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NARSOL is pleased to announce Michael Harris as its Q3-2026 Speakers Bureau featured speaker.
Michael Harris is a filmmaker, advocate, and speaker whose work focuses on the intersection of storytelling, public perception, and criminal justice reform. Combining lived experience with legislative advocacy and more than four decades in film and media, Harris has become a distinctive voice on how narrative shapes policy and how storytelling can create meaningful social change.
He serves as president of Indiana CURE, director of Indiana Voices, and coordinator of the therapist referral network for B4U-ACT. His advocacy work includes legislative analysis, testimony preparation, public education, and coalition-building surrounding registry policy, reentry barriers, constitutional rights, and the broader collateral consequences of criminal justice legislation.
As a filmmaker, Harris is the creator and producer of the feature film Life on the List, currently in development. It is a dramatic exploration of the human realities surrounding registry laws and social exclusion. Through both film and public speaking, he works to challenge fear-driven narratives and replace them with stories rooted in evidence, humanity, and lived experience.
Harris’s presentations are known for blending emotional authenticity, policy insight, and cinematic storytelling to initiate compelling discussions on justice, stigma, reintegration, and cultural change. His signature keynote, “Rewriting the Story: From Lived Experience to Policy Change,” explores how public narratives shape legislation and how advocates can reshape them to drive lasting reform.
Featured Speaker's Highlighted Topics
- Rewriting the Story: From Lived Experience to Policy Change: how public narratives shape laws—and how storytelling can reshape them;
- When Fear Becomes Law: how fear-driven policymaking creates ineffective and harmful legislation;
- Life on the List: The Human Reality Behind the Registry: a lived-experience perspective on stigma, exclusion, and reintegration;
- Collateral Consequences and Invisible Punishments: the lifelong barriers created beyond a criminal sentence;
- The Myth of Public Safety: examining evidence, effectiveness, and unintended consequences;
- Exile in Plain Sight: housing, employment, and social barriers facing registrants;
- The Constitution and Registry Expansion: due process, ex post facto concerns, and civil liberties implications;
- How Registry Policies Affect Families and Communities: the overlooked impact on spouses, children, and support systems; and
- Effective Therapy for MAPs (Minor - Attracted Person): Is therapy causing more harm than good?
Book our featured speaker at NARSOL Speakers Bureau – Michael Harris
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What is the NARSOL Speakers Bureau?
The NARSOL Speakers Bureau was established to work with organizations to provide speakers for internal education, outreach efforts, conferences, and special events. NARSOL speakers are experienced advocates of NARSOL's vision and mission to create a society free from public shaming, dehumanizing registries, discrimination, and unconstitutional laws. All speakers bring their unique perspectives and are sure to add value to any event they are booked for.
For additional information, help with speaker coordination, or to be considered as a NARSOL speaker, please email speaker...@narsol.org.
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