Event Organizers

Bishop Ivy Gaines was released from federal custody in 2021 after serving 20 years of a 183-year sentence. Since then, he has dedicated his life to bringing his transformational journey to the world by founding Mentor Seattle, Inc. His mission is to leverage the power of mentorship, education, and mindfulness to address the root causes of violence and distrust in society. While inside, he faced numerous challenges and setbacks, including 19 unsuccessful attempts at parole. Despite these obstacles, he never lost hope. He devoted himself to studying law, spending 18 years honing his legal knowledge and advocating for his freedom. During this time, he also recognized the profound impact of mentorship and education on reducing violence and fostering positive behavioral change. Drawing from his own experiences, he created programs for the inmate population at six institutions for over 20 years, focusing on mindfulness training, independent thinking, and conflict resolution. These programs achieved remarkable success, leading to a 17% reduction in violence, including inmate-on-staff and inmate-on-inmate incidents. Inspired by this transformative work, he realized that the same principles could be applied to rebuilding trust and fostering positive relationships in the broader community. With over 23 years of active service in creating, delivering, designing, and facilitating programs, Mentor Seattle now stands as a beacon of hope and progress, committed to reimagining the future of law enforcement and community engagement.