://StrongPrisonWivesAndFamilies.com
• https://PrisonFamiliesAlliance.org
• Prison: The Hidden Sentence
• https://www.Amazon.com/Comeback-Code-Strong-Members-Journal/dp/1080766901/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1766J5LGR4T78&keywords=ro+clausen&qid=1654051317&s=books&sprefix=ro+%2Cstripbooks%2C111&sr=1-1

 

About Rosanne Clausen

Rosanne Clausen is the founder of Strong Prison Wives & Families, a 501(c)(3) non profit organization that has helped more than 80,000 people. Since 2008 “Ro” has provided extensive support, coaching and private counsel to wives, girlfriends, sisters, mothers, and family members around the world who have an incarcerated loved one. During that time, she has become an expert in personal development, criminal justice reform advocacy, correctional institution policy and procedure, and the prison industrial complex.

In addition to private coaching, Ro has produced and starred in hundreds of videos that document her strategies on how to deal with nearly every conceivable situation, emotion and experience shared by all those who endured the separation and hardships associated with having an incarcerated loved one. Her book titled “The Comeback Code” serves as an invaluable resource for anyone in need of inspiration and sound strategies engaged in the process of self discovery, personal development and/or relationship enhancement. In recent years Ro has begun working with media representatives, as both a consultant and talent, to help bring attention to the mental, emotional and physical well-being needs of those citizens suffering through the long term separation and ongoing support of an incarcerated loved one.

 

About Adam Clausen

Adam Clausen is a Leader, Life Coach, Trainer and Entrepreneur whose purpose in life is to inspire others to live into their full potential. In 2001 Adam was sentenced to 213 YEARS in federal prison with no chance of parole. He spent the next 20+ years transforming his life while compiling an extensive list of “extraordinary and compelling” achievements. Finally, on August 12, 2020 Adam was granted “compassionate release” and awarded a second chance at life. He’s now experiencing levels of success in his life most people only dream of.

While trapped behind 50 foot walls, Adam acquired all of the knowledge and skills he needed to not only survive for over two decades in federal prison, but which allowed him to consistently thrive in the face of unfathomable adversity. He is highly regarded as an expert in; crisis management, conflict resolution, public speaking, physical fitness, leadership and networking.

Adam is a Qualified Opportunity Zone Fund Manager for RISE Village, which provides transitional and affordable housing solutions for returning citizens. He is also the founder and Managing Partner of Rise Together Staffing, a company that connects returning citizens to second chance employers, as well as the CEO of APEX Alternative Solutions, LLC a company that designs custom tailored solutions to complex interpersonal challenges.