Radical installation Team
At Radical Reversal, our dedicated team transforms spaces within the carceral system by focusing on the power of poetry and music production. Led by acclaimed poet Dr.Randall Horton, our poetry workshops inspire and empower participants, while Devin Waldman guides dynamic music production sessions. With Travis Scott as our in-house studio producer, we ensure high-quality creative experiences. Najaya Royal, our Program & Administration Manager, oversees the seamless execution of our initiatives. Together, we are committed to fostering artistic expression and personal growth, making a meaningful impact within these communities.
Randall Horton is Executive Director. He is a writer, poet, artist, and an associate professor of English at the University of New Haven. He is the only person in the United States with seven felony convictions and academic tenure. Horton is the recipient of the 2022 Creative Capital Award, the American Book Award for Oral Literature, the Gwendolyn Brooks Poetry Award, the Bea Gonzalez Poetry Award, a National Endowment of the Arts Fellowship in Literature, the GLCA New Writers Award for Creative Nonfiction for Hook: A Memoir, a Poet-in-Residence at the Civil Right Corpse, and a Soze Foundation Right to Return Fellow. His poetry collection {#289-128} was published by the University of Kentucky Press Northwestern University Press and received a 2021 American Book Award, as well. Dead Weight: A Memoir published by Northwestern University Press in 2022.
Travis Scott is Radical Reversal's in house Music Producer. He oversees music recording, mixing and mastering. He travles to all locations teaching beats and composing tracks. Travis is a music producer from Birmingham, Alabama. He is co-owner of T. Scott Enterprises, LLC and TSE Studios, founded in 2018 by brothers Terrence, Travis, and Trenton Scott.
Najaya Royal is Program Manager and has been overseeing the daily operations of Radical Reversal since 2021, which entails correspondence with department of corrections and collaborative partners, coordinating the Radical Reversal Reading Series and overseeing the installation of multimedia driven equipment and scheduling within carceral spaces.
Najaya was born and raised in Brooklyn, Ny. She is a 12x’s published poet, University of New Haven graduate 20’ & former radio host.
In addition to her work with Radical Reversal and her role in artist management, she is also an actress and has had the opportunity to do background work for several notable shows. She hopes her journey inspires others to pursue all of their passions and embrace life's diverse paths.
Devin B Waldman is Artistic Director and oversees .l arts based activities within Radical Reversal Programing. Devin is a multi-instrumentalist, composer, and music producer. He leads the group BRAHJA and is a co-founder of the groups Radical Reversal, Notable Deaths, and Diva of Deva Loka; and a member of the bands Heroes Are Gang Leaders, Land Of Kush, MoE, and Malcolm Mooney & The Eleventh Planet. Waldman has performed with artists such as Abiodun Oyewole, Patti Smith, William Parker, Nadah El Shazly, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Thurston Moore, Hamid Drake, Janice Lowe, Mette Rasmussen, Charles Hayward, Yoshiko Chuma, Daniel Carter, James Brandon Lewis, Luke Stewart, and many others. As a youngun, Waldman learned from pianist Paul Bley. He has performed with his aunt Anne Waldman since the age of ten.
Meet Our Board directors
DaMaris B. Hill’s most recent book, Breath Better Spent: Living Black Girlhood, is deemed “urgent” and “luminous” in a starred Publisher’s Weekly review. Her first book, A Bound Woman Is a Dangerous Thing, is a searing and powerful narrative-in-verse that bears witness to American women of color burdened by incarceration. It was an Amazon #1 Best Seller in African American Poetry and a Publishers Weekly Top 10 History Title for the season. Her digital work includes “Shut Up In My Bones”, a poem that uses “remix/pastiche, intertextuality, and irony as strategies of identity formation to remember and honor a specific cultural past, while at the same time working to construct visions of a better future”.
Similar to her creative process, Hill’s scholarly research is interdisciplinary. Hill’s other books include The Fluid Boundaries of Suffrage and Jim Crow: Staking Claims in the American Heartland, the chapbook, \Vi-zə-bəl\ \Teks-chərs\ (Visible Textures). Hill is a Professor of Creative Writing, English, and African American Studies at the University of Kentucky.
Dr. LeJon Poole serves as the Director of the Healthcare Management program at Campbell University, as well as an Associate Professor of Management, teaching courses at both the undergraduate and graduate level. He received his B.A. with a double major in History and English from Samford University, and an MBA from the University of Alabama at Birmingham.In addition to his duties at Campbell, Dr. Poole also serves as a consultant to Healthcare Organizations in North Carolina and throughout the Southeast. He specializes in Strategic Healthcare Management of Rural Hospitals & Healthcare Organizations, as well as Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs). In addition, Dr. Poole serves on the Board of Trustees for Saint Joseph’s of the Pines, a Continuing Care Retirement Community in Southern Pines, North Carolina.
