Empathy in Action Film Screening

Golden State Theatre

417 Alvarado Street, 93940, Monterey, CA, United States

Megan McDrew

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Megan McDrew is the founder and executive director of The Transformative Justice Center which houses the inside-out prison educational exchange program, Empathy in Action : Bridge to Redemption. Megan has been teaching sociology at a variety of universities and colleges the last 7 years including UCSC, UC Merced, Monterey Peninsula College and Hartnell College. She also works with the Santa Cruz Public Defender's office assisting with juvenile offender's social history statements. Megan is a certified yoga practitioner, with a background in teaching trauma-informed yoga at the Marina VA. Twice a week, she teaches a similar type of yoga at CTF Soledad North yard, combining her passion for yoga and working with the incarcerated.Megan does this work because she believes in the power of transformation—both for individuals and for society as a whole. She sees the humanity in people that the system often dehumanizes, and she recognizes that justice is not just about punishment but about healing, accountability, and redemption.Megan’s work with the Transformative Justice Center and Empathy in Action isn’t just about helping people re-enter society—it’s about shifting the way we as a culture understand harm , responsibility, and repair. Through the Heart-Beat of Re-Entry program, she is bridging the gap between incarcerated individuals and the outside world, reminding people on both sides of the prison walls that connection and true community are essential for true rehabilitation.At her core, Megan believes that no one is disposable. She sees the deep flaws in our criminal legal system and understands that many who are incarcerated have been failed long before they ever committed harm. Megan works toward a future where justice means healing—not just punishment—where people have the opportunity to grow beyond their worst moments.Her work is about dignity. About breaking cycles of harm. About proving that change is possible when people are given the right support. And maybe, on some level, its also about hope—the hope that we, as a society, can do better