James Jeter

Chief Revenue Officer, Dmc Global

Search every verified James Jeter interview, podcast appearance, and on-the-record quote — each transcript cross-checked by AI and human review to confirm speaker identity. James Jeter, a Connecticut native who was incarcerated for nearly 20 years beginning at age 17, has been active in criminal justice reform, voting rights advocacy, and higher education access since his release in 2016. He is the co-founder and director of the Full Citizens Coalition and director of the Dwight Hall Civic Allyship Program at Yale. Jeter has described his work as including the restoration of voting rights to people on felony parole in Connecticut, which he said was passed in 2021 after three and a half years of organizing. He has also served as the inaugural Yale Prison Education Initiative Fellow and has spoken about his own experience pursuing education while incarcerated, stating that he spent 11 of his 16 years at Chester Correctional Institution taking courses ranging from business to creative writing. In public appearances, Jeter has discussed the role of storytelling and representation in corporate settings, particularly in fashion. At a 2023 Crown Forum event, he described his work at Ralph Lauren, where he said he helped create a collection inspired by archival images from Morehouse College yearbooks from the 1920s and 1930s. He stated that the collection was part of a broader effort to expand narratives around American style and that it received coverage from outlets such as CNN and the Washington Post. Jeter has also spoken about the importance of social grace and personal transformation, delivering a TEDx talk in 2020 in which he said, "I promise to love you just as you are — openly, publicly, politically — without understanding of all things."