Dant’e Cottingham | EXPO Wisconsin

As a juvenile Dant’e was waived into the adult criminal justice system, sentenced to Life, ultimately served 27 years in prison and was released in 2022. While in prison he studied the path leading to such an early incarceration, acquired a paralegal degree to sharpen his understanding of the law and developed a keen and passionate criminal justice reform voice spoken through countless published articles and his own podcast.

Since his release, other than becoming a proud Organizer for EXPO, Dant’e is a Certified Peer Support Specialist, a Marquette University student and public speaker.

Dant’e’s passion includes using the lessons he acquired from the mistakes in his teens to benefit todays youth and giving purpose to the 27 years he served by using his insights to contribute to the elimination of mass incarceration.

For fun Dant’e likes to shout support to his nephews and niece during their basketball and football games. He also loves to meet new people and learn their stories.

Support Our Cause

People in our communities without direct experience with incarceration are often ill-informed of the negative, and catastrophic, effects on earnings and employment, physical and mental health, housing and education, and family well-being created and perpetuated by the carceral system. Through our advocacy work in local and state government, EXPO creates space, opportunity, and support for system-impacted individuals to raise their voices about the systemic and institutional harm of the incarceration. In the words of one of our organizers, EXPO’s work “shines a light of awareness and truth where others refuse to acknowledge.”