ATLANTA — Graduates of Georgia-based diversion program Project Pinnacle celebrated Friday in metro Atlanta, where Atlanta hip-hop icon T.I. and community leaders honored young adults for completing the program and embracing second chances.
The program, created 14 years ago by DeKalb County Superior Court Judge Asha Jackson, works with participants arrested on first-time, non-violent felony charges. The program offers participants education, accountability, mentorship, and the opportunity to clear their records.
“The return on investment in Project Pinnacle participants is unquestionable,” Jackson said. “Young people charged with a non-violent felony for the first time are at a crossroads in life.
Judge Jackson said inspiration of the program came from seeing too many young people facing serious charges without having developed the tools needed to succeed beyond the courtroom. Project Pinnacle focuses on identifying and strengthening participants’ talents while guiding them through difficult personal growth.
“Project Pinnacle helps emerging adults not only to discover or rediscover their untapped gifts, skills, and passions, but also builds upon those skill sets while clearing a way for a meaningful second chance,” Alvarine “Allie” Wagner, director of Project Pinnacle, said. “There are hard days where buy-in to the process is not 100%, but then there are extremely rewarding days where the lessons of the hard days come full circle.”
Atlanta hip-hop icon T.I. was among the leaders and mentors who helped celebrate the graduating class and their accomplishments.
“No young person’s life should be over because of making one mistake,” T.I. said. “That’s why diversion programs like Project Pinnacle are so important. Judge Asha Jackson does an amazing job identifying these young people as they come through her court and giving them a second chance.”
Thuy-An Julien, President of US or Else and T.I.’s Chief of Staff, said programs like Project Pinnacle offers guidance where punishment alone falls short.
“When I see the graduates of Project Pinnacle, I don’t see criminals but I see lost young men and women,” Julien said. “They are in need of mentorship and guidance, not punishment.”
Julien also highlighted the economic impact of diversion programs.
“It’s $60K per year to incarcerate a person but only $15K for someone to complete the Project Pinnacle program,” Julien said. “We need more funding for programs like this so we don’t lose more precious people to the system.”
Prominent philanthropist and entrepreneur Dr. Marlon Fuller has been a part of the program for three years and said the program’s impact extends far beyond a courtroom.
“It’s not just a diversion program, it’s a bridge from a dead-end to a new beginning which is creating multi-generational impact,” Dr. Fuller said. “By choosing restoration over incarceration, she and her team are saving lives and preserving families. Decisions made at 19 or 25 shouldn’t be a life sentence. Project Pinnacle gives these emerging adults the one thing the world often denies them: a clean slate, a fair shot, and time to make impact in the world.”
Dr. Fuller said participants are not only completing a requirement, they are actively reshaping their futures.
“We often tell kids to be better, but we don’t always show them how. Positive influence is the how,” Dr. Fuller said. “I truly believe that with exposure comes expansion, and when these young people see leaders who look like them and believe in them, the lightbulb goes off. They realize they don’t have to be products of their environment, they can be architects of their future. That shift in perspective is the most powerful tool we can give them.”
Dr. Fuller gifted graduates with stock to start their investing journey and Lobeca watches to symbolize them earning time back.
For participants, the program represents more than just graduation, it represents transformation.
“Project Pinnacle represents growth, healing, and the power of a second chance,” said Ariyanna Harvey, the 2025 Project Pinnacle Participant of the Year recipient. “Not only do I believe in them, but I’m living proof of one.”
TJ Boykins, a 2025 Project Pinnacle graduate, said the program helped him see his potential.
“I want to take a moment to sincerely thank Donna Lee, Judge Jackson, and Ms. Wagner. I am truly grateful for all three of you believing in me, having hope and faith in me when it mattered most.”
Wagner said the program’s long-term success comes from consistent investment in participants.
“We work hard and invest wholeheartedly into these emerging adults to achieve those full-circle moments because that’s where the change begins,” she said.
“Project Pinnacle has successfully worked with young people in this vulnerable population, and we are excited about all that they will achieve after graduation," Judge Jackson concluded.
