About THE If I Don't Do It Institute
No One Is Disposable
That's not a slogan. That's a statement of fact we're about to prove.
THE If I Don't Do It Institute exists because the system is wrong about who deserves a future. We're here to prove it—one person, one program, one transformation at a time.
We're launching our first cohort in 2025. This is brand new. This is the beginning.
Our Mission
THE If I Don't Do It Institute will empower justice-impacted individuals and communities through innovative education, health, and comprehensive reentry support.
We will provide:
Data literacy training and technical skill development
Trauma-informed healing and mental health support
Academic support and degree pathways
Health and wellness services
Credible messenger training and certification
Violence interruption and community safety initiatives
Our mission is building pathways to stability, leadership, and community transformation for those most impacted by systemic barriers.
Our Vision
A world where:
No one is written off because of their past
Lived experience is recognized as expertise
Trauma is healed, not punished
Economic opportunity breaks the cycle of poverty and incarceration
Communities are safe because people are whole
Justice-impacted individuals become the leaders, analysts, healers, and credible messengers their communities need
We're not dreaming. We're building it. Starting now.
Why We Exist
The Problem
The criminal justice system incarcerates 2.3 million people—25% of the world's incarcerated population despite the U.S. being only 5% of the world's population.
68% return to prison within 3 years.
Not because they're broken. Because the system is.
Traditional reentry programs fail because they:
Offer job training but ignore trauma
Provide minimum wage jobs that guarantee poverty
Treat symptoms instead of causes
Don't address the four areas that actually need healing: mental health, physical health, community health, and economic health
The result: People cycle back. Families break. Communities suffer. And everyone says, "See? They're disposable."
They're wrong.
Our Solution: The Four-Dose Prescription
We will address all four areas simultaneously over 24 months:
Mental Health (Dose #1): Real trauma treatment, not worksheets
Physical Health (Dose #2): Healing the body, not just the mind
Community Health (Dose #3): Safe relationships, credible messengers, peer support
Economic Health (Dose #4): Technical skills leading to $45K-$110K careers, not minimum wage
We don't just train people. We heal them. Then we prepare them for careers with dignity and living wages.
And we will prove—with research, with outcomes, with data—that no one is disposable.
Our Core Values
1. Lived Experience Is Expertise
The system calls it "criminal history." We call it pattern recognition, crisis management, risk assessment, survival skills, and leadership under pressure.
We don't just accommodate lived experience—we credential it. Our participants will become credible messengers with both technical skills AND the wisdom that comes from surviving what they survived.
2. Trauma-Informed Everything
Not just the therapy sessions. The data analytics classes. The Excel training. The business operations curriculum. All of it.
Because triggers don't take breaks just because you're learning SQL.
3. Evidence-Based + Experience-Based
We follow the research:
Peer-facilitated trauma treatment works
Credible messengers reduce recidivism by 50-69% (Jarjoura & Harvell, 2018)
Education changes trajectories (Davis et al., 2013; Bozick et al., 2018)
Economic opportunity breaks cycles (Western & Pettit, 2010)
But we also follow lived experience. Dell Pippins spent 27 years inside. He knows what works because he lived it.
Both matter. We use both.
4. Four Doses, All the Time
Mental health. Physical health. Community health. Economic health.
You can't heal on three out of four. You can't sustain recovery without economic stability. You can't build technical skills on an unhealed foundation.
All four. Always.
5. No One Is Disposable
Not the person with an ACE score of 8.
Not the person with decades inside.
Not the person everyone else gave up on.
Not the person the system said was done.
If they were wrong about Dell, they're wrong about you too.
Our Approach: What Makes Us Different
We're Led by Someone Who Lived It
Dell Pippins: 27 years incarcerated. Bachelor's (Cum Laude, Sociology) and Master's (Statistical Science) earned inside. Taught 127 men who all earned their diplomas. Clemency at 53. PhD candidate at 54.
He's not studying this in books. He lived it.
We Integrate Healing and Skills
Most programs make you choose: get therapy OR get job training.
We say: you need both. At the same time. For 24 months.
Trauma Track + Technical Track = Transformation
We Build Real Careers, Not Dead Ends
Our model targets living-wage careers: $45K-$110K depending on certificate level.
Four stackable certificates:
Certificate 1 (Month 6): Administrative Data Coordinator → $38K-$52K
Certificate 2 (Month 12): Business Operations Analyst → $50K-$68K
Certificate 3 (Month 18): Data-Driven Business Analyst + Credible Messenger → $65K-$85K
Certificate 4 (Month 24): Analytics & Operations Strategist → $80K-$110K+
Economic health isn't optional. It's mandatory.
We Create Credible Messengers
By Month 13, participants begin credible messenger training.
