Christa Gannon: Negotiating With Kids the System Gave Up On

Stan interviews Christa Gannon about founding Fresh Lifelines for Youth (FLY) after volunteering with incarcerated teens and asking what could have prevented their involvement with the justice system. A former UC Santa Barbara basketball All-American and Stanford Law graduate, Gannon describes negotiating with fear to take a nontraditional path, learning entrepreneurial lessons from sports, and using deep listening to co-design programs with youth around legal education, mentoring, and leadership development. She discusses the demographics and trauma many justice-involved youth face, the use of role plays to teach life skills and conflict resolution, and the importance of authenticity, consistency, and humility in earning trust. The conversation covers persuading system stakeholders and donors with shared goals, outcomes, and youth-centered storytelling, plus FLY’s results in reducing recidivism and building hope, and Gannon’s later transition from CEO and her work supporting leadership transitions.Check out FLY: https://flyprogram.org00:00 Vision Beyond Prison00:22 Choosing a Different Path02:29 Claiming the Torch04:23 Athlete Mindset for Leadership05:52 Juvenile Hall Catalyst07:31 Founding FLY Mission09:00 Credibility and Permission10:49 Who the Youth Are13:23 Deep Listening Co Creation15:36 Teaching Through Role Plays18:21 Persuading Systems and Stakeholders20:06 Authenticity Builds Buy In23:02 Trust Story Football Mentor25:34 Role Plays in Real Life26:28 Mentor Program Lesson27:51 Volunteer Consistency Matters29:19 Parents Gangs Ripple Effects31:56 Replacing Gang Belonging32:34 Justice System Stakeholders34:43 Donors Stories Ethics39:10 Measuring Youth Outcomes40:32 Teaching Conflict Skills41:44 Meeting Kids Where They Are44:34 Work Family Balance48:29 Founder Transition Bridge50:28 Transition Advice ClosingHost Stan Christensen has spent his career working as a professional negotiator in a variety of arenas. He has also taught a popular course on negotiation at Stanford University for over twenty years.