A Brooklyn native, Thaddeus Canty found himself caught up in what he calls a criminal lifestyle from a young age, which resulted in multiple prison stints. During his latest prison stint, Mr. Canty said one day he had an epiphany: “I looked in the mirror and didn’t like who I saw.” He took the mirror down and began to make changes, getting involved in several available programs and enrolling in college courses. Now, he’s the Project Director of Red Hook Community Justice Center.
While incarcerated, Mr. Canty managed to earn an Associate’s degree from Bard College’s Bard Prison Initiative (BPI) program in 2014. He pressed on in his quest for higher learning and enrolled into Nyack College’s (now Alliance University) Bachelor’s degree program. He was released in 2016, six credits short of completion, eventually returned to school and earned a Bachelor’s degree in Organizational Management in 2017. During this time, he was a Program Coordinator of the Next STEPS-Brownsville youth mentoring program in collaboration with the Mayor’s Action Plan for Neighborhood Safety (MAP).
His self-fulfilling mission didn’t stop there, and he went on to earn a training certification as a Credentialed Alcohol & Substance Abuse Counselor (CASAC-T) as well as a host of other certifications. In 2019 he enrolled in Metropolitan College of New York’s accelerated Masters in Public Affairs and Administration (MPA) program and graduated in 2020. In 2019, he was recognized by the Bedford Stuyvesant Lions Club and was honored with awards and multiple certifications including a Certificate of Special Congressional Recognition for Exemplary Community Service. Additionally in 2020, Mr. Canty launched his self-designed mentoring service non-profit called Mentors Against Drugs and Guns through Experience (M.A.D.G.E.). In 2021 he was promoted to Assistant Director of Community Outreach and Programs where he provided services to clients who faced a myriad of issues including housing, employment, education, and health. In 2022 he went on to become Director of an Alternatives to Incarceration program, where he led multiple sites across the city before transitioning to his current role at the Center for Justice Innovation in 2025.
In his spare time, Mr. Canty loves to read. His favorites include African American literature, and nonfiction. He loves playing chess, watching sports and exercising. To anyone currently going through a similar crisis, Mr. Canty says to “embrace the struggle because there is always hope…without struggle there is no progress, and you can’t expect to progress if you don’t expect to struggle.” Mr. Canty says even through all his hardships, he never counted himself out.