The remarkable efforts of the dedicated team at PREPARE Inc are built upon the solid and enduring foundations established by MaryJoel Davis, with a particular emphasis on her instrumental work within the organization Second Chance for Women (SCW). Over the years, MaryJoel has been unwavering in her commitment to making a positive impact, dedicating herself to offering invaluable in-person mentoring services at the Maryland Correctional Institution for Women covering essential topics, including guidance on how to enhance one’s prospects of being considered a strong candidate for parole. She has always demonstrated a deep and genuine concern for the welfare and rehabilitation of the incarcerated individuals she serves. MaryJoel’s tireless work within SCW has truly been a beacon of hope and transformation for those within the prison community.
In 2025 a short video was made about MaryJoel’s work and the impact she has had on people in prison.
MaryJoel has been working with people who are incarcerated for half a century. That vocation involved founding Alternative Directions Inc (ADI) in 1979, and as part of that organization, the Turn About Program (TAP), which was at the cutting edge of reentry services. MaryJoel served as executive director of ADI until 2009. She was once referred to by the then director of OSI-Baltimore as the ‘mother of reentry.’ As well as helping with civil legal services, reentry support, and parole preparation MaryJoel has worked in prisons teaching positive thinking and meditation.
Over the years MaryJoel has carried out multiple roles including serving on Governor O’Malley’s Task Force for Reentry, and has received many awards, including an award for outstanding advocacy from the Maryland Legal Services Corporation.
It was in 2009, upon ‘retiring’ that she founded Second Chance for Women in order to support and mentor women incarcerated in the Maryland Correctional Institution for Women (MCIW). This she has done tirelessly, motivated, as she always has been, by Matthew 25:36 I was in prison and you visited me. When Second Chance for Women began, MaryJoel was serving a dozen women who had life sentences and histories of being subjected to domestic violence, and who were struggling to gain traction with the parole process. The need for such support grew and grew. MaryJoel took many more cases in house and sent still more to various university law clinics including the University of Maryland and the University of Baltimore. And yet still demand for services outstripped supply. It was out of recognition of that ongoing demand that PREPARE was born.
Over the years, many people have testified to the significance of the role that MaryJoel has played in their lives. The following testimony sums up the general sentiment. “I have prayed endlessly to have just one person believe in me enough to deem me worthy of a second chance and God sent me you.”