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.org 00:00 Vision Beyond Prison 00:22 Choosing a Different Path 02:29 Claiming the Torch 04:23 Athlete Mindset for Leadership 05:52 Juvenile Hall Catalyst 07:31 Founding FLY Mission 09:00 Credibility and Permission 10:49 Who the Youth Are 13:23 Deep Listening Co Creation 15:36 Teaching Through Role Plays1 8:21 Persuading Systems and Stakeholders 20:06 Authenticity Builds Buy In 23:02 Trust Story Football Mentor 25:34 Role Plays in Real Life 26:28 Mentor Program Lesson 27:51 Volunteer Consistency Matters 29:19 Parents Gangs Ripple Effects 31:56 Replacing Gang Belonging 32:34 Justice System Stakeholders 34:43 Donors Stories Ethics 39:10 Measuring Youth Outcomes 40:32 Teaching Conflict Skills 41:44 Meeting Kids Where They Are 44:34 Work Family Balance 48:29 Founder Transition Bridge 50:28 Transition Advice Closing Host 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.