Navigating the System

Date: Wednesdays, 

June 3, 10, & 17

(3 sessions)

Time: 8:00-9:30 ET / 7:00-8:30 CT / 6:00-7:30 MT

Navigating the System

Facilitators: 

Famm Advocate: Shanna Rifkin

Paul Rothschild, David Grosky, Nick Seidel, & Scott Pollack

Course Objectives

Session 1 - Shanna Rifkin

FAMM Advocate

Session 2 -  Paul Rothschild & David Grosky

Advocacy in the federal system, both in and out of prison. 

Session 3 - Nick Seidel & Scott Pollack

This session is a dialogue about rebuilding your life. 
 

The Facilitators

Shanna Rifkin is General Counsel of FAMM. Prior to this role, she served as Deputy General Counsel for nearly four years. She brings to this position her experience as both a litigator and public policy expert dedicated to reforming the criminal justice system. Shanna directs the Federal Compassionate Release Clearinghouse, oversees FAMM’s Supreme Court practice, and advocates for reform of federal sentencing and corrections law and policy before the United States Sentencing Commission, Congress, the Federal Bureau of Prisons, and the U.S. Department of Justice.

Shanna is an expert in federal compassionate release and federal sentencing practices. She led FAMM’s work that expanded the federal compassionate release clearinghouse to include cases involving sexual abuse – work that resulted in the first-of-its kind project to help secure the release of survivors of staff sexual abuse. Her expertise has been relied on by various news outlets including NPR, The Marshall Project, the Los Angeles Times, Bolts magazine, Rolling Stonemagazine, and more. She has also published with several legal journals and publications. Shanna was honored to receive the O’Malley pro bono award from Sidley Austin, LLP, a key volunteer partner with the federal clearinghouse. She is also a member of NACDL’s First Step Act Implementation Task Force.

Before joining FAMM, Shanna worked at Northwestern Law School’s Children and Family Justice Center, where she was fighting for clemency on behalf of incarcerated youth in Illinois. Before that Shanna was a litigation associate at Jenner & Block LLP. Her passion for sentencing law was shaped by her federal clerkships – first as a Law Clerk on the Western District of New York and then as a Law Clerk on the First Circuit Court of Appeals – where she was involved in nearly every aspect of federal criminal proceedings. She is a licensed attorney in New York and Illinois.

Shanna graduated magna cum laude from Duke University School of Law, where she was both a notes editor and a published author on the Duke Law Review. Shanna received the Dean’s Award for excellence in Constitutional Law and the Scribes Award for legal writing. She graduated cum laude from Brandeis University where she studied health care policy and gender studies.

Paul Rothschild is a facilitator, organizer, and restorative justice practitioner with lived experience navigating the criminal legal system. Formerly incarcerated, Paul has transformed that experience into a life of advocacy and community building.

He works to dismantle systems of permanent punishment and expand pathways for healing, accountability, and reintegration. Paul has led statewide campaigns for criminal record relief, co-chaired narrative change initiatives, and produced cultural projects centering directly impacted voices.

As a facilitator, he brings a deep commitment to community-led solutions, transformative justice, and building power with those most affected by systemic harm.  

David Grosky is a 1983 graduate of the Indiana University Kelley School of Business and a 1986 graduate of the Chicago-Kent College of Law. Mr. Grosky was a member of the Federal Trial Bar for the Northern District of Illinois from 1987-2007. During these years in private practice, Mr. Grosky specialized in complex business bankruptcy and commercial litigation matters.

David is employed as Sales Development Manager at Visiplex Inc. in Buffalo Grove, Illinois. Visiplex is a global leader and provider of Wireless Emergency Notification systems to schools, nursing homes, places of worship and manufacturing and other industry companies.

Mr. Grosky has devoted his time and energy to assisting prison inmates with their legal and administrative research, writing and filing needs. He often assists as a legal advisor to the Hinda Institute where Mr. Grosky serves in several other capacities.

Nick Seidel  currently is a paralegal contractor for the Enforcement Division of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in the Chicago Regional Office. At the SEC, Nick assists the trial unit in investigating and civilly prosecuting securities fraud. He works to recover stolen investor funds and return them to the fraud victims.

Nick has a bachelor's degree in political science from Roosevelt University as well as an associate degree in Liberal Arts from the City Colleges of Chicago. In addition, he has earned five certificates for paralegal studies and advanced field-related studies from Blackstone Career Institute and a certificate in cannabis dispensary operations from the City Colleges of Chicago. 

Currently Nick is enrolled in DePaul University's Master of Legal Studies Program, with a graduation date of 2025 and plans to earn his JD at Loyola to become a practicing attorney.

Scott Pollack , after being justice-impacted for just over three years, is dedicated to using his collective experiences and his connection to God to empower others. His ultimate goals are to help others walking a similar path as him, and to remake our justice system into one of care and accountability that truly serves the needs of all communities.

Currently serving a three-year-to-life parole term, Scott has reinvented himself as a full-time courtwatcher with the Illinois Alliance for Reentry and Justice (ILARJ). Working within the Skokie Court House, he combines skills from his past career in education with his more recent paralegal studies to collect vital courtroom data for voters.  

He has also been blessed with the opportunity to work as a researcher and writer for the Reentry Resource Program. In this role, he enhanced registry-related content for the 2026 Mapping Your Future resource book, which is distributed in IDOC prisons across the state.

Additionally, Scott is an active participant with Hinda, engaging in programming like the Rebounders virtual support group and the Peer Support Specialist training program. He lives on the northern edge of Chicago, just three miles north of Wrigley Field, and is the proud father of three amazing children.

After being justice-impacted for just over three years, Scott Pollack is dedicated to using his collective experiences and his connection to God to empower others. His ultimate goals are to help others walking a similar path as him, and to remake our justice system into one of care and accountability that truly serves the needs of all communities.

Currently serving a three-year-to-life parole term, Scott has reinvented himself as a full-time courtwatcher with the Illinois Alliance for Reentry and Justice (ILARJ). Working within the Skokie Court House, he combines skills from his past career in education with his more recent paralegal studies to collect vital courtroom data for voters.  

He has also been blessed with the opportunity to work as a researcher and writer for the Reentry Resource Program. In this role, he enhanced registry-related content for the 2026 Mapping Your Future resource book, which is distributed in IDOC prisons across the state.

Additionally, Scott is an active participant with Hinda, engaging in programming like the Rebounders virtual support group and the Peer Support Specialist training program. He lives on the northern edge of Chicago, just three miles north of Wrigley Field, and is the proud father of three amazing children.