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RCHD Staff and Board
Andre Ruddock
Founder & Board President
I grew up on the South Side of Chicago navigating foster care, group homes, and the streets as a ward of the State. That trauma, along with the death of my father by police, changed shaped how I saw justice, race, and the value of human life. As a teenager, I found myself incarcerated and I would eventually spend decades in the Illinois Department of Corrections. Prison was where I began to rebuild from the inside out. I read constantly—history, philosophy, science, religion—anything that could help me understand why the world was the way it was and who I wanted to be in it. Over time, I learned that real freedom begins long before a gate opens; it begins when you decide to live differently. When I came home, I never planned to start a reentry organization. I thought that part of my life was behind me. But fate had other plans. In 2021, I reconnected with a man I’d known twenty years earlier in Stateville —Henry Dee, who had served nearly fifty years. When I learned he was living in a homeless shelter after all he had endured, I couldn’t walk away. With help from Housing Choice Partners, RCHD was able to help Henry obtain an furnished apartment. Though Henry passed away shortly after, his story became the seed that grew into Returning Citizens In Memory of Henry Dee (RCHD).
Steve Morgan
Board Treasurer
I am a retired veteran born and raised on Chicago’s West and South Sides. I entered the U.S. Navy upon graduating from Englewood High School in 1964. I completed recruit training in April 1964 and went on to serve a distinguished 30-year naval career, retiring in April 1994. During my time with the Navy, I served aboard surface vessels and submarines, including the USS John F. Kennedy, USS Newport News, USS Drum, and USS Tautog, and held assignments across Europe and the Far East with tours in Turkey, Spain, England, Germany, Scotland, Norway, Taiwan, Japan, Okinawa, Hawaii, Vietnam, and Thailand. Following my naval retirement, I continued to support national defense through contractor roles and I later reentered the federal service in 2004 with the National Security Agency (NSA). Under the NSA I worked as a senior intelligence analyst and data manager until 2015. Across nearly five decades of service to the U.S Department of Defense, I developed deep expertise in intelligence operations, personnel management, and mission-critical analysis. Now fully retired, I devote my time to gardening, Bible study, and community service, bringing a lifetime of discipline, integrity, and public service experience to my civic and nonprofit leadership roles.
Brinda Jobson
Board Secretary
Born in Helena, Arkansas, I moved to Chicago in 1969 to pursue greater educational opportunities. I attended the University of Illinois at Chicago’s Circle Campus and studied business management through the YMCA. My professional background spans insurance, mortgage services, automobile sales, and leasing management. After 28 years of incarceration, I returned home in May 2024 determined to rebuild my life and regain my independence. Through RCHD, I received vital support and secured stable housing through Housing Choice Partners. These experiences gave me firsthand insight into the challenges older returning citizens face and the importance of accessible resources, meaningful connections, and a supportive community. Motivated by gratitude and a commitment to giving back, I began volunteering with RCHD and later served as RCHD's Wellness Coordinator. In this position, I offered participants encouragement and connection. In May 2026, I became Board Secretary, bringing my professional experience and lived understanding of reentry to the organization’s leadership.
My journey from program participant to board leadership reflects the transformative power of support, opportunity, and community—and the belief that returning citizens have valuable experiences, strengths, and contributions that extend far beyond their past.
RCHD Advisory Committee
Returning Citizens in Memory of Henry Dee (RCHD) has four foundational programs that are guided by a Core Programs Advisory Committee. This committee brings together members of the RCHD family who have lived the reentry experience and who now contribute their insight, creativity, and commitment to building programs and developing policies and priorities that reflect the real needs of our community. Committee members walk side-by-side with the board, staff, and volunteers, ensuring that everything we do reflects the lived realities of returning citizens.
Pictured:
Edward B.
Kentrell S.
Michelle C.
Olga M.
Roosevelt W.