By Month 18, they earn credible messenger certification.
By Month 24, they're data analysts AND credible messengers who can reach people no social worker ever will.
Research shows: Credible messengers reduce recidivism by 50-69%. We're building the first cohort of data-skilled credible messengers.
We Don't Give Up
24 months is longer than most programs.
Why? Because real change takes time. Because the harm didn't happen overnight and the healing won't either.
We're in it for the long haul. Because no one is disposable.
We're Accessible Anywhere
Online and correspondence model. Start inside prison on a secure tablet. Continue after release on your phone or computer. Seamless transition. No interruption.
This isn't traditional classroom-based programming. This is 2025. We meet people where they are.
Our History
Founded: 2025
Founder: Johnny Le'Dell Pippins (Dell)
Location: Cedar Rapids, Iowa (launching in Eastern Iowa, scaling beyond)
How We Started
THE If I Don't Do It Institute was born from lived experience and community need.
Dell Pippins was released from prison in 2021 after 27 years. He was accepted into the University of Iowa's PhD program in Criminology. He could have just focused on his own success.
But he didn't.
He saw the gaps:
People getting out with no real support
Traditional programs that didn't address trauma
Minimum wage jobs that guaranteed failure
No one listening to people with lived experience
Communities losing people to recidivism because no one was doing the real work
So in 2024, Dell began building THE If I Don't Do It Institute.
The name says it all: If I don't do it, who will?
We Started With
A vision: Four-dose prescription, dual-track model, credible messenger development
A curriculum: Dell's "No One Is Disposable" trauma workbook
Research foundation: Evidence-based practices proven to work
A few believers: People who saw what Dell survived and what he built
A commitment: To prove that people the system calls disposable are actually irreplaceable
Where We Are Now (2025)
Launching first cohort: December 2025, April 2026, or August 2026
Building partnerships: With correctional facilities, employers, and community organizations
Developing online platform: Accessible inside and outside prison walls
We are a 501(c)(3) non-profit
Accepting applications: For our inaugural cohort
Current status: In formation. Launching soon. Built on solid research and 27 years of lived experience.
Our Programs
We are building five core program areas, all designed to create pathways from incarceration to community leadership, economic stability, and civic engagement:
1. The 24-Month Integrated Program (Launching 2025)
Our flagship: Trauma-informed healing + Data analytics & business operations training
Online and correspondence format
Accessible to incarcerated and released individuals
Four stackable certificates
Credible messenger certification
Self-paced within monthly modules
→ Full details on Programs page
2. Data Literacy & Technical Training (Future)
Standalone courses in:
R programming and statistical analysis
SQL and database management
Excel and business intelligence tools
Data visualization and storytelling
Will be available to community members, current students, and organizations serving justice-impacted populations.
3. Academic Support & Degree Pathways (Future)
Supporting justice-impacted individuals to:
Earn GEDs
Enroll in community college
Transfer to four-year universities
Pursue graduate education
Navigate academic systems while managing reentry challenges
4. Health & Wellness Services (Integrated into 24-Month Program)
Wellness focus:
Mental health support and trauma treatment
Health literacy education
Stress management and coping skills
Connection to healthcare providers
Peer support groups
Trauma-informed healing:
Individual check-ins with mentors
Group peer support
Crisis intervention resources
Emotional regulation training
5. Violence Interruption & Community Safety (Future Vision)
Credible messenger deployment:
Conflict mediation by trained peer specialists
Violence interruption in high-risk situations
Retaliation prevention
Community-based safety strategies
Why it will work: People trust messengers who've been where they are. Our credible messengers will be able to de-escalate situations that police presence would inflame.
This program will launch after our first cohort graduates credible messengers in 2027-2028.
The Research Foundation
We're not inventing this from scratch. We're building on decades of research:
Credible Messenger Programs
50-69% reduction in recidivism when peer specialists with lived experience provide support (Jarjoura & Harvell, 2018)
Significant improvements in mental health, anxiety, depression, and anger (Messina, 2023)
High engagement and trust because participants see themselves in their mentors
Trauma-Informed Approaches
81% of incarcerated individuals experienced physical abuse before age 18 (Messina, 2023)
Peer-facilitated trauma treatment shows strong outcomes with zero rule violations during interventions (Messina, 2023)
Addressing trauma is essential for breaking cycles of violence and incarceration
Education and Economic Opportunity
Prison education programs reduce recidivism significantly (Davis et al., 2013; Bozick et al., 2018)
Economic stability is one of the strongest predictors of successful reentry (Western & Pettit, 2010)
Living-wage employment breaks the poverty-incarceration cycle
Integrated Models
Programs addressing multiple domains (mental health, physical health, employment, social support) show better outcomes than single-focus interventions
Long-term support (18-24 months) produces more sustainable change than short-term programs
Our model synthesizes all of this into one comprehensive program. That's what makes it powerful.
Our Team
Founder & Executive Director: Johnny Le'Dell Pippins (Dell)
Background:
27 years incarcerated (1996-2021)
Bachelor's degree (Cum Laude, Sociology) - earned while incarcerated
Master's degree (Statistical Science) - earned while incarcerated
PhD Candidate in Criminology, University of Iowa (2021-present)
Taught 127 incarcerated men who all earned their diplomas
Former Imam and Inmate Council President
Recipient of clemency from Governor of Illinois (2021)
Why Dell Built This:
Dell knows what it's like to be told you're disposable. He spent 27 years proving the system wrong—earning degrees, teaching others, transforming himself and everyone around him.
Now he's building the program he wishes had existed when he came home. A program that doesn't just "reintegrate" people into poverty—it transforms them into leaders, analysts, healers, and credible messengers.
Advisory Board (In Formation)
We are building an advisory board of:
Formerly incarcerated leaders
Criminologists and researchers
Trauma specialists and mental health professionals
Data analytics professionals
Reentry program directors
Fair chance employers
Community organizers
If you're interested in serving on our advisory board, contact us.
Staff & Instructors (Hiring)
As we launch our first cohort, we are hiring:
Program coordinator
Trauma-informed counselors/mentors
Technical instructors (R, SQL, Excel, data analytics)
Credible messenger trainers
Administrative support
Preference given to individuals with lived experience in the justice system.
Our Partners
We Are Building Partnerships With
Correctional Facilities:
Bringing the 24-month program inside
Providing tablets and technology infrastructure
Coordinating tablet sync schedules
Employers:
Fair chance hiring commitments
Job placement for graduates
Internship opportunities
Community Organizations:
Referral partnerships
Wraparound services
Space for in-person gatherings (for released participants)
Funders:
Foundations supporting criminal justice reform
Individual donors
Corporate sponsors
Educational Institutions:
Academic partnerships for degree pathways
Research collaborations
Field placement sites
Interested in partnering? Contact us.
Financials & Transparency
Current Status
Legal Structure: We are an independent 501(c)(3)
IRS Determination: 2025
Fiscal Year: Calendar year
Funding Model
Cost per participant: Approximately $15,000 for the full 24-month program
What this covers:
All curriculum and digital materials
Hard copy workbooks (mailed)
Secure tablets (for incarcerated participants)
LMS platform and technology infrastructure
Twice-monthly mentoring (24 months)
Peer support groups
Technical and crisis support
Career services
Revenue sources:
Foundation grants
Government contracts
Individual donations
Corporate sponsorships
Earned income (future: fee-for-service training for organizations)
100% of donations go directly to program delivery. Dell takes no salary during the launch phase.
Transparency Commitment
we will publish:
Annual reports with program outcomes
Audited financial statements
IRS Form 990
Impact metrics and evaluation data
Get Involved
For Individuals: Join Our First Cohort
Are you:
Currently incarcerated (6-30 months remaining)?
Released within the past 5 years?
Ready to commit to 24 months of healing and learning?
→ Apply Now | Cohorts start 1st Monday of December, April, August
For Facilities: Bring This Program Inside
We provide:
All technology (tablets, LMS, content)
Staff training
Minimal IT burden on your facility
Proven model to reduce recidivism
For Employers: Hire Our Graduates
Why hire our graduates:
Real technical skills (data analytics, SQL, Excel, business operations)
Credible messenger certification
Unmatched resilience and work ethic
Commitment to growth and community
→ Learn About Fair Chance Hiring
For Funders: Invest in What Works
Support proven interventions:
$15,000 funds one participant through 24 months
$4-7 return on investment over 10 years
Measurable outcomes: employment, recidivism, community safety
→ Donate | → Learn About Sponsorship
For Researchers: Study Our Model
We welcome research partnerships:
Longitudinal outcomes tracking
Comparative effectiveness studies
Trauma and recovery measurement
Economic impact analysis
→ Contact Us About Research Partnerships
Contact Us
THE If I Don't Do It Institute
Mailing Address: PO Box 222 Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401
Phone: (319) 897-5141
Email: TheInstitute@ifidontdoit.org
Website: www.ifidontdoit.org
The Truth
Dell spent 27 years being told he was disposable.
He proved them wrong.
Now he's building a program to prove them wrong about everyone else the system has written off.
This is the beginning. Our first cohort. Our first chance to show what's possible.
Research says this model works. Dell's experience says this is what people need. Now we're putting it together in a way no one has before.
Will you be part of proving no one is disposable?
No one is disposable. Including you.