Alejo is a poet, teacher, and advocate. His poetry and writing work appears in OUTLAW BIBLE OF AMERICAN POETRY and DOING TIME: 25 YEARS OF PEN PRISON WRITER AWARDS. Alejo is the winner of several PEN awards, and a Teaching Artist for Tribeca Film Institute’s screening series at Otisville Correctional Facility. He is also the co-screenwriter of a short film entitled UNBECOMING. Alejo has prior criminal justice experience having served time in prison in New York. His struggles with parole and legal discoveries were published in the February 2019 CUNY Law Review issue.
Alejo is Chief of Curriculum and Storytelling at Zealous, a national initiative that activates, trains, and supports state and local public defenders, in partnership with local organizations, the people and communities defenders represent, and artists to leverage storytelling and new media advocacy strategies to break through the noise, complicate prevailing narratives, and end mass criminalization.
Alejo leads development and implementation of pedagogy, training, and curriculum design across Zealous’ national and local events and trainings, law school class development, campaign collaboration and creation, and technical support initiatives across the country, while imagining and implementing new and immersive storytelling and communications strategies to shift the narrative of what “justice” really should look like and move people and leaders to change legal systems for the better.