Meet Our First Louisville Client, Thomas Gibbs - The Bail Project Skip to main content

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Video Transcript

Here’s Mr. Gibbs! He’s our very first client here in Louisville with The Bail Project. Next month will be one year that Louisville Bail Project has been in existence. And Mr. Gibbs, he is a retiree. We met him and he needed medical help and he was in there over seven days. And we said, look, we gotta get this guy out. And he’s been out, he makes all his court dates. And I want to give him an opportunity to share what it’s meant to him for the Bail Project to be a part of his life. Hello! Hi. My name is Thomas. With Shameka, my buddy, my friend, okay. And I just want to thank you guys so much. Amazing. You know what you guys can do, you know you move mountains. You know what I’m saying and I tell anybody anybody in this whole wide world about you guys because you are beautiful. We’re now over 800 clients later and to see your very first client being successful, doing well it’s such a beautiful thing.

On our one-year anniversary in Louisville, Site Manager Shameka Parrish-Wright sat down with Thomas Gibbs, the first client we paid bail for there. With Kentucky’s high pretrial incarceration rates, The Bail Project’s services in Louisville meet a great need. In this video interview, Gibbs shares his story and expresses his gratitude for the support we were able to provide.

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Director of Creative and Marketing

Shannon Soper

As the Director of Creative and Marketing, Soper oversees all aspects of The Bail Project’s marketing strategy and content development and is responsible for accelerating systems change through brand recognition and public education nationwide. Since joining the organization in 2018, she has driven web, video, and social media innovation, cultivating an in-house creative team and establishing the Creative and Marketing Department. Soper has over a decade of leadership in nonprofit strategic communications, having served as Communications Director at Dignity and Power Now and as College Campaigns Strategist for the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). A champion for expanding access to digital assets for activists and movements, Soper founded her own company in 2016 to provide subsidized web development and creative multimedia to disadvantaged organizations. She began her advocacy career leading teams on the ground, furthering public awareness on large scale concert tours and creating institutional change at over 100 colleges and universities nationwide. Her public speaking, writing, photography, video, and web features have been featured by a wide range of outlets, including USA Today, The Los Angeles Times, and NPR.