Pamela Driskel

Pamela  Driskel is a Program Manager for the Community Base Public Safety  Collective. Pamela ensures that the Bureau of Justice's Community-Based  Violence Intervention and Prevention Initiative (CVIPI) funds assigned  to law enforcement, jurisdictions (city, county, states), and  community-based organizations are properly implemented.

She grew  up in California, in a community where African Americans migrated to  achieve the American Dream. Pamela soon realized that the dream was not  equal for all people. Her life took a dramatic turn at the age of 17,  and by 25, she found herself in the American Justice System, serving a  37-year sentence on both federal and state charges. Her story is  featured in the BET+ series American Gangster Trap Queen, season 3.

Despite  her circumstances, Pamela became a professional speaker and author, and  is slated to release her bio, "The Emergence of a Dope Queen," on July  1, 2023. While in prison, Pamela began to study, she was determined not  to be a victim of recidivism upon her release. She attended Bacone  University, where she pursued a major in Business, with the desire to  help people like herself.

Upon her  release, Pamela became deeply involved in community violence prevention  and intervention, program implementation, youth and adult  anti-recidivism, and providing homeless housing and at-risk community  supportive services. Among her accomplishments, she provided research  with the LA City Homeless Service Authority, Skid Row Housing, and the  California Economic Roundtable, to create the blueprint for homeless  housing necessity guidelines and cost report, "Where We Sleep," which  was used by LA County. Pamela also ran her own homeless shelters in LA  and LB and worked with programs like AmerICan, Smart Women Advancing, LA  Global Care, and New Image Emergency Shelter.

Her  journey is an inspiration to others, and her dedication to helping  others. Pamela is an example that once you believe in your self worth,  the American Dream is possible.

“We are the conduit of energy to its inception!”