Deanna Luprete is the founder of Epicenter Ministries. A native Californian Deanna grew up in a household that was centered on restorative justice, as her dad was a parole officer for Los Angeles County,  until God called him to full time pastoral ministry.  

She has been involved in Texas prison ministry since 2002. Little did she know that ten years later her son would become incarcerated in California. It was during his incarceration that Deanna began to understand how broken the criminal justice system is both in California and Texas. Soon thereafter, she fully devoted herself to rehabilitative programs within the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. 

While leading “Bridges to Life” in 2016, Deanna met Chon Dimas, Jeremy Gartrell and, Michael Tracy. All three of them were given lengthy adult prison sentences as children (now known as “Second Lookers”). Through these three Second Lookers, she became aware of 1,400+ other individuals serving sentences they were given as children during the ‘Texas Tough” era. Subsequently, she discovered a bill in her home state (SB 261) which related to parole reform for juvenile offenders serving extreme, if not life sentences. Upon further research, she found that a similar bill was being constructed in Texas. 

Armed with Acts 16:26 and a renewed sense of hope, she established Epicenter with a small social media presence that quickly grew. In 2017, Epicenter had 100 members during the 85th legislative session for the introduction of SB 556/HB 1274.

In 2019, Epicenter had 1,000 members for the introduction of SB 155/HB 256. Today, in 2024 Epicenter has 2,000 active members in the free world and 1,400 TDCJ residents that are diligently working to advocate for a “Second Look” be given to youth who are serving lengthy adult sentences in Texas. Deanna is dedicated to educating and encouraging residents of TDCJ, as well as equipping and empowering those returning to society.

Larry Robinson is a retired First Sergeant in the United States Army who served five combat tours across 24 years. In 1994, his 16-year-old son, Jason Robinson, was convicted of being an accessory to the crime of killing a man and given a mandatory life sentence. Larry heard about Epicenter and quickly became friends with founder Deanna Luprete through Lone Star Justice Alliance where he also serves on the board. Deanna and Larry discovered they share values and are deeply devoted to Second Look advocacy. He is a family man who believes in Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior. When Larry isn’t Larry testifying before the Texas Legislature, running his small business, considering running for public office, or engaging in media appearances, he can be found spending time with his four sons, two granddaughters, and watching the San Antonio Spurs or Dallas Cowboys.

Shauna Reyes was born and raised in Oregon, and moved to Texas when she was 20 years old. She is a mother of three, the wife of a Second Looker, and an advocate for juvenile justice reform. In 1995, her youngest brother was charged and sentenced as an adult when he was just 15 years old. His sentence came on the heels of the “you do the crime; you do the time” superpredator campaign in the 1990’s. This pivotal moment propelled her toward law and policy and its effects on juveniles.

For the last 20 years, Shauna has served in various areas of youth ministry and recently earned a B.S. in Law and Public Policy. Her vision is to be instrumental in passing Second Look Texas into law; a bill she has advocated for the last five years.

Priscilla is an Emergency Medical Technician and first responder based out of Houston and has an extensive experience in patient care. Her desire to help others with their medical needs started in 2019, when she was a Patient Care Assistant. Priscilla’s goal is to advocate for Texas Second Lookers to ensure they receive the proper medical attention as they age in the prison system. Priscilla grew up and lives in Southeast, Texas and enjoys traveling, spending time with family, and spending time outdoors. 

Lillian T. Williams is a native of Louisiana, a mother of four, a grandmother of twelve, and an advocate for juvenile justice reform. In 2005, Lillian and her family were displaced after Hurricane Katrina and taken to San Antonio, Texas. Two years later, her youngest son Chris was arrested and sentenced to life without parole at the age of 16. In 2009, Lillian connected with The Sentencing Project in response to a survey her son received regarding juvenile lifers. This sparked her passion for juvenile justice reform. Since then, Lillian has advocated with organizations in her hometown of New Orleans. On the national level, she has partnered with The Campaign for The Fair Sentencing of Youth in Washington, D.C. to attend annual convenings and meet with senators and stakeholders about abolishing life-without-parole sentencing for juveniles. In 2016, Lillian earned her B.A. in criminal justice with a minor in psychology from Ashford University. In 2021, she earned her Master of Public Administration, Public and Non-Profit Management from Liberty University. In 2017, she was a panelist at the Second Look legislation in Austin, Texas, which is where she met Deanna Luprete, founder, and executive director of Epicenter. Lillian and her husband Donald now reside in Georgetown, TX., to be closer to their son and increase public awareness about the need to stop extreme sentencing for juveniles. Lillian consistently prays for her son and all other Second Lookers to be reunited with their families. “God is the giver of life.” (Psalm 36:9)

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