Executive Communications Liaison — Be the Bridge Between Inside and Outside

Join the incarcerated-led innovation lab partnering with the Governor's Office, eL Seed, FaithXLVII, and other San Quentin SkunkWorks is redefining how reform happens — bringing world-class designers, artists, and technologists together inside prison walls to co-create the future of justice.

Our work has been featured on the front page of the LA Times and profiled by CalMatters as a model for system-wide transformation. Supported by leading foundations and civic partners, we’re proving that incarcerated creators aren’t the subjects of reform — we’re the architects of it.

Our Co-Founder and Impact Team President, leads SkunkWorks from inside San Quentin. He directs strategy, builds partnerships, and drives the creative vision of the organization — but he can't pick up a phone and call a VP at a tech company, hop on a Zoom with a university research team, or respond to a journalist on deadline. The communication barrier between inside and outside is the single biggest operational constraint we face.

That's where you come in.

The Opportunity

This role puts you at the center of how SkunkWorks connects with the world. You'll be the real-time bridge between Kai and the leaders in tech, policy, art, and media who want to partner with us — joining calls, setting context, and ensuring that every external conversation reflects the caliber and intentionality of the work happening inside.

You won't be speaking for Kai. You'll be making it possible for Kai to speak for himself — translating the logistics of working with an incarcerated leader into something seamless for the people on the other end of the line.

The conversations you'll join aren't routine. In any given week, you might be on a call with a university research team designing a study around our model, a foundation program officer exploring a grant partnership, an internationally exhibited artist planning their next collaboration with our team, or a journalist from a national outlet working on a feature. These are high-stakes, high-trust conversations — and you'll be the person who makes them happen.

Who You'll Work With

You'll join a volunteer-powered creative team where every seat is held by someone operating at the top of their field — professionals whose careers span Netflix, Apple, TikTok, Crunchyroll, and other organizations shaping culture at scale.

And at the center of it all, you'll collaborate directly with the incarcerated innovators who are building something the world hasn't seen before.

Your Role

Join 2–3 external calls per week with partners, funders, researchers, artists, media, and civic leaders.

Set context at the top of calls: who SkunkWorks is, how the communication model works, and what the partner can expect from the engagement.

Facilitate smooth conversation flow — bridging any logistical gaps created by the constraints of incarceration without letting those constraints define the interaction.

Represent SkunkWorks with the professionalism and warmth that matches the caliber of the people we're engaging.

Time commitment: 4–6 hours per week across 2–3 calls. Afternoon availability preferred. This role requires flexibility to join calls with as little as 36 hours' notice — our external partners move fast, and we need to match their pace.

What You Bring

Exceptional verbal communication skills and comfort in high-level professional settings — you can hold a room with a university dean, a tech executive, or an artist with equal ease.

Strong organizational instincts — you'll track conversations, follow-ups, and relationships across multiple threads.

A flexible afternoon schedule and willingness to join calls on relatively short notice.

Emotional intelligence and cultural sensitivity — you'll be navigating conversations that touch on incarceration, justice, creativity, and systemic change.

Experience in executive support, external relations, partnership management, or stakeholder communications is a strong plus.

The Impact

Every partnership SkunkWorks has built — every artist collaboration, every research study, every piece of press coverage, every legislative relationship — started with a conversation. And every one of those conversations required someone on the outside to make the connection possible.

You'll be the reason a tech leader says yes to a site visit. The reason a researcher moves from interest to commitment. The reason an artist trusts us with their next project. The reason a funder sees us not as a program to support, but as a movement to invest in.

This is the most operationally critical volunteer role at SkunkWorks. The organization moves at the speed of these conversations — and you'll be the one keeping them moving.