SAN QUENTIN, CA — On July 25, 2025, San Quentin Rehabilitation Center (SQRC) will host a milestone graduation ceremony where dozens of incarcerated individuals will receive their GEDs and college degrees. Among them is Anand Jon Alexander, who will become the first person inside San Quentin to earn a master’s degree from a California State University campus.
Alexander completed his graduate work through a full scholarship from the Department of Rehabilitation and Project Rebound. His capstone project, the HealMeToo.app, is an ambitious initiative that aims to address gender abuse, domestic violence, sexual assault, and wrongful convictions by integrating trauma-informed design with ethical artificial intelligence (eAI).
As Warden Chance Andes noted, “San Quentin’s incarcerated population receiving a master’s degree is a testament to the potential for change within the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. It gives incarcerated individuals a second chance, empowering them to rebuild their lives and be assets to society.” The project aligns with Governor Newsom’s broader rehabilitation and reentry goals and has attracted attention from district attorneys who visited SQRC during a May 8 forum. Several expressed enthusiasm about integrating HealMeToo into county-level restorative justice efforts, citing the unique credibility of lived experience in shifting youth behavior.
A Vision for Healing and Prevention
The HealMeToo platform—described by Alexander as a fusion of SafeTech and ethical AI—reimagines how technology can support both public safety and justice reform. The app would provide trauma-informed resources for people at risk of becoming either victims or perpetrators, and serve as a digital companion to help modulate consent, prevent violence, and offer real-time safety interventions.
According to Alexander’s proposal, the app combines several components:
- VR immersion tools for rehabilitation and behavior training;
- A consent-modulating mobile system to reduce miscommunication and prevent violence (including at different stages during intimacy);
- An AI-powered referral system to connect users with free or subsidized mental health care;
- Integration with laws such as the TAKE IT DOWN Act to help victims of deepfakes and nonconsensual content removal.
Rooted in personal and collective narratives—including testimonies from incarcerated individuals who have been victims, perpetrators, or witnesses to abuse—the platform uses these stories as part of a larger AI-driven effort to foster empathy, accountability, and healing.
From Trauma to Action
The idea for HealMeToo drew inspiration from trauma research, including the work of Dr. Bessel van der Kolk, author of The Body Keeps the Score, who said to Mr. Alexander, “Trauma can spark creativity and insightful solutions.”
Alexander’s lived experience adds urgency and authenticity to the effort. He has served over 18 years following a conviction many legal observers view as a miscarriage of justice. The case—fraught with juror misconduct, racially charged arguments by a Los Angeles prosecutor, and no physical evidence of assault—resulted in a 59-year-to-life sentence for a single count of rape and lesser charges.
He has since resolved overlapping cases in New York and Texas and is now pursuing relief under California’s Racial Justice Act (PC 745), which challenges prosecutions tainted by bias.
Adding to the irony, Alexander himself was a victim of deepfake identity theft during a recent CDCR data breach—a growing concern nationally, with $47 billion in estimated losses in 2024 alone. This experience further motivated him to build a tool that not only supports survivors but defends the wrongly accused.
Collaboration and Support
HealMeToo is being developed in partnership with TheBFly.co, an international girl empowerment and advocacy movement with outreach in media, entertainment, and policymaking. Founding partner and actress Elyana Violet praised the app as “a revolutionary tool that not only prevents gender abuse but also reduces trauma and costly legal cases.”
The movement has attracted a global coalition. In Europe and Canada, collaborators like Matilda Ammondt, Emilia Rasila, Peppi Haven, and Madeleine Madelynx have lent their voices to the project.
BFly London’s Ruqayyah Aishah, part of the code development team, described the process as “an empowering act of resistance” as a woman of color who has experienced harassment firsthand. Plans are underway to expand the app to India and Dubai, with support from Sanjana Jon and Dr. Bart Fisher, a two-time Nobel Peace and Medicine nominee.
Education and Ethics Behind Bars
While a few incarcerated individuals have earned master’s degrees in the past, Alexander is believed to be the first to do so through a fully accredited Cal State program using modern platforms like Canvas and video conferencing. Dr. Matthew Luckett, director of the HUX program at Cal State Dominguez Hills, called Alexander “a driven, energetic student” who “invested his talents in making the world a better place.”
The interdisciplinary humanities curriculum explored topics such as racial justice, gender, and the history of punishment, combined with forward-looking studies in AI and ethics—topics at the heart of Alexander’s activism and vision for reform.
Addressing a Crisis at Scale
Research by the International Justice Alliance, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, found that 70% of incarcerated individuals surveyed expressed interest in participating in a HealMeToo pilot using the tablets already distributed in California prisons. Among young women, 90% expressed interest, with 63% reporting they were highly motivated. The app also resonated across identities—garnering support from 100% of surveyed transgender participants and 73% of surveyed men.
The project identifies Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) as a major driver of violence, abuse, and incarceration. Pop culture’s glorification of toxic masculinity and the justice system’s reactive approach both exacerbate cycles of harm. HealMeToo offers a new approach—addressing root causes through empathy, education, and technology.
The U.S. has the world’s highest incarceration rate, with gender-based violence and systemic bias disproportionately affecting marginalized groups. HealMeToo seeks to change that—by transforming survivors and those who have caused harm into empowered agents of prevention and support.
Launching This Summer
The beta version of HealMeToo.org is set to launch in Summer 2025. Organizers are inviting strategic partners, technologists, philanthropists, and justice advocates to join the effort. The basic service will be free, with optional premium features, and all profits will be donated to community-based organizations that provide trauma recovery and prevention services.
For those interested in learning more or supporting the initiative, visit HealMeToo.org or reach out to project partners at the International Justice Alliance.
“This is about more than rehabilitation,” said Alexander. “It’s about creating the tools we wish had existed before the harm was done.”
An incredible achievement despite being wrongfully convicted for over 18 years! Free Anand Jon Alexander now!
InternationalJusticeAlliance.org