MAKING A DIFFERENCE

Marshan is the founder and owner of Rising Phoenix Consultants. He is also the Director of Policy & Communications at the Illinois Prison Project (IPP). Before joining IPP, he was the Vice President of Advocacy & Partnerships at  Represent Justice, a Research & Policy Fellow with Fair and Just Prosecution (FJP), and the Policy Director for Restore Justice Foundation (RJ).

Marshan received a sentence of life-without-parole for an offense that occurred when he was 15 years of age but was released after almost 25 years because of the US Supreme Court’s decision in Miller vs. Alabama. While incarcerated, he assisted the Illinois State Bar Association with the 2006 revision of Post-Trial Remedies: A Handbook for Illinois’ Prisoners. He has earned certificates in paralegal studies, business management, computer technology, and restorative justice, and he holds an associate degree from Lake Land College, where he graduated Summa Cum Laude. In August 2020, Marshan graduated from Northeastern Illinois University with a bachelor’s in Justice Policy & Advocacy.

In 2018, the Illinois Judges Association presented Marshan with the Recognition of Excellence in Outreach Award, for participating in Your Future, Your Choice, a program designed to teach school-aged children about aspects of the law that they often find themselves in conflict with. In 2019, Marshan received the Liberty Bell Award  from the Chicago Bar Association and the Grace Warren Award from the Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth (CFSY), where he served on the Board of Directors.

In February 2020, Marshan was appointed by the Governor of Illinois to the Illinois Juvenile Justice Commission, a federally mandated State Advisory Group to the Governor, the General Assembly, and the Illinois Department of Human Services. In 2025, the Illinois Supreme Court appointed him to the Illinois Judicial Conference Emerging Adults Task Force. He is also an active member of the Incarcerated Children’s Advocacy Network (ICAN) and a former member of the National LWOP Leadership Council. Marshan is currently a third-year law student at Chicago-Kent College of law. He is on track to graduate in May 2026.