THOMAS BRECHEISEN

Thomas is a Professor of Practice in the Journalism and Creative Media Industries (JCMI) program at Texas Tech University. Serving as the Project's Executive Producer, Thomas was inspired by his personal connection with family that found struggles with reintegrating into society after having been incarcerated for an extended period of time. In 2021 his father, Duane Brecheisen, was released from a life sentence, of which he served 32 years. Having reconnected with his father, and after seeing the challenges he faced as he tried to become a positive member of society, Thomas saw the opportunity to collect and tell these stories.

Executive Producer

JACKIE PETERS

Jackie is a senior at TTU studying Creative Media Industries and English.  She enjoys working on various freelance and collaborative projects, such as short films and promotional content. She is enthusiastic about storytelling and exploring important topics within the realm of creative media.  She strives to reach broad audiences to encourage understanding throughout communities. Jackie joined PROs & CONs to give individuals a voice who typically do not get one in current prevalent media. She is excited to be on the story development and content creation team and hopes to contribute ideas and abilities to augment the meaningful attributes of the project.

Story Development

MATTHEW McDERMOTT

Matthew is a senior at Texas Tech University, studying creative media industries. He is a content creator who enjoys working on many projects, whether it’s films or short stories. He has a passion for creating engaging content that appeals to audiences both emotionally and intellectually. The prospect of telling an enthralling story that focuses on those who were previously incarcerated enticed Matt. He now assists the Pros and Cons Editing Team to produce the definitive version of the project. He aims to shape the overall narrative in a way that allows audiences to understand the challenges those who were incarcerated face while trying to reintegrate into society.

Documentary Editor

EMILEE JARRETT

Emilee is a senior at Texas Tech University studying Creative Media Industries. She was drawn to the Pros and Cons project because of her passion for helping those affected by issues within the legal system. Emilee believes this project will contribute to a great cause by raising awareness about the challenges faced by ex-convicts. As a content manager for the project, she is responsible for gathering and organizing content for social media. Through her work, Emilee aims to amplify voices and encourage understanding within the community, connecting audiences to stories that matter and promoting a more informed dialogue.

Content Manager

JOPSHUA OWOLABI

Joshua Owolabi is a screenwriter and aspiring animator focusing on creating unique, interesting and moving stories. He has a passion for entertaining people in the form of storytelling, and bringing them together. He is currently involved with the story development team of pros/cons. This project has opened up another reality of the world to him, in terms of challenges people face, and this has given the opportunity to talk about and tell others of those challenges. He has hopes that the discussion of these topics will move people to be more open minded towards reintegration, and helping ex-convicts get back into the community and give them another chance

Story Development

DYLAN KNOLL

Dylan Knoll is a Creative Media Industries major with a deep passion for photography and creating storytelling. She likes to combine visual creativity and narrative techniques to craft engaging stories through the lens of the camera.

Her work reflects a desire to capture authentic moments and convey meaningful messages, making photography not just a medium, but a powerful tool for visual storytelling. Her involvement in PROS and CONS will help her explore opportunities more and build more for the future.

Content Creator

AVREE ARNOLD

Avree Arnold's main focus is visual storytelling, mainly through photography and videography. She has a passion for telling authentic stories in accurate ways and believes that it is the best way to make differences in any difficult situation. She is currently working on Pros and Cons as an assistant director for our social media team. Through this, she is able to promote the stories of individuals to a new audience and expand the reach of their message. Avree believes that these individuals have important stories that need to be heard. She is excited for the opportunity to make a change for the better.

Social Media

RACHEL RUSCH

Rachel is a senior at Texas Tech University studying Creative Media Industries and Acting. She had shown interest in the Pros & Cons project topic by creating something similar in one of her classes taught by Professor Brecheisen. Now, she is serving as an administrator for this project. Having a passion for storytelling, she is eager to show people another perspective on those who have been incarcerated.

As the Pros & Cons Project Administrator, she is responsible for managing and directing student interns as content creators that serve this important community.

Content Creator

Michele Auvenshine

Michele Auvenshine is a junior at Texas Tech University studying Creative Media Industries. Her love for storytelling steered Michele towards writing, but she has also discovered an interest in editing to help her shape those narratives.

Michele is currently a content creator for the Pros & Cons Project and is passionate about telling the stories of those who have been incarcerated. She is excited to shed light on the difficulties ex-convicts face while reintegrating into society and make their voices heard with this project.

Content Creator

SARAH BETTY

Sarah Betty is a videographer and editor studying Creative Media Industries at Texas Tech. She has an affinity for capturing and translating all types of stories to film. She currently leads the documentary editors on the PROs & CONs project and is passionate about bringing its subject’s stories to life. As the daughter of an attorney, she feels very passionately about showing the true impacts on both sides of this story and highlighting the problems faced by people after incarceration. She believes this project contains impactful messages that need to be shared and is dedicated to ensuring that its messages are heard.

Documentary Editor

ASHER HORNOF

Asher Hornof is a CMI Major with the goal of becoming a movie director one day. He's passionate about learning all the ins and outs of producing content and learning what he can do exceptionally well to stand out amongst his peers. He is a part of the content creation team for PROs and CONs and wants to reinforce his abilities in creating content while also being able to raise awareness of the hardships that the ex-convict population is facing. The most important stories end up being the ones that are never told, so it’s important to me that we’re creating a channel for them to be heard.

Content Creator

OMAR CANTERO

Omar Cantero is a content creator in his third year at Texas Tech University who focuses on storytelling and video editing. He has a passion for sharing unique stories that could help motivate others through his own documentaries. He is currently helping with story development and creating content for Pros & Cons, developing the future of the project while also assisting with production efforts. Participating in this opportunity has provided him with unique experience and knowledge about an important and underrepresented perspective that he believes needs more recognition.

Story Development

ALEX RUIZ

Alex is a senior at Texas Tech University studying Creative Media Industries and Architecture. He has a passion for telling visual stories that convey a variety of facets of the larger social and cultural world. Possessing a variety of media related skills like videography and editing, he is currently a content manager for the PROs and CONs project and hopes to portray emotion evoking images that bring awareness to the stories of ex-convicts. He envisions a world with less judgement where those that have been incarcerated are understood and treated fairly and believes that through this project the public will have a renewed perspective on the system.

Content Manager

EZRA RIVERIA

Ezra Rivera is a senior studying creative media industries at Texas Tech with a special emphasis in content creation, videography, and editing. She loves reaching new people and being on camera, so she also anchors on the MCTV news channel and could see herself doing that further. Ezra has been impacted directly by the struggles ex-cons experience with reintegration with her own family and friends. After doing intensive research on the issue of mass incarceration in the U.S, she felt like she needed to make an actual difference as opposed to simply knowing the information. She knew immediately she was meant for this project. Ezra hopes Pros & Cons is able to make a difference in at least one persons lives, and even greater, to be able to create some kind of reforms in the system.

Content Manager

JACK BALL

Jack Ball is a senior at Texas Tech University, studying Creative Media Industries. He's originally from San Antonio, Texas and was interested in joining the Pros and Cons project due to his personal experiences within his family, and the message the project is trying to convey. He uses film as a medium to get a message sent out through visual art, and believes it is the most beautiful and effective form of media that people connect with. Jack believes that the Pros and Cons project will help change the world for their better and give a second chance to those who deserve it. He believes it's a beginning for a necessary change and a way to open the public’s eye to positive change in the world.

Content Manager

WILLIAM MATHIEU

William Mathieu is a student at Texas Tech University Studying Creative Media industries. The ability to affect people's lives and give them positive things to look forward to excited him about the entertainment industry.

He is currently working on Public Relations for the Pros and Cons Project; He is very devoted to growing the audience engagement and to growing the reach of this project. He is very passionate about this project because it grows awareness for Ex-Convicts.

Public Relations

Former Team Members

TAYLYN CARRINGTON

I am Taylyn (Tay·lyn) Carrington, a junior at Texas Tech University, studying creative media industries with a minor in dramatic writing. As a living testimony, I am the product of a rehabilitated felon, my father, who raised me to be not only a first-generation student but a merit scholarship recipient. I aided my father in his trucking and HVAC businesses, which helped him and other felons rehabilitate into society. I am blessed to reposition the mindset of those who believe once a criminal, always a criminal. My heart lives inside a pen and the passion to have the unheard listened to.

Public Relations

MADISON VIDALES

Madison is a fourth-year Journalism and Creative Media Industries student from El Paso, Texas. Exploring various methods of storytelling, Madison initially gravitated towards writing to share the stories of her subjects. Moreover, writing via this form served previously as the only way Madison utilized her talents. However, expanding beyond this medium and branching out to different areas to utilize her strengths is the new direction Madison is exploring now. Articulating a brand or project’s initiative is something Madison aspires to convert her known knowledge with writing into. Moreover, capturing one’s story visually is a medium Madison aspires to explore even further.

Public Relations

SASHA GOGGANS

Howdy, my name is Sasha Goggans and I am the Social Media Manager of Pros and Cons. A little about me is that I like the internet and the part it plays in our society.

So this project is really important to me because I know that through the power of social media we can shed light and bring awareness to those that have been hurt by the system. I also enjoy editing videos, making my own documentaries, and clowns.

Social Media