Adam Bentley Clausen

[email protected] | 725-230-0935 | linkedin.com/in/adambclausen

On August 12, 2020, Adam was granted Compassionate Release under the First Step Act for his “extraordinary and compelling” achievements.

Since then, his work has gained national recognition. He was twice profiled by the U.S. Department of Education, featured in FAMM’s Extraordinary and Compelling brief, and consulted for the Jefferson Consulting Group and National Academy of Public Administration on the Bureau of Prisons’ Health Services Division. He later served as an expert witness on BOP culture for the Federal Defenders Office. Adam has testified before the U.S. Sentencing Commission and House Judiciary staff, delivered keynote addresses including the American Parole and Probation Association’s 50th Annual Institute, and spoken at universities such as Georgetown Law, UNLV, and Gannon, as well as corporate events for Thomson Reuters and Equus Workforce Solutions.

Adam has also turned entrepreneurial vision into impact. He launched a Qualified Opportunity Zone Fund to expand affordable and transitional housing, created a staffing agency to connect justice-impacted individuals with second-chance employers, and partnered with Clark County Detention Center to establish the first Women’s Reentry Unit (SOAR). He has worked with national nonprofits including REFORM Alliance, FAMM, The Chef Jeff Project, Social Purpose Corrections and the CAN-DO Foundation, and contributed to White Collar Advice and Prison Professors as both a consultant and reentry success story.

Adam now serves as:

• Co-CEO of Legacy Impact Group, driving national preentry programming, workforce development, postsecondary education, housing, and mental health + substance misuse treatment initiatives.
• Director of Innovation & Social Impact at Social Purpose Corrections, the nation’s first nonprofit corrections manager—reinvesting every dollar of margin into staff and resident wellness to build safer facilities and radically reduce recidivism.
• Appointed Member of the U.S. Sentencing Commission’s Sentence Impact Advisory Group (SAIG), bringing the perspective of someone personally affected by a federal sentence to help carry out its statutory duties, inform priorities and amendments, share sentencing information with impacted communities, and advise on petitions for guideline modifications.
• Strategic Partner with REFORM Alliance, Families Against Mandatory Minimums (FAMM) and the Federal Expungement Initiative.
• Co-host of Gritability, a podcast with his wife Ro Clausen, sharing stories of resilience and redemption.
• Keynote Speaker and National Trainer on PreEntry, Reentry and Second Chance Employment Programming.
• Ambassador for Prison Reform & Reentry with the Aleph Institute under Rabbi Zvi Boyarsky, personally visiting prisoners to assess their readiness for clemency and second chance initiatives using the Core 4 and HOPE Coaching + AI program as a vetting tool, validated by Pepperdine University with recidivism rates under 3%.

Adam is bringing wraparound services, workforce training, and AI-powered coaching into prisons, equipping individuals with real skills in faith, family, fitness, and finance alongside cutting-edge training. Through Legacy Impact Technologies, Core 4 graduates are being prepared for real jobs immediately upon release, with some even demonstrating the discipline and mastery that can strengthen eligibility for early release.

Guided by faith, fatherhood, integrity, and perseverance, Adam is a devoted husband to Rosanne “Ro” Clausen, founder of Strong Prison Wives and Families, and proud father to their son, Christian. Together they transform hardship into purpose through nonprofit work, their podcast Gritability, and community outreach. With his first book forthcoming in 2026, Adam’s journey stands as a testament to redemption and second chances, from a 213-year sentence to leading social impact initiatives, proving it is possible to rise, rebuild, and create a legacy of hope